News
Islanders slam ferry services, but praise staff
SCOTLAND’S ferry services are falling “well below” the public’s expectations, according to the Scottish Parliament. Nearly 400 individuals and groups responsed to a survey run by Holyrood’s Net Zero, Energy & Transport Committee. The results, published today, revealed anger at “short-notice service cancellations and the impact this is having on many aspects of life in…
Read MoreWildlife news round-up: Rewilding, capercaillie, and more
Peter Ranscombe rounds-up the latest wildlife news from Scotland. A MIXED picture has emerged from Scotland’s national nature reserves (NNRs) this season, with bird flu decimating great skuas – or bonxies – and gannets at Noss on Shetland, with kittiwake and Arctic terns fairing better. Terns of all varieties – Arctic, common, little, and sandwich…
Read MoreGaelic specialist celebrates winter solstice
A GAELIC specialist is helping NatureScot to mark today’s winter solstice. The Scottish Government agency, known previously as Scottish Natural Heritage, asked broadcaster, storyteller, and writer Ruairidh Maclean to compile a Gaelic compendium that “celebrates the nature, land, and heritage of Scotland in the winter”. Maclean said: “As keepers of a unique language and culture,…
Read MoreRoyal Scottish Academy gets Blackadder Houston bequest
THE Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) has received a donation worth more than £7 million from the estate of Dame Elizabeth Blackadder. The artist, who died last year, left the money to the arts charity to create the RSA Blackadder Houston Bequest. The money will help more than 60 artists and architects in Scotland each year.…
Read MoreUnion Chain Bridge prepares to reopen
THE Union Chain Bridge, which links Scotland to England, is preparing to reopen after Hogmanay. Restoration of the 202-year-old structure, the the oldest vehicle suspension bridge in the world, began in October 2020. Around 95% of the handrails are now in place and final painting work is continuing – although the surfaces need to be…
Read MoreWhisky news round-up: Glenfarclas, training, and more
Catch-up on all the latest whisky news with Peter Ranscombe‘s tongue-in-cheek round-up. CHIVAS BROTHERS – Scotland’s second-largest distiller and owner of brands including Ballantine’s, Chivas Regal, and The Glenlivet – has reopened its international graduate programme. The company, which is owned by French drinks giant Pernod Ricard, wants to find its next batch of brand…
Read MoreBeavers returning to Loch Lomond
WILDLIFE charity RSPB Scotland has been given permission to release beavers at Aber Burn in the Loch Lomond national nature reserve (NNR). A report in 2019 found beavers had already found their way into the river catchment, but now NatureScot – the Scottish Government agency known previously as Scottish Natural Heritage – is allowing the…
Read MoreSecond TV series for Pettycur Bay Holiday Park
VISITORS and staff from Pettycur Bay Holiday Park at Kinghorn in Fife will be starring on the gogglebox again next month. A second series of Life on the Bay will be shown on the BBC Scotland channel on 8 January. The eight-part series, which was made by Red Sky Productions, will also be streamed on…
Read More‘Monster meets mountain’ as Cobbs runs Nevis Range cafés
LOCH NESS-BASED hospitality group Cobbs is taking over the eateries at Nevis Range. Cobbs will run the Snowgoose and Pinemarten cafés, a gift shop, and the hotel being built at the moutain’s base station. The 26-bedroom hotel – along with a bar and restaurant, bike shop, gift shop, and a covered courtyard with events space…
Read MoreRower Jamie Douglas-Hamilton prepares for Antarctic trial
SCOTTISH adventurer Jamie Douglas-Hamilton is preparing to row from Antarctica to South Georgia to raise money for the British Heart Foundation and honour Sir Ernest Shackleton’s carpenter. Douglas-Hamilton is undertaking the row just months after undergoing open heart surgery at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh to repair a leaking aortic valve. The 950-mile expedition is…
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