Organic distillery fills ‘Hope lies in dreams’ casks

A DISTILLERY on the Morvern peninsula is marking 2020 by launching 60 limited edition casks. Nc’nean, named after the Gaelic queen of the spirits, will stencil each of the barrels with the phrase “Hope lies in dreams” to mark the coronavirus pandemic and its impact. The casks will be filled with spirit distilled this year.…

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Aboyne Highland Games stages online piping contest

THREE of the piping competitions held by Aboyne Highland Games will shift online this summer. The open competitions for the piobaireachd, march, and strathspey and reel categories will be held virtually on 1 August. Two-thirds of the 32 competitors come from the UK, with the remainder from North America. Recordings of their performances will be…

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Face coverings in gondola as Nevis Ranges eyes return

FOOT passengers and cyclists using the mountain gondola at Nevis Range will be asked to wear face coverings when the outdoor activities centre reopens. The site – which attracts 75% of its visitors between May and September for walks, mountain bike rides and other outdoor activities – expects to welcome visitors back from 15 July.…

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Rum distillery prepares to release summer liqueurs

PAUL and Jacine Rutasikwa, the husband-and-wife team behind Matugga Distillers in Livingston, are getting ready to launch a pair of rum liqueurs. Their honey and lavender and raspberry and hibiscus flavours will go on sale next month. They’ll join the navy strength, pot distilled and black spiced rums in the company’s Liv range, which was…

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School delivers 700 online lessons each week

STRATHALLAN SCHOOL is delivering 700 live online lessons each week to its pupils during the lockdowns. Its “Strath Worldwide” remote learning facilities will have be used to conduct more than 7,000 lessons by the end of the independent school’s summer term. Other online activities have included one-to-one tutorials, sports and training sessions, music lessons, ensemble…

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Five of the best from Lidl’s latest wine tour

Head to Italy is Peter Ranscombe’s advice when it comes to the German supermarket’s latest summer special offer. IN THE big scheme of things, this definitely ranks as a #FirstWorldProblem – but the coronavirus lockdown has played havoc with wine writers’ routines. While many masterclasses with individual producers have shifted online, it’s much harder for…

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Horse trials will gallop back with ‘special’ 2021 event

Organisers of the Land Rover Blair Castle International Horse Trials have promised that 2021’s event will be all the more special after being forced to cancel this summer’s meeting due to the coronavirus pandemic. This year’s event, which had been due to take place on 27-30 August, was cancelled last night. In a joint statement,…

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Fairy Glen acquired by Woodland Trust Scotland

Woodland Trust Scotland has purchased a favourite summer picnic spot of Andrew Carnegie. The millionaire industrialist and philanthropist bought the Skibo Estate, and its Ledmore and Migdale woods in 1897 and would return with his family to spend summer holidays until the outbreak of the First World War. The Carnegies named their favourite woodland walk…

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Capturing an estate in its year-round glory

Straloch Estate sits on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park, a diverse and beautiful spot for visitors. Photographer John MacPherson’s challenge was to capture the essence of this vast estate as a birthday gift for owner Lucy Holt from her husband Will. ‘I was approached to show the way the estate changes over the…

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