NTS gardens springing back into action

THE National Trust for Scotland (NTS) is preparing to reopen around 30 of its gardens from 6 July. Culzean Country Park in Ayrshire, Brodie Castle’s garden and estate in Moray, and Crathes Castle’s garden and estate in Aberdeenshire are among the properties that will begin welcoming back guests. The trust’s countryside sites, including St Abb’s…

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Chicken wings its way to charities

Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) has donated 1.4 tonnes of chicken to Scottish food banks, school breakfast clubs and homeless shelters. The meat, which included 600kg of whole chicken, 250kg of chicken legs and 615kg of chicken breasts, was donated by SRUC from its carcass evaluation unit on the Auchincruive Estate in South Ayrshire. The chicken…

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Nicola Benedetti’s new Elgar album

Ayrshire’s Nicola Benedetti’s new album, exploring music by Britain’s best loved composer, Edward Elgar, will be released digitally on 15 May 2020. The centrepiece of the album from the Grammy-award-winning violinist is his vast Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61 – considered one of the most technically demanding violin concertos and a marathon for…

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Loch Lomond Group switches to making sanitiser

Independent distiller the Loch Lomond Group has completed production of its first batch of hand sanitiser with deliveries across the country scheduled for today, 1 April. The group has already started working with Fareshare Scotland, who will ensure onward distribution to those who need it most in our society, helping to support Scotland’s most vulnerable…

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Boswell Book Festival returns for its 10th outing

The 10th Boswell Book Festival will take place at Dumfries House in Ayrshire later this year. Running from 8-10 May, the event was founded to celebrate the life and work of the great writer and long recognised inventor of modern biography, James Boswell of Auchinleck. Set in the beautifully restored house, saved for the nation…

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Grammy award win for Scots violinist Nicola

Scots violinist Nicola Benedetti has won the Grammy for Best Classical Instrumental Solo for Wynton Marsalis: Violin Concerto; Fiddle Dance Suite. She collected the award at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles yesterday, Sunday 26 January. Benedetti, from Ayrshire, is the first classical solo violinist to perform at the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony in 10…

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David Tennant returns to Scotland for new drama

A new thriller set in Scotland continues tonight on our TV screens. When a seemingly perfect and happy family is murdered by someone they know and trust, the small Scottish community they call home becomes riven with doubt and suspicion as those closest to the family begin to question everything they thought they knew about…

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Campaign launched to showcase new SWC300 route

A new campaign is aiming to bring more visitors to south west Scotland by showcasing the remarkable offering of the South West Coastal 300 touring route. SWC300 Touring Road Route is a digital campaign led by Visit South West Scotland (VSWS) looking to increase awareness of the new route among key markets identified by VisitScotland.…

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No Brexit or election hit for Ayrshire property

Independent property consultancy Galbraith reports that the Ayrshire housing market has continued to be active. This is despite the dual effect of an impending general election and the continued Brexit uncertainty which was expected to have caused a slowdown. The firm’s quarterly sales report for the period from 1 July to 30 September 2019 shows…

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Enjoy Christmas with the queen of romantic comedies

The festive season is on the way, and that can only mean one thing – there’s a Jenny Colgan book on the way. Scotland’s queen of the romantic comedy, originally from Prestwick in Ayrshire, is back with An Island Christmas, which is published on 31 October in paperback. The beautiful island of Mure takes centre…

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