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A nine-year-old boy stood for over an hour in the rain to make sure he was the first person to visit a north east monument after it re-opened for the first time since the Coronavirus pandemic hit.

Nelson’s Tower in Forres opened on Saturday. It had not been open since it closed for the season in September 2019.

And Teddy Gadalla who was a regular visitor to the Tower before the pandemic made sure he was first in the queue.

He said: “I was very excited when I found out it was opening. I used to visit it every other week and I have missed it. I still came up to Cluny Hill whilst the Tower was shut, but I was excited to be able to go up the Tower again.”

Teddy who attends Drumduan School visited the Tower with his grandma Nahed Gadalla and she added: “I got a call from his mum saying he was excited about it re-opening so he dragged me up the hill. He wanted to make sure he was first so we came up early.”

Teddy and his grandma climbed the Tower with Forres Heritage volunteer Michael Ellison who also allowed him to help raise the red ensign which signified that the Tower is open.

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Despite standing in the rain to secure his spot, the sun shone once Teddy reached the top of the tower.

Michael said: “I have been volunteering with the Trust for four years. It’s great to be able to help people see the view and share the Tower’s history. It was also great to arrive on re-opening day to a steady queue of people. It was quite emotional raising the flag for the first time in almost two years. It’s great to be back.”

Also visiting the tower was Laurie Piper, Chief Executive of Moray Speyside Tourism.

He said: “I am delighted that Nelson’s Tower is open again. It was great to see a queue of people waiting for the doors to open and the Heritage Trust volunteers so happy to welcome visitors back. Visit Moray Speyside were pleased to support the Trust and its volunteers to re-open one of the most prominent visitor attractions in Forres.”

The Forres Heritage Trust is using the Moray Speyside Check & Protect app to securely check in visitors with one simple sign-on.

The tourism organisation also supported the Trust with advice on how to re-open safely.

He said: “I am delighted to see Nelson’s Tower re-open and to see the volunteers back welcoming the visitors. It was great to see people excited for the monument to be open again. Moray Speyside was more than happy to support the Trust and its volunteers to re-open one of the most prominent visitor attractions in Forres.”

The Forres Heritage Trust is using the Moray Speyside Check & Protect app to securely check in visitors with one simple sign-on.

The tourism organisation also supported the Trust with advice on how to open safely.

The Tower which stands on Cluny Hill in Grant Park will open Friday to Monday 2pm-4pm until the end of September.  

To find out more about Nelson’s Tower and volunteering with the Trust please visit: www.forresheritage.co.uk

Nelson’s Tower is set to re-open later this month for the first time since the Coronavirus pandemic hit.

The Tower has not been open since it closed for the season in September 2019.

But now, the Forres Heritage Trust which looks after the Tower has said it is looking forward to welcoming back visitors.

The Tower which stands on Cluny Hill in Grant Park usually opens every day from the start of April until the end of September, but now will open Friday to Monday 2pm-4pm from July 31.

The Trust is also hoping that more volunteers will come forward to help welcome visitors.

Peter Haworth who co-ordinates the volunteers said he was delighted the Tower was opening for part of the season: “We are very excited to be opening up again and whilst we may not have the wealth of overseas tourists that the tower usually attracts, we are looking forward to welcoming those holidaying at home and locals who have missed being able to enjoy the views from the top.”

He added: “A number of our volunteers have decided they can no longer commit to doing stints at the Tower so we are also appealing for more people to support us so we can spread the bulk of the work. We only ask our volunteers to do one two-hour session a month, so it’s not too time consuming, although if people want to do more that is fantastic. All our volunteers are given training and an information pack on the history of the Tower. It’s really fulfilling, and you get to meet so many different people.”

George Alexander, chairman of the Trust said: “Whilst we could have opened sooner than we are, we take the safety of our volunteers and visitors very seriously and it’s only now that we feel that we can open the Tower.

“Some fellow Trustees, ably assisted by other volunteers, have worked extremely hard to find a way to get the Tower open. We have had support from Moray Speyside Tourism who have visited the Tower with us to make sure that we are putting all that we can in place to make the Tower a safe place to visit.

“We will have a track and trace, people will be required to wear masks and the Trust will be providing disposable gloves. The gloves are required as there is a rope ‘banister’ which goes up the staircase to the top of the Tower and it is not possible to wipe this down in a way that we would be happy with.”

In 2019, over 3302 people visited the Tower which was Erected by public subscription, as a memorial to Admiral Lord Nelson.

A historic photo exhibition which is usually held in the Tolbooth will this year be done online.

The Forres Heritage Trust usually hosts two four-day events in May and September showcasing a wealth of historic photos curated by volunteers Ray Mills and Ross Dalziel.

However, in 2020 the exhibitions had to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Now, with the May event also not being able to go ahead in the historic building, the Trust has decided to put a small collection online.

Ray Mills who has been supporting the Trust with the exhibitions since 2011 explained: “Last year, both exhibitions had to be cancelled and unfortunately, at least for next month’s event we are still in the same position, so with the support of Claire Doughty who helps the Trust with publicity we have decided to put four collections online.

“It’s certainly different to how we have done things in the past, but myself and Ross are pleased that we are able to showcase some of the pictures that the Trust now has in its possession.”

The albums which will be shown include the Forres Cycling Club, the Royal Visit in August 1961, a collection from the Rev Alan Smith and Forres Academy.

Ray added: “There are around 20 pictures in each album and these are just a small sample of what is contained within the Trust’s hard copy archives and usually displayed at their exhibitions.”

The pictures will be available on the Forres Heritage Trust website from May 5, and the albums will remain on the website and be added to over time.

George Alexander, chairman of the Forres Heritage Trust which owns the Tolbooth and also looks after Nelson’s Tower said: “We are delighted that we are still able to share a small selection of the Trust’s pictures and I thank Ray and Ross for their hard work in pulling this together. Of course we will miss the interaction with the visitors who get so much joy of being able to visit the Tolbooth and talk with the volunteers about the images, but for now, hopefully this exhibition will still please many.”

George added: “We do hope that come September we may be able to invite people back into the Tolbooth for the second exhibition of the year, but at the moment we are just waiting to see how things progress.”

To view the exhibition from May 5 visit: www.forresheritage.co.uk/photo-exhibition

Santa’s helpers have been busy creating a festive trail to encourage people to get out and about in the run up to Christmas.

Following on from the success of its Halloween trail, the Forres Heritage Trust has now launched a Christmas themed hunt with kids young and old being asked to search for the 12 Days of Christmas.

Taking the lead on the project are Trustees Sandra MacIver and Ainsley James.

Sandra who set up the Halloween trail said: “We are absolutely over the moon with the response we got for the Halloween trail which was really simple and was actually pulled together very quickly. We had such great feedback on our Facebook page and people were happy to share their pictures of themselves and their children taking part in the activity. There were a number of people who even dressed up in Halloween costumes and we are hoping that people feel the same way for the Christmas trail and have a bit of fun.”

Ainsley added: “The Christmas trail will run in a similar way as the Halloween one. We have laid out 12 pictures depicting the well-known song 12 Days of Christmas and all people have to do is try and find them all. It is just for fun. The idea is to get people out and about, remind them that Forres has such a beautiful park and get them up to Cluny Hill and around Nelson’s Tower.

“Like many tourist attractions, the Trust has been unable to operate as normal this year, so this is just a gentle reminder that we are still here, working away in the background and that we still want to support our community in the hope that will be reciprocated when we can re-open.”

The Christmas Trail which starts at Mather’s in Grant Park launched on December 1and the pictures will remain in place until just after Christmas day.

The Trust hopes that people will take part and share their images to the Facebook page at @forresheritage and use the hashtag #FHTChristmas2020

Forres town centre is now all lit up after a team of volunteers spent the day erecting the festive lights.

The usual annual event where crowds gather to countdown the lights being switched on had to be cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions.

However, the Christmas Lights Committee was determined to still spread some joy to the people of Forres and the lights were switched on at the weekend without the usual pomp and ceremony.

Alan Hunter, chairman of the committee said: “Never did we think that we would be have to switch the lights on in secret, but it was the only way to do it safely and we are delighted that they are now up and on.

“It was massively important to us that the lights still got switched on this year, possibly more than any other year as we need something that will cheer up these dark nights.

“There is nothing that we would have loved more than to have been able to have our usual community event, but unfortunately like so many other important Forres events, this year it was not to be.”

Traditionally the lights have always been switched on, on the last Saturday of November with crowds congregating at the Tolbooth around the Christmas which is donated by Moray Estates and delivered by Tommy Gill.

Last year’s event included a Christmas market in the town hall, a fancy-dress parade, Elgin City Band, the Forres and District Junior Pipe Band, Kinloss Military Wives Choir and performances from pupils from the town’s schools.

“Over the last two years we have started to expand on what we offer to the community,” explained Alan. “We had hoped that we would be able to add some extra excitement to this year’s event. However, we are just delighted that the lights are up and we will all have to make sure that in 2021, we come back bigger than ever before. I want to thank every single volunteer who gave up their time.”

Over 20 volunteers spent over nine hours ensuring the lights were erected. Their work was supported by AJ Engineering who donated the use of a cherry picker operated by director and general manager Graham Alexander whilst the Forres Heritage Trust which looks after the Tolbooth allowed the volunteers to use the courtroom as a base for refreshments throughout the day.

Malcolm Simmons who was volunteering for the first time said: “It was a fun day and good to do something for the community as well as lend a hand to those who have been working hard to put up the Christmas lights for many years.

“As a family we always attend the switching on of the lights, so I felt it was important for me to give something back to the community and helping with the Christmas lights was the perfect opportunity to do something that everyone in Forres can enjoy.”