Nansen's inception
Nansen's inception
Nansen International Children's Centre, NICC in short, was established in Krattebøl, north of Oslo, Norway. NICC was a brainchild of the late Ernest Davies and his wife, Margaret. NICC Krattebøl was operational for nearly two decades, but seized its operations in the eighties.
Two offsprings were established from NICC Norway.
One project established itself south of Oslo and one project established itself near Herefordshire on the border of England and Wales.
The Nansen project in Herefordshire moved to the Highlands in 1993 under the name of Nansen Society.
In 1999, Nansen Society changed its name into Nansen Highland and became a Scottish Charity.
Redcastle station, its history
The Black Isle Railway was originally a branch of the Highland Railway network.
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It carried passengers from 1894 until 1951 (freight until 1960) and ran from Muir of Ord to Fortrose with intermediary stations at Redcastle, Allangrange, Munlochy and Avoch.
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Much of the railway track and many of the former railway structures have been lost. However, the enthusiast can trace parts of the original route and a few of the original railway buildings still exist.
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The old train station was found abandoned.
Since 1991, a long and continuous effort has restored the building.
​A conscious effort is been made to keep it as original as possible.​
Why named after Fridtjof Nansen?
Fridtjof Nansen was an explorer and humanitarian.
The name was chosen by the first project based in Krattebøl, due to the humanitarian work Nansen did. One of his famous quotes is:
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"The difficult is what takes a little time; the impossible is what takes a little longer"
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More can be found about his life and work here.