Farmers can benefit from three key areas

Many Scottish farmers could benefit from commercial opportunities in three key sectors which offer the potential to transform their businesses. That’s the view of leading independent rural property consultants Galbraith, the renewable energy, forestry and tourism sectors are still offering attractive returns. Speaking at the firm’s farming seminar for 160 industry figures today (Friday), Ian…

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Along The Divide: Walking The Wild Spine of Scotland

Described as possibly the world’s most experienced long-distance walker, Chris Townsend returns with a new memoir . This details his journey across Scotland’s Watershed, which runs between the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, a distance of 1,200km or 745 miles. Townsend, author of 22 books on the outdoors including the award-winning The Backpacker’s Handbook,…

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Students have their say on forestry industry plans

Young people aiming to be part of the future workforce of Scotland’s £1 billion forestry industry have been having their say on long-term plans for the sector. Mairi Gougeon, Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment, today met students from Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) at its Barony campus in Dumfries. In an event organised…

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Removing Japanese Knotweed is not an easy process

One of the – literal – growing problems in Scotland is Japanese Knotweed. Japanese Knotweed is one of the toughest, most damaging and insidious plants in the world. There’s even an old wives’ tale about this weed growing so menacingly, that it can ‘creep over cat’s feet.’ It’s also challenging to eradicate and can grow…

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Scots eaterie named as one of the top five in the world

A Scottish eaterie has been named by the US-based Wall Street Journal as one of five restaurants in the world worth travelling for. The Three Chimneys, on the Isle of Skye, was named by the influential daily newspaper as one of five dining experiences in the world worth planning a trip around, and the only…

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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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A beautiful country house with prime fishing spot

A grand country house on the riverbank with a prime stretch of fishing is now on the market. Presented by Stutt and Parker, Waterstone House and Fishings, in Banchory, Aberdeenshire, is for sale as a whole, or in two lots. Lot one is Waterstone House, and is for sale for offers over £1,100,000. This is…

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The forgotten past of Scotland’s secret gardens

This summer’s dry weather has revealed the forgotten past of hidden and long-lost gardens across the country. The Oxford English Dictionary describes a garden as ‘an enclosed piece of ground devoted to the cultivation of flowers, fruit or vegetables’. And to all intents and purposes that is exactly what it is, but it still seems…

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Battle royal – the story of the Battle of Culloden

In 1746, the last land battle fought on the mainland of the United Kingdom ended the Jacobite ‘Forty-Five’ rising. It also terminated both the military and the political cause of the exiled Stuarts and, as in all civil wars, was followed by merciless retribution from the victors. The political background was simple; the Stuarts wanted…

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Thomas Telford – the colossus of roads

Scot Thomas Telford was arguably the greatest builder of roads, bridges and canals Britain has ever seen. But he could scarcely have had a more difficult start in life. Born in a little cottage beside the Meggat Water in Eskdale in the Scottish Lowlands in August 1757, his father John was a shepherd who tragically…

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