Our £150k ‘Road to the Arctic’ fundraising campaign will kick-start the building of the proposed John Rae Arctic Centre.
There is a long road ahead for the John Rae Society in achieving its aim to save and restore Hall of Clestrain, including creating a new access road to the site. Currently, we access the site through a road that goes through a working farm thanks to the generosity of our neighbour. However, once we start construction and then open the site to the public we will need our own road and car park.
Which is why in March 2023 we launched the Road to the Arctic Fund to raise £150k to create that new road. And we are delighted to say we have already raised £61k towards the £150k needed to create a road that will allow us to bring in the heavy plant that will be needed to restore Hall of Clestrain, part 1 of a two stage project.
We give huge thanks to the donors that have already supported this appeal including £10,000 from Birsay Energy, £5,000 from Highland Park, £2,000 from Arizona businessman, David Connell, £12,000 from another Connecticut private donor, a sizeable donation from cruise operator Adventure Canada, an anonymous £3,000 donation from Canada that comes hot on the heels of a $15,000 donation to the fund, again anonymous, from the US.
The road is an important milestone for the project and we will be excited to see construction begin on what will be a hugely valuable asset for Orkney and our culture.”
– PRESIDENT OF THE JOHN RAE SOCIETY, ANDREW APPLEBY
John Rae Society President Andrew Appleby said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive these kind and much-needed donations. They will allow us to realise the first part of our urgent scheme to save the Hall, John Rae’s birthplace, from further deterioration.
“The board would like to publicly thank all our donors for their continued support and belief in our project. We are determined to save the hall and create a legacy for the life achievements of John Rae as one of our Great Scots.”
We have now put in an application to renew planning permission for that road, as the last permission lapsed.
If you are interested in finding out more, please get in touch with our project manager genna.adkins@johnraesociety.com