A beautiful coach house with a link to Merlin

A stunning Peeblesshire coach house occupying a majestic woodland setting has come to the market. Bellspool Coach House, a striking conversion near Stobo, is now on the market through Strutt & Parker – in an area rich in Arthurian legend. Originally built as stabling and carriage quarters for Dawyck House around 1863 and then developed…

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Young nature champion Xander is honoured

Xander Johnston has been named Young Nature Champion in the RSPB’s prestigious Nature of Scotland Awards for his outstanding dedication to conservation in the Cairngorms National Park. Young Nature Champion is a special new award created this year to mark the Year of Young People in Scotland and the winners were announced at last week’s…

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Forgotten Scots airfield is remembered

A forgotten Scottish airfield has had its contribution to defending Britain’s skies in World War I commemorated. In April 2018, the Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust contacted East Lammermuir Community Council offering to donate a commemorative plaque to remember Skateraw airfield, on the east coast of Scotland, which opened in January 1917 as a third…

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Bronze prize at game and conservation awards

A Scots business was celebrating last night, after taking a prize at the 2018 Purdey Awards for Game and Conservation. At a ceremony held in London gun and rifle maker James Purdey & Sons’ famous Long Room, where the Bronze Award was given to Whitburgh Farms, Midlothian. They have made notable changes to their shoot…

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A beautiful new extension revamps Cairngorms base

The headquarters of the Cairngorms National Park Authority in Grantown-on-Spey has been given a stunning new look. Shortlisted at the Scottish Design Awards 2017 in the Future Building category, the project provides a new public-facing entrance to a 19th century building, as well as a new wing of flexible open plan office space and meeting accommodation.…

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The ancient art making a comeback in Scotland

The ancient craft of hedgelaying has been practiced in Scotland since Celtic times, but the method largely fell out of use after World War II when mechanisation took over the farming scene. But despite this, the craft is now enjoying something of a revival in the Borders. Graeme Walker, a Kelso native based in Newton…

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Environmentalists honoured for their hard work

Toad patrols, wildlife blogs, beach cleaning and repairing mountain paths are just some of the things happening across Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. Communities across the area came together at the Community Partnership’s annual event ‘A Green Revolution – building sustainable communities now’ in Arrochar to learn about and celebrate local people raising…

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New lighting highlights beautiful fountain at night

The Ross Fountain in Edinburgh’s West Princes Street Gardens is, for the first time, glistening after dark as the new lighting was switched on. The recently restored water feature in West Princes Street Gardens has been fitted with a low energy, state of the art, waterproof LED system integral within the fountain pools which will…

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Green turns to gold as holiday parks bag nine awards

It’s been a good month for Argyll Holidays, who came out on top at this year SOLAs and received a gold David Bellamy Conservation Award for seven of its holiday parks across the Argyll Forest. The holiday park operator beat off stiff competition at the Scottish Outdoor and Leisure Awards, taking home the Best Holiday…

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Honouring the Scots who made the White House great

A group of Scots stonemasons who were instrumental in the construction of the White House have been honoured in their home city of Edinburgh. Alex Paterson, chief executive of Historic Environment Scotland (HES) was joined by Stewart McLaurin, president of The White House Historical Association to unveil the plaque at 66 Queen Street in Edinburgh.…

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