Gairloch Museum is developing plans to build a full-scale reconstructed Iron Age roundhouse to be part of the Outdoor Museum. Based closely on the archaeological evidence from Achtercairn, we will build the roundhouse using traditional techniques and local materials. It will serve as a new space for education, heritage, and community use - and link to the earliest settlements in our area:

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People have lived and farmed on Achtercairn, above the Museum, for nearly 5000 years. In prehistoric times, nearly 200 roundhouses were sited within 20 miles of Gairloch. Today, all that can be seen in the landscape are low circles of collapsed stone. The roundhouse project aims to bring this prehistoric past to life.

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The roundhouse will not be a static exhibit but a working space. Designed to host school sessions, museum programming, community activities and informal drop-in use, it will be freely available to local groups for non-profit events. We want it to feel rooted in place and useful to the people who live here.

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The project will also provide opportunities for training in traditional skills. Working with local and national craftspeople, we are planning a series of short courses in drystone walling, greenwood joinery and thatching. These will run in the months leading up to the build, with some participants going on to help construct the roundhouse itself. We will also offer a fully-funded traditional skills placement for a local school-leaver.

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At the end of January 2026, we heard the good news from Highland Council that planning permission for the project has been granted.  We are incredibly grateful to everyone in the community who has fed into the plans thus far and are really excited to progress with our next steps to bring this project to fruition.

 

We aim for the construction phase to take place from June to October 2027. Building the roundhouse will be an act of living heritage: we will be sourcing local natural materials; rediscovering and sharing traditional skills while recreating an historic building form set in its natural landscape. We have a team of skilled craftspeople - heather thatchers, turf builders, traditional joiners and dry stone dykers - lined up for the hoped-for build and will share news of our progress and chances to get involved as this year unfolds.​ Our energy and efforts are now directed to securing funding for this exciting project.

 

If you’d like to get involved - by volunteering, sharing your knowledge, attending a training course or offering feedback - we’d love to hear from you.