James Carter
“Get yourself a role, a job, or as a volunteer, or in some way that gets you into contact, face-to-face contact, with the public...”
James Carter
James discovered interpretation as a discipline in the mid 1980s. Joining the Centre for Environmental Interpretation combined his interests in landscape, people, communication, and writing, and with the CEI he set up an interpretation office in Scotland. He then went freelance, producing A Sense of Place, which became a key reference for interpretation practice in the UK and beyond. James describes interpretation as welcoming people to places and offering meaningful, often physical and emotional, ways for them to engage with history and geography. He champions creative, place-based approaches. Memorable projects include work in the Tweed Valley and Knockan Crag.
These interviews were recorded in 2025/26, our 50th anniversary year, by oral historian Dr Hamish Pottinger with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The full interviews are available to researchers on request. Contact us for more information.
More Oral Histories
Iona Keen
“It's one of the most inclusive fields, I think. […] I'm going to go and say it's the most inclusive field in the heritage sector.”
Read more
David Masters
“One of the underlying purposes of good interpretation is actually to encourage people to slow down a little bit.”
Read more
Jackie Lee
“Being in AHI, people say these things - ‘I found my people’ well that is exactly what it is.”
Read more
Jim Mitchell
“Especially in the UK, the history and the wildlife on most sites are really inextricably linked.”
Read more