Camera Obscura

General information

Kirriemuir has one of Scotland’s four remaining Camera Obscura; in 1930 Peter Pan creator J M Barrie gifted the Camera along with the cricket Pavilion in which it is housed to his home town. The Camera provides spectacular views of the surrounding Angus Glens and countryside.

A camera obscura is a device that uses lenses and mirrors to project an image that enters through a hole at roof level downwards onto a circular screen housed in a darkened room in the roof space of the building. The device can be rotated, so the view projected onto the screen can take in a complete 360 degree panorama. The Hill of Kirriemuir offers magnificent views north to the Angus Glens and the southern edge of the Cairngorms, and this is a fitting location for what at the time would have been considered a great novelty.

Until recently the Camera was operated by the National Trust for Scotland on behalf of Angus Council but due to budget cuts it was closed.

As local people we decided that we did not want to lose this well-loved, and very rare, attraction – it’s one of only four in Scotland - so we have formed Kirriemuir Regeneration Group.
We have come to an agreement with Angus Council to allow us to open and manage the Pavilion and the Camera Obscura.