OUR SUBJECTS
Knights & Castles
Our most popular topic, Knights & Castles looks into our history, the layout of the castle, key elements of a castle and what life was like in the castle, including the many jobs done in the castle at the time, along with jousting and an armour and weapon handling session. Scottish Wars of Independence.
Scottish Wars of Independence
With a rich medieval history involving a castle destroyed at the start of the First War of Independence, Dundonald Castle is the perfect place to come for a Scottish Wars of Independence workshop. A favourite for many of our team, the Wars of Independence session includes a medieval apothecary session, item and weapon handling, jousting, shield making and a castle tour.
Vikings
Vikings has been one of our most popular topics in recent years. Our Viking session includes armour and weapon handling, a hunting game, Viking medicine making, a rune and talisman-making activity and a hunting game.
Romans
Our Romans session is a fantastic and hands-on workshop for pupils of any age. This session includes Roman item and weapon handling, a Roman medicine-making session and food game, mosaic-making, and a hunting game.
Celts
With a history stretching back as long as 3,000 years, Dundonald is the perfect place to come and discuss the Celts. Our Celt sessions include Celtic armour and weapon handling, roundhouse making, a Celtic food game and more! This session is suitable for all ages.
Jacobites
This is one of our newer topics, but has proved very popular! Most common for P5-P7 age, we cover the leaders and location of the Jacobite rebellions, the founding of the Stewart Dynasty (here at Dundonald Castle) and walk down to Auchans House where we discuss the Jacobites that lived there!
Myths & Legends
In past years, Myths & Legends has been quite a popular topic. We can cover either Norse or Scottish Myths & Legends, depending on your interest. Both topics emphasise the difference between a myth and a legend.
Norse Myths & Legends often shares a fair bit in common with our Viking topic in that we will discuss runes, Viking beliefs and medicine, and make our own talismans, but involves more lore and two story-telling sessions. Scottish Myths & legends looks into common Scottish stories such as kelpies, selkies, Robert the Bruce and the Spider, the Fairy flag of Dunvegan and more! We also speak about Scotland’s oral history tradition and will look at some Gaelic.
Archaeology
The best time to come for an archaeology visit is during our excavations, which take place most years in early Autumn when the pupils will be able to enter a real trench and assist with digging. That said, we are happy to cover the archaeology topic at other times of the year, with a mock dig (in containers), finds-washing, trench-mapping, site-mapping and conservation methods. This topic really is suitable for all ages.
Travel & Tourism
While open to everyone, this topic is best suited for older pupils and centres around heritage in Scotland. We will discuss the current issues facing built heritage in Scotland, look briefly into conservation methods and materials, and discuss our jobs, the various jobs in the heritage field, and how we found our way into heritage.
Bespoke
If you are working on a topic that is not currently on our list, feel free to email Blythe at education@dundonaldcastle.org.uk to discuss the creation of a bespoke visit for your class or group. Some bespoke subjects we have done before include Mary Queen of Scots, Scottish Kings & Queens, Gaelic Education and Outdoor Learning.
