A museum celebrating the life of one of Scotland’s most famous writers is preparing to open for its new season, with a new and improved café to help bring in more local visitors.
The Grassic Gibbon Centre was first established in Arbuthnott in 1991 to commemorate the life of writer James Leslie Mitchell, better known by his pen name, Lewis Grassic Gibbon.
His most famous work Sunset Song – part of the trilogy A Scots Quair – is regarded as one of the most important Scottish novels of the 20th century.
The visitor attraction opens for its new season on Monday and is now under the leadership of Teresa Lindsay-Murray, following the retirement of long-standing manager Isabella Williamson, who had been in the post since the centre was founded.
Mrs Lindsay-Murray, who has operated a hotel in Montrose for eight years, said she hopes that by rejuvenating the Grassic Gibbon Centre’s food and drink offering she can make it a more popular destination for locals – and not just the fans of the author’s work who visit from all around the world.
She said: “We’ve got a new look in the café and we really want to expose ourselves more to local residents in Aberdeenshire, because unfortunately a lot of people really don’t seem to know where we are or that we actually exist.
“Previous management focused more on the museum side of the centre, so it’s never really been pushed actively before as a place to go for the local community, but I really want to put us on the map for our home-prepared local food.
“Our museum really is amazing and attracts a great deal of people from across the UK and overseas who are interested in the works and life of the author and the local history of the Mearns farming community.
“But what we really want to do is provide a new resource for local people in the area.”
The centre, located just off the B967 Fordoun to Inverbervie road, also features a community hall, a children’s play area and an electric vehicle charging point.
It is open to the public from 10am to 4.30pm and will remain open until the end of October.
