Castle Douglas Development Forum: Crannog Coorie-In

We took part in the festival to put our community asset back on the map. The Crannog, once an outdoor centre run by the council and closed in 2019, sits on the edge of Carlingwark Loch in a dark, quiet part of the park. We’re reactivating it as a family-friendly hub for indoor and outdoor activities, which we hope to retrofit as a net-zero space. Instead of the usual Halloween or bonfire night events, we created the Coorie In festival.

We organised karaoke, bingo, a bushcraft workshop, a bat walk, and a craft session for kids. We thought karaoke and bingo would draw in people who might not usually visit, but they were our least attended. The bat walk, led by a qualified expert and followed by hot chocolate in the Crannog, was our biggest hit — families from toddlers to people in their 70s joined. We also discovered that our building is a site of national importance, with over 300 bats observed in flight, which is exciting and will help guide the renovation.

Part of our success came from partnering with Luck and Trust, who saw our festival posters and connected us with rangers and volunteers to spread the word. The bushcraft workshop was affected by stormy weather, but participants loved it and asked for it to become a regular activity. The craft workshop had a small turnout, and we learned we need to improve communication so more people know what’s happening.

Even with a small amount of funding and some well-designed posters, we were surprised by the impact. We feel our reputation as a provider of indoor and outdoor community activities is growing, and we hope to run the Coorie In festival again next year, subject to funding.