A Week in Whisky: Colourful capers

GLENKINCHIE Distillery in East Lothian has been presented with a gold certificate by the Green Tourism scheme. The site is only the third distillery in Scotland to receive the accreditation. It is also the first premises owned by Diageo, Scotland’s largest distillery, to achieve the standard. The distillery has installed beehives, bat houses and bug…

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Foraging for rosehips and crab apples helps care homes

EAST Lothian residents are being asked to forage for rosehips and crab apples to help residents in care homes. Tom Chisholm and Rupert Waites, who founded drinks company Buck & Birch, have launched a foraging campaign called “Restoring Vital Connections”. They want people to bring them rosehips and crab apples, which they will make into…

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Scottish Opera’s outdoor performances begin

GREENOCK plays host to Scottish Opera this afternoon as its series of autumn pop-up operas begins. The programme shifts to East Lothian on Sunday, followed by Ayr, Stirling, Easterhouse, Glasgow, Inverness, Dundee, Edinburgh and St Andrews during the rest of the month. This season’s pop-up operas feature extracts from The Gondoliers and Don Giovanni, along with The…

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Doddie Weir’s whisky toasts medical research

RUGBY legend Doddie Weir has taken deliver of 378 very special bottles of whisky. The Scotch came from a cask that Weir selected when he visited Glenkinchie distillery in East Lothian earlier this year. Distillery owner Diageo has donated to bottles to Weir’s My Name’5 Doddie Foundation. The foundation will use the bottles as prizes…

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Record results for Belhaven Hill School

PUPILS at Belhaven Hill School in East Lothian have managed to post record exam results during the coronavirus lockdown. All 28 boys and girls aged 12 to 13 were accepted into their first-choice senior schools in Scotland and England. Headmaster Henry Knight said: “Just shy of 80% of all grades at common entrance are A*,…

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Furloughed foodies flock to support local food and drink

More than 3,500 people have supported Scottish food and drink businesses by searching for produce in the supportlocal.scot online directory during lockdown, according to the latest figures. Nearly 300 suppliers are promoting their wares through the website, which was created by industry body Scotland Food & Drink. Demand for Scottish produce has risen during the…

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Pupils booked up for an exciting train journey

Pupils at a Scots school received a visit from the authors of an exciting new book. Prior to schools closing with the coronavirus pandemic, more than 150 East Lothian school children listened to bestselling and award-winning author Maya Leonard and her co-author Sam Sedgeman talk about their brand new book, Adventures on Trains: The Highland…

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Architectural gem for offers over £8million

Seton Castle, a late architectural masterpiece designed by Robert Adam in 1789 and built using stone from Seton Palace (said to be Mary Queen of Scots’ favourite residence), has been launched onto the market. Presented by Savills and Rettie, and situated within 10 miles of Edinburgh in the lush East Lothian countryside close to the…

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New cameras spot return of the Northern Gannets

The Scottish Seabird Centre is welcoming the arrival of the first gannets in 2020 with the installation of brand-new state of the art cameras. At the centre’s new interactive Discovery Experience in North Berwick, budding Sir David Attenboroughs and Liz Bonnins will be able to take control of the cameras for themselves to observe the…

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10 fantastic places to visit in… Fort William

Think of Fort William, and the chances are you’ll think of the great outdoors. It’s known as the outdoor capital of the UK for a reason. Here we present 10 great places to visit in Fort William. JACOBITE STEAM TRAIN This is the train to take for one of the most beautiful railway journeys ever.…

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