Loch Tay Iron Age roundhouse to be rebuilt after fire

A replica Iron Age roundhouse destroyed by fire could be rebuilt by spring next year, after a redevelopment project was given the go-ahead.

The crannog - a wooden construction which stood on stilts in Loch Tay - burned down in just six minutes in June 2021.

Now plans to redevelop and relocate the Scottish Crannog Centre have won Perth and Kinross Council's approval.

Its director said it would be "Scotland's most sustainable museum".

Mike Benson hopes to start welcoming visitors to the new site at the beginning of next year's tourist season.

The original structure on the south side of Loch Tay, near Kenmore, was a reconstruction of an ancient dwelling found in lochs and firths across Scotland.

Plans were in place to move the visitor centre to Dalerb, a short distance away on the north side of Loch Tay, before the fire. Afterwards, the £12m relocation was accelerated.

The first stage of the redevelopment will see the construction of an Iron Age village and roundhouse, a crannog, and a new visitor centre, with cafe, shop, museum and office.

Museum bosses hope the centre could eventually accommodate up to 80,000 visitors a year.

Mr Benson said they hoped to construct the Iron Age village with materials sourced locally.

For example, the thatch will come from the Tay and the timber will come from nearby Drummond Hill.

He told BBC Scotland that the centre would provide opportunities to develop traditional skills.

The constructions will need to be rebuilt in about seven years' time and he hopes to have trained a new generation of craftspeople to complete the job by then.

"We can never go back in time to the Iron Age but we can tell their story in the best possible way," he said.

The Scottish Crannog Centre reopened five days after the fire and is currently offering visitors guided tours of its museum and artefacts, as well as demonstrations of ancient crafts and technologies.

It has received financial support from the Scottish government as well crowd-funded donations to fund its redevelopment.

Its application for planning permission received some objections from local people, many concerned they would lose access to the loch-side beach.

Nicholas Grant, the chairman of the Scottish Crannog Centre Trust, has said they are "fully committed" to maintaining public access to the loch and picnic area.