Rural excellence in Scotland will be honoured

Excellence in Scotland’s countryside is to be honoured next week at the Scottish Rural Awards.

They are a celebration of the enterprise, innovation, dedication and community spirit of those who live in rural Scotland.

Now in their fourth year, the Scottish Rural Awards are partnered by Scottish Field and the Scottish Countryside Alliance, in association with the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS).

The fourth annual Scottish Rural Awards ceremony and gala dinner will take place next Thursday, 22 March, at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh.

A spokesperson for the Rural Awards said: ‘The Scottish Rural Awards are the ultimate benchmark of excellence in rural Scotland.

Winners at the 2017 Scottish Rural Awards

‘The awards showcase the true industry, innovation, dedication and community spirit of those whose work helps to create the beautiful fabric that is Scotland’s countryside.

‘Judged by an esteemed panel of industry leaders and experts, the Scottish Rural Awards is a rigorous multi-stage process, including pre-scoring by the awards team, where entries are discussed and evaluated in detail to decide a shortlist of finalists in each category. Judges may then visit finalists before further reviewing and evalusating to decide the winning entries.’

The 2018 categories are –

Artisan food; artisan drink; education; conservation and the environment; business start-up; business diversification; rural tourism; rural hospitality; rural employer; rural enterprise and innovation; agriculture; rural hero; and the lifetime achievement award.

The event is completely sold out.