Own Art On The Road | Scotland

We’re heading to our most Northern gallery members now with our #OwnArtOnTheRoad campaign. The campaign was launched to drive our audience of art lovers safely to the wonderful network of over 300+ galleries across the UK that we work with, from the safety of their home. As tourism has been less possible than usual this summer, we thought we’d bring the delights of our galleries virtually…

HAVE WE MISSED ANYTHING EN ROUTE?
GET IN TOUCH HERE AND WE’LL ADD IT TO OUR ITINERARY.

Our first recommendation comes from Castle Gallery, which is located in the lee of Inverness Castle in a building that dates back to the early 18th century and has been sympathetically restored to provide an ideal gallery space over two floors:

Castle Gallery: “Castle Gallery are the only gallery offering regularly changing exhibitions of quality art in the capital of the Highlands of Scotland. We will have been open 20 years in 2021. Inverness, incidentally, is the start and endpoint for the acclaimed North Coast 500 tourist road route. At the moment we have the Christmas Mixed Exhibition – on display until 24 December. See this link www.castlegallery.co.uk” – Just in time for Christmas gift ideas!

Let’s head towards rural Aberdeenshire to Tolquhon Gallery who have also kindly offered some top tips for this Scottish adventure!

Tolquhon Gallery: “North from Aberdeen, take a little detour to spectacular @ForvieNNR to see the hundreds of resident seals and migrating birds. Come by bike on the #NationalCycleRoute. Pass historic #TolquhonCastle then enjoy the gallery and sculpture garden @TolquhonGallery.“

All the fantastic galleries mentioned on our road trip are on the Own Art scheme, which means they offer an easy and affordable way for you to start your own art collection – and it’s completely interest-free! As we head south on our journey, we can stop in Aberdeen to peruse Peacock Gallery, Gallery Heinzel and Enid Hutt to see if there are any artists we can support.

It’s a bit of a drive to our next stop, which is The Butterworth Gallery located just east of Cairngorms National Park.

The Butterworth Gallery: “Have a lovely #ownartontheroad from #Edinburgh to #Ellon Lots of art & culture in #Aberdeenshire @visitabdn. The @NorthEast250 #roadTrip showcases artist inspiration landscape of our artists #HowardButterworth @MButterworthart in @VisitCairngrms @MoraySpeyside #FridayFun“

“This wee #original #oilpainting of #Poppy #flowers is from Howards garden at Drummie. A first for this summer was the poppy plant seeds from #Glenmuick finally flowering to dazzle against the vivid yellow of the Broom. Available on @ownartscheme#originalart#ownartontheroad“

On our way south, we can swing past The House of Bruar before heading towards Frames Gallery in Perth and then onto Dundee for some creative street art and a few more Own Art galleries to browse: Wasps Studios, Galley Q Dundee and Dundee Contemporary Arts. Dundee is host to the V&A Museum, where we can stop off for a coffee and a nibble before heading even more south of Scotland.

Our next stop is The Gallery Melrose, who have contributed some amazing recommendations for our itinerary:

The Gallery Melrose: “We are so fortunate to be situated in the beautiful town of Melrose in the Scottish Borders. You will certainly be spoiled for choice when deciding what to see and do on your road trip but here are a few things you should include.”

“Melrose Abbey – probably the most famous in Scotland, built in 1136, the ruins are impressive, even today, and they are the final resting place for the heart of Robert the Bruce.“

“The Eildon Hills – the Borders is a walkers paradise and no visit to Melrose is complete without a hike up The Eildons where you will be rewarded by spectacular views of the surrounding area.“

“Abbotsford House – home of Sir Walter Scott, 19th century novelist who wrote, among others, Ivanhoe and Rob Roy. Set in beautiful gardens on the banks of the river Tweed it’s a popular destination, steeped in history and makes a very enjoyable day out.“

“As for the accommodation and eating out we have lots of choice. We would highly recommend Burts Hotel, The Townhouse and Marmions, or if you fancy something French, Provender is well worth a visit. There are also several small coffee shops if you just wanted something light.“

“We hope you decide to visit and look forward to meeting you in the future.”

There is so much of Scotland to explore and so many of our galleries to browse, so if you would like us to add in some stops for your recommendations, please just get in touch and we can add you to our virtual road trip!

Our next stop will be NORTH EAST, so get in touch to give us your travel tips!