Aberfeldy Watermill is the last survivor of the days of water power in the pretty Perthshire town of Aberfeldy. It is a Grade A Listed building with a working waterwheel and ancient millstones. After a long working life that ceased production as recently as 2002, the Watermill is set to be brought back to life as a unique cultural  visitor centre incorporating a bookshop, art gallery, music and coffee shop.

The Watermill Bookshop, Art Gallery, Music and Coffee Shop is scheduled to open  prior to Easter 2005, after a programme of sympathetic restoration which will see much of the industrial machinery and artefacts retained as an integral part of the cultural experience.

The £500,000 project will create a major venue for the arts in Scotland, and support an emerging literary and artistic community in Aberfeldy. It will also help to create a ‘critical mass’ of visitor attractions in the town, and reinforce Aberfeldy’s status as one of Scotland’s finest tourism destinations.

The facility will offer the following:

• The largest bookshop in rural Scotland, featuring a children's book department, books and maps for outdoor activities, and a reading room providing free access to reference books, children's books, and magazines.
• An art gallery featuring quality works focusing on original work and limited edition prints of post war abstract art from all British schools. The gallery will host periodic exhibitions and commission sculpture works by Scottish artists
• A programme of literary, art and music events including readings and talks by noted authors, performance poetry, art workshops and live music performances covering all genres. The premises will also be available for use by local reading groups.
• A coffee shop selling refreshments and light snacks using locally produced, organic and fair-trade products wherever possible

It is intended that the Watermill Bookshop, Art Gallery, Music and Coffee Shop will be a valuable resource for the whole local community, as well as a major new attraction appealing to holidaymakers to Perthshire, and visitors from all parts of Scotland.

An exciting exhibitions programme is already being developed. The First Exhibition, to coincide with the opening, will be by Philip Hughes, who has exhibited at Tate St Ives, and is a former Chairman of the Trustees of the National Gallery. The exhibition will feature work inspired by Scottish mountains.

Further information on the project is available from Kevin Ramage, Tel 07732 930415
Email: watermill@eudoramail.com