Funding available to save crumbling buildings

Funding of £10 million is being made available to preserve Scotland’s past. The money comes from the latest round of the Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme, under Historic Environment Scotland’s (HES) flagship conservation and regeneration funding programme. Applications are now open for local authorities, national park authorities, voluntary sector organisations and community groups to apply for…

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Children enjoyed a taste of Scotland at their big picnic

More than 100 young people gathered at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo to launch the 2018 One Planet Picnic celebrations. This is an initiative which is set to get people from all over Scotland discovering the great tastes of seasonal food and local harvests, and is run by environmental charity, Keep Scotland Beautiful. Young members of the…

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The Scottish theatre that’s staging its own comeback

Abandoned theatres tug at our emotions. As glories of a past age, they’re up there with steam locomotives and gramophones, yet there’s an inherent sadness when places created for entertainment close. Perhaps they fall into disuse because the fun and laughter have gone? That was how Aberdeen’s Tivoli Theatre was left in 1999, when the…

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Edinburgh’s Mercat Cross is beautifully restored

A major project to restore Edinburgh’s iconic Mercat Cross has been completed. The Lord Lyon King of Arms and Lord Provost of Edinburgh led a re-dedication ceremony, celebrating the monument’s return to use after three months of conservation work. The City of Edinburgh Council, with the support of Historic Environment Scotland, Graciela Ainsworth Sculpture Conservation…

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Don’t forget impact of Brexit on the shooting industry

Shooting in post-Brexit Britain is an issue that must not be forgotten during negotiations, Membersof the European Parliament have been told. The Countryside Alliance and the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), representing FACE UK, held a series of meetings with senior MEPs at the European Parliament in Strasbourg this week to stress the…

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Four star status for revamped New Lanark Mill Hotel

The newly renovated New Lanark Mill Hotel is celebrating its 20th birthday with a new 4 Star status awarded by Visit Scotland. Unlike any other hotel in Scotland, the New Lanark Mill Hotel was originally an 18th century cotton mill. After years of painstaking restoration work by New Lanark Trust, the hotel opened for business…

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Killer whale spotters descend on the north coast

Whale spotters have descended on the north of Scotland for the Sea Watch Foundation’s annual Orca Watch event. At the end of May, the Pentland Firth welcomes back the charity’s Orca Watch, when the north coast of Scotland is visited by hundreds of whale enthusiasts, tourists and local media wanting to witness the passage of…

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Countryside Alliance hits back at claims over lead

The Countryside Alliance has hit back at  claims which attacked the use of lead ammunition. The Lead Ammunition Group says that the numbers of common pochard, a duck species at risk of global extinction, have fallen substantially over the past 30 years, and this decline can be partly attributed to the fact that they eat…

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Scotland’s National Parks looking for new board members

New members are wanted to join the boards of Scotland’s National Parks. The Scottish Government is looking to appoint new members to the boards of the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) and the Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA). Established in 2002, Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park covers some 1864sq…

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Learn skills that helped build walls across Scotland

Traditional skills are at the heart of a course which is coming to Aberdeenshire next month. Building and repairing dry stone walls is at the heart of a two-day course will provide hands-on instruction and training in the skills and techniques involved in constructing and repairing the walls, running on Thursday 21 and Friday 22…

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