Glenesk Folk Museum

Glenesk Folk Museum sits in the Glen Esk valley at Tarfside, twelve kilometres north of Edzell in Angus. It occupies a former shooting lodge called The Retreat, built in the 1840s as a retirement cottage for Captain J.E. Wemyss. The building later passed to the Earls of Dalhousie, who used it as a summer house before it fell into disuse. In 1955 Greta Michie, a local schoolteacher inspired by Scandinavian folk museums, founded the museum here. Lord and Lady Dalhousie supported its creation, and in 2007 the site was refurbished and enlarged. The museum preserves the history of the surrounding glen through themed rooms and displays. Artefacts include costumes, musical instruments and reconstructions of 1850s interiors such as a children’s room. A document archive holds census records from 1841 to 1891 and local birth, marriage and death entries, with computers available for research. Among the musical instruments is a Savart-style violin once played in Aberdeen streets and a coach horn used on the last horse-drawn stagecoach in the United Kingdom during the 1930s. Visitors can explore the gift shop for local goods and the café for light refreshments. The Retreat also offers a nature trail, a children’s play area and a function room for hire. Regular craft workshops take place on site, alongside music recitals and storytelling events. The museum’s setting in the valley provides a quiet, rural atmosphere close to the Angus hills.