News
Langholm Moor buyout hits £2.2m target
THE South of Scotland’s largest community buyout will double in size after campaigners raised £2.2 million to buy Langholm Moor. The Langholm Initiative will buy the 5,300 acres of land and three properties from Buccleuch Estates. The Dumfriesshire town hit its fundraising target in time for last Sunday’s deadline. Nearly 3,000 people donated to the…
Read MoreUniversity of Aberdeen Zoology Museum reopens
THE University of Aberdeen Zoology Museum is reopening, with a special history and heritage festival organised for September. The museum has featured in many school trips and family days-out since the 1970s. Refurbishment work and then the coronavirus pandemic led to the site being closed for several years. Having now reopened to the public, the…
Read MoreConifox breaks assault course world record
CONIFOX Adventure Park at Kirkliston near Edinburgh has broken the world record for the longest inflatable assault course. “The Tartan Titan“, which opens on Saturday, measures 568 metres in length – longer than five football pitches. It smashed the previous world record by 73 metres. Official adjudicator Glenn Pollard said: “Guinness World Records titles are…
Read MoreFree Harry Potter samples used to promote literacy
THE opening chapter of the first Harry Potter children’s book is being made available for free online this summer to promote literacy. The first pages of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone are being released through the Wizarding World website. Amazon is also streaming the first book for free via its Audible audio book shop…
Read MoreUnion Chain Bridge refit enters final stage
RESTORATION work on the famous Union Chain Bridge connecting Scotland to England is nearly complete. The 202-year-old bridge, which links Fishwick in Berwickshire to Horncliffe in Northumberland, was closed in October 2020. Engineers have dismantled the world’s oldest vehicle suspension bridge and are inspecting, repairing, and refurbishing each component. All the chains and deck hangers…
Read MoreThe Proclaimers launch Mary’s Meals walking challenge
THEY rose to fame by walking 500 miles in song, but now The Proclaimers have set a walking challenge to raise money for Mary’s Meals. Brothers Craig and Charlie Reid are backing the charity’s Move for Meals campaign, which asks Scots to get sponsored to move – by walking, dancing, skipping, or swimming. Charlie said:…
Read MoreDandelion Festival sends mini vertical farms on bike tour
FOUR miniature vertical farms are heading on a bike tour around Scotland as part of the Dandelion Festival. A quartet of electrically-assisted cargo bikes will carry the “growing cubes” to ten towns and cities over the course of the month. School playgrounds, city parks, and town centres are all on the itinerary. Cyclists will also…
Read MoreScots esports team goes to Commonwealth Games
SCOTLAND’S esports team is heading to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this weekend. The squad will be competing at the tournament for the first. Team Scotland will face fellow players from throughout the Commonwealth. Two computer games will be played at the tournament – e-football and “Rocket League”, which involves playing football with cars. Coach…
Read MoreWorld’s smallest whisky bar opens for Fringe
THE world’s smallest whisky bar has opened in the Scottish capital ahead of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. A former police telephone box on the corner of Hope Street and Shandwick Place has been turned into a tiny bar by whisky bottler Cask 88. There’s only enough room inside for one bartender and one guest. The…
Read MoreThe Islay Boys toast island’s 12th distillery
ARGYLL & Bute Council has granted The Islay Boys planning permission to build the island’s 12 distillery. Mackay Smith and Donald MacKenzie both hail from the Rhinns peninsula on Islay’s west coast and launched their whisky bottling company, The Islay Boys, in 2016. Now, the pair has teamed up with Ian Macleod Distillers to build…
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