Prior to retirement in 2019, Andrew served at Director level or above with Scottish Natural Heritage, The Woodland Trust, The National Trust for Scotland and the John Muir Trust. In these roles he had direct responsibility for operations and policy matters on access, site designation, species policies and land use management.

Among the most satisfying areas Andrew was involved in was as lead Director in SNH on land reform and access during the passage of the primary legislation, the preparation of the Outdoor Access Code and the role-out of support to Access Authorities. He has extensive knowledge of Scotland’s access rights, conversation framework and the workings of Scottish Government and its agencies.

Traditional Scottish folktales and Traveller tales form the basis of Heather Yule’s repertoire. A fine musician, her storytelling is often enriched by music from the clarsach (Scottish traditional harp). She has performed and led workshops all over Scotland and abroad, including Iceland, Norway and the USA.

Heather grew up surrounded by storytelling, literature, theatre and music. When she was eight years old her mother, Dr Barbara McDermitt, began her PhD on folk narrative at the School of Scottish Studies at Edinburgh University. Heather was very fortunate to be taken by her mother on many recording trips over the following years. These included visiting the Gaelic tradition bearer Nan MacKinnon on the Island of Vatersay in the Outer Hebrides; the master storytellers from the Scottish Traveller tradition, such as Stanley Robertson and Betsy Whyte; and the Appalachian storyteller Ray Hicks in the USA.

Jackie is a retired teacher with over 30 years’ experience spanning Nursery to S6, including additional support needs. She has a passion for story and has run various storytelling clubs and workshops for young people and school staff in Aberdeenshire.

She is a founder member of the Grampian Association of Storytellers which was established to support storytellers and encourage the development of storytelling in the north-east of Scotland. Through this group she has led various workshops (both in person and online) for those who want to develop their storytelling skills.  Currently she works part-time for the Elphinstone Institute at Aberdeen University where part of her remit is to support the development of diversity in storytelling in the north-east.

Rachael is the Education Manager at Fèis Rois where she manages the organisation’s schools programme. Prior to taking up this post at Fèis Rois in September 2010 she was the Artistic Director of Firefly Arts, a youth arts company based in West Lothian. Rachael started at Firefly Arts as a trainee drama workshop leader, before she went on to the roles of Associate Director for Education and then Associate Director of Youth Theatre.

Through the Richter Foundation, she has facilitated theatre workshops across Europe as well as co-delivering training for European youth workers. Rachael has a BA in Theatre and Media Drama from the University of Glamorgan and following the completion of her degree she became one of the first RANK foundation apprentices, where she was a youth worker for the RCDA Youth Service. Rachael was brought up going to the Gordon Gaitherin in Aberdeenshire, where she loved learning traditional music.

Translator, Editor of Box & Fiddle Magazine, Scottish Dance instructor, Ceilidh Caller

Bea has been storytelling for over 20 years to audiences of all ages. Bea’s early career was as a stage manager, working in theatre and for BBC Television in London, Bristol and Glasgow. Telling stories from Scotland and around the globe, her greatest love is to experience the powerful effect that stories can have on listeners and to see the magic and wonder on the faces of children. She uses songs, rhymes and stories with lots of participation when working with children and the elderly.

She has facilitated workshops for the Edinburgh Book Festival, Scottish Storytelling Centre, many local authorities, and colleges of education; passing on skills to teachers, nursery workers, foreign language and drama students, parents, tour guides, writers and for organisations and business. She has been a keynote speaker at conferences for librarians, teachers of special needs and early years’ workers and run creative writing workshops for Advanced Higher English students in Aberdeenshire.

Bea is also very experienced with elderly and dementia groups and works in care homes and day centres where she combines stories, songs and poems to facilitate reminiscence work.

Dan Serridge is a storyteller, community artist and facilitator who creates vibrant and exciting storytelling projects for all ages and abilities. He tells stories and helps people to tell theirs, supporting everyone to see their experiences as pieces of artwork waiting to be told. Through a combination of the personal and the folkloric Dan explores the power of metaphor and meaning that sharing stories can hold.

Dan is now based in Glasgow, following several years developing adult training programmes and managing projects for The Village Storytelling Centre he now has extensive experience of working in all contexts and environments.

Dan has worked for a variety of organisations including Theatre by the Lake, Macrobert Arts Centre, Tramway, Simon Community Scotland, Sense Scotland and NHS Scotland.

Pamela King is Professor Emerita of Medieval Studies and Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the School of Critical Studies, University of Glasgow. Before her return to Scotland, she held academic, managerial, and governance posts in the Universities of York, London, Cumbria and Bristol. Her still-active research and publications focus on editing and critiquing Scots and English early poetry and drama, as well as theatre and performance history. She also has a long-standing interest in European civic festivals – survivals, revivals and reinventions.

From 2013-2021, she took over her family’s property in Assynt, and lived there between April and September, running an eco-friendly tiny house on the NC500, keeping bees, leading walks focused on the Clearances, and acting on the Board of Historic Assynt. Currently she is Treasurer of Edinburgh Folk Club, a member of the Board of the Scottish Text Society. She is also a crafter, specializing in silver-smithing, and is fluent in Early Scots and in Doric.

Wendy Timmons advocates for dance nationally and internationally both as the Convenor for the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland Board of Trustees and the Health and Wellbeing Trustee at Dance Base, Scotland’s national centre for dance. She also serves on the Editorial Board for Research in Dance Education Journal. Wendy is a Senior Lecturer in Dance Science and Education at Moray House School of Education and Sport, the University of Edinburgh.

With over forty years’ experience working with dance artists and teachers, she completed her PhD at the University of Edinburgh and continues her research in dance medicine and science seeking to enable dancers to realise their full potential.

Image by Bluesky Photography 

Jen’s journey encompasses a diverse range of roles that collectively illustrate her enthusiasm and commitment to the music industry and her drive for continued learning. Within the music landscape, she set up and runs The Bothy Society, concentrating on Contemporary Scottish Traditional Music. Concurrently, she holds significant roles as a live booking agent at Apex Music International and an A&R Scout for Fiction Records under Universal Music Group. In academia, she contributes as a senior lecturer and module leader, guiding the development and delivery of specialised BA Hons courses in Music Business & Marketing at the award-winning music production school Point Blank. She has coordinated tours and managed logistics for chart topping and multi award-winning artists at Sound Travels Live, promoted events with DF Concerts, and led label management at King Tuts Recordings. She also serves on the boards of the Scottish Music Industry Association and MusicALL Scotland.

Eleanor is a dance artist and teacher in both Highland and Step Dance.

She is an associate member of the British Association of Teachers of Dancing with a Masters in Arts and Cultural Management. With close connections to the Hebrides and Northern Isles, Eleanor taught Highland Dance in the Western Isles for a number of years before leaving to travel abroad.

Eleanor now works in arts marketing for a community arts and heritage venue in Argyll and plans to continue her practice as a teaching artist in the near future.