HISTORY hunters are delving into Port Glasgow's past in an exciting new heritage initiative. 

People who attend the Parklea Branching Out horticulture social enterprise scheme are taking part in a project called 'Looking to the Past, Linking to the Future', to discover how the town has changed over the years. 

The 18-month project, which is under way thanks to a £90,000 cash injection from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, kicked off with an excursion to the McLean Museum archives. 

Heritage project manager Susan Rose says the activities will build towards the launch of Parklea's new £1.7m community hub, which is scheduled for this spring. 

Susan added: "We're all looking forward to our new hub and to prepare for that, we wanted to take some time to look back at how Port Glasgow has grown and developed over the years.

"Our main focus is the Parklea site itself, and we'll be learning all about the timber ponds there. It's a great opportunity for us to research our past and look ahead to our future."

Between 20 and 30 people are taking part in the heritage project and they will enjoy art, photography and research activities as they take a trip back in time. 

Susan says the activities will help the Parklea band grow in confidence as they visit different places and create pieces of work using a range of media. 

Susan added: "Everyone really enjoyed the first day of activities and learned something new about local history."