- This event has passed.
Doors Open Day 2025 at Lock 16
September 20, 2025 @ 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
FreeAs part of Doors Open Day 2025, Scottish Canals and Historic Environment Scotland (HES) are opening up the former A.G. Barr Factory in Camelon on Saturday 20 September 2025, 11am – 4pm – and our team will be there too!
Doors Open Day is Scotland’s largest free festival celebrating places and stories, new and old. Every September, people can explore hundreds of fascinating buildings across Scotland for free. Some open up once a year, some just once a lifetime.
The former A.G. Barr Factory, located at Lock 16, Portdownie Road, Falkirk, FK1 4QY, was the original production hub for the Irn-Bru makers, who first produced “Scotland’s other national drink” there in 1901. The company originated in Falkirk in 1875, and has been part of the town, and the district as a whole, ever since, even after the factory’s closure and production moved to Cumbernauld in 1996.
Scottish Canals and HES have been working together to transform Lock 16 into a waterside hub for community, heritage skills, and local employment. For Doors Open Day 2025, they will be opening the historic factory building for people to explore the space and hear from different exhibitors and stallholders about the different traditional skills that will be offered in the new centre (plus details on volunteering across Falkirk District from our team!).
There will also be demonstrations of traditional crafts and skills by sector professionals throughout the day.
The event is designed as an opportunity to explore how heritage skills are being preserved and passed on, and how the new centre will support learning and training across Scotland.
“From thatching and blacksmithing to stonemasonry and conservation, maintaining these skills across generations will be vital in sustaining Scotland’s historic environment and architectural heritage.
“HES Trainees and Craft Fellows will showcase a range of traditional materials and craft skills including stonemasonry, analysis, stained glass and blacksmithing.”
The HES Digital Documentation and Innovation Team will provide demonstrations of its work in action, as well as virtual tours of HES properties, providing insight into how these techniques are used to conserve Scotland’s historic environment. HES collections and archives teams will also be on hand to share information on how the public can access archive material of the local area.
For further information, including a list of activities and some stallholders, please visit the Doors Open Day website (linked for your convenience), or the Scottish Canals Facebook event.
