For anyone aged 12 upwards and interested in traditional and folk music there is a new residential teenage fèis (workshop) at the Lochgoilhead Centre from 27th-29th March. This is a weekend of music and fun, combined with outdoor activities.
The music side is at Lochgoilhead Fiddle Workshop. The outdoor activities are at the Lochgoilhead Centre – the former Scout Centre. The fun is everywhere. Continue reading
Yesterday For Argyll reported that the National Trust for Scotland is shedding around 90 jobs in a restructuring to deal with the recession and falling revenues.
Today, as they promised, the Trust released plans to revise the status of 11 of its 130 properties, as part of the same restructuring.
Some properties are to be closed, some to be converted for residential purposes to earn money, some to be moved to external funding and sponsorship.
Of these 11 properties, one is in Argyll and it is one of those slated to be closed. It is the famous and much loved Arduaine Garden at Loch Melfort in Mid Argyll. Arduaine is renowned for its collection of exotic plants and at this moment is hosting its Snowdrop Festival, which runs until 16th March. Arduaine is also one of the ‘Glorious Gardens of Argyll’, marketing themselves jointly to garden visitors.
The statement released by the NTS makes no reference to when Arduaine may be closed nor of what may happen to it. For Argyll is pursuing the matter and will report on it as soon as possible.
The total list of properties affected and the specific decisions taken on each of them is:
Kate Mavor, Chief Executive of the National Trust for Scotland says of these decisions: ‘We are making some difficult decisions today about some of our properties that are making a loss as part of our overall cost saving programme.
‘We will make every effort to work with our staff and external partners to minimise the changes to these properties. Our members and supporters can rest assured that we will only propose closure, or in the case of the David Livingstone Centre, relinquish management of a property, if it is absolutely necessary.
‘However the Trust is firm in its belief that doing nothing about the affects of the economic downturn is simply not an option’.
The photograph above shows the view from Loch Melfort Hotel, beside Arduaine Garden which is to the immediate right. It was taken by Mike and Kirsty Grundy and is reproduced here under the Creative Commons licence.
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What’s wrong with being asked what you want – on anything? On everything, even? Ross Perot – who funded his own campaign against Bill Clinton before what became Clinton’s first term of office, had in his manifesto what he called ‘the electronic town hall’. This would essentially be government by regular and instant referenda.
The technological capacity to do this is already here. The issue is – now that we could, if we chose, take decisions this way – is it appropriate for decisions any longer to be taken by elected representatives and not by us?
In the days when decision-taking by elected representatives began, education was not universal, travel and communications were unrecognisable to today’s world. The only practical way to get decisions taken then was to delegate responsibility to an educated few who would co-locate.
This system – with today’s mass media and speeds of mass movement of people and data – may no longer be a good fit.
Not being asked what you want and having it decided for you by others, whether or not you agree with them, is profoundly anti-democratic and reduces us to the status of juveniles.
But we’re stuck with it for the time being. So at least ask the question – and let’s all agree to work together to make the majority will work – whatever it is.
Councillor Ron Simon – pictured left – launched yesterday evening (5th March) the latest stage in years of work at Argyll and Bute Council in working with landowners, residents, local and visiting walkers to plan a network of paths across Argyll and Bute.
The draft Consultative Plan was launched at Ardrishaig Hall to an audience which included community representatives, landowners, walkers and members of Argyll Outdoor Access Forum, holding its AGM immediately after the event.
In his opening address Councillor Simon noted that, according to research at Aberdeen University, the average Scot walks 900 miles a year – and drinks 41 gallons of alcohol in the same period. Work it out. Ron Simon did – 22 miles to the gallon. Some walkers in the audience began absent-mindedly to pat their back pockets for the reassuring presence of the hip flask.
Councillor Simon then changed gear to a thoughtful and imaginative conjuring of what people’s core paths would once have been – the track’s in the grass between family crofts, between friend and friend and from township to township. Suddenly something solidly practical began to take on another dimension – our imprint on time.
Ron Simon paid tribute to the consistent work done on this project by Douglas Grierson from Argyll and Bute Council. He described Mr Grierson as having spent so many years with bundles of maps under his arm that people wondered why on earth he didn’t simply get Sat Nav if he couldn’t find his way around.
John Auld from the Outdoor Access Forum then spoke, reminding the audience that the development of the plan for the network of long distance trails – and shorter paths – through Argyll was born from Scotland’s Land Reform Act.
Mr Auld handed over to Jolyon Gritten, Access Manager for Argyll and Bute Councl and responsibe for steering this development. Mr Gritten underlined the fact that the plan has been concerned to link the core paths with water-based activities, supporting access for water craft to Argyll’s inland lochs, sea lochs and coastal waters. The draft plan identifies no fewer than 1547 launching points from the core paths. These will support the great interest in dinghy sailing, sea kayaking and canoeing, among other water-based activities.
Other key points were that 43% of the existing long-distance trails are on minor roads. These are part of the National Cycle Network developed by Sustrans. 57% of the trails are off-road – some are simple ‘trodden’ paths on grass, some are level and gravelled. (Not all trails will be accessible to everyone although many support disabled acess and use.) 28% of these off-road trails are in the forest estate and will be maintained by Forestry Commission Scotland. The remainder are on privately owned land.
Jolyon Gritten pointed out that this development of paths, by agreement and consultation, has the advatage to landowners of largely controlling the routes taken through their land by walkers; and to landowners, residents and businesses alike, of being able to gauge in advance when, in the year, there will be larger numbers of walkers coming through.
The existing main walking trails, including one in preparation, are:
Then there are the cycle tracks:
Beyond all thse resources, there are, as Ron Simon and Jolyon Gritten repeated, 353 miles of ‘aspirational’ paths – our collective wish-list. These miles represent work long into the future.
Then it was question time – with, among others, Jolyon Small from the audience making two key points. (No, this is not an error. Jolyon Gritten was presenting the plan. Jolyon Small from Ardrishaig was in the audience. From a position where the only previously known Jolyon was in The Forsyte Saga, suddenly here were a live brace of them.)
Mr Small’s first question focused on the signage for the trails which is still to be developed. Essentially he lobbied for a European or International Standard of signage to be adopted which, among other features, displays distances and times and has coloured bands on waymarks indicating information not dependant on any language. Others agreed. Mr Gritten is interested in the proposition and invited particiopation in the development of the signage system.
The choice, as Mr Small made clear, is between usability and the ‘charm’ of a plethora of local variations.
Jolyon Small’s other point was that, with the development of the core paths being a part of Argyll’s economic development plan, there is a problem in creating a magnetic attraction for walkers from elsewhere to come here. The current state of the roads by which they will cross Argyll to get to the trails is so very poor. Mr Small understood that this was not within the remit of the Council’s PUtdoor Access Team working on the core paths but – rightly – felt that the issue should be addressed nationally as part of the nexus of developments.
There will be a follow up feature on Argyll’s core paths quite soon and we will shortly add to the foot of this article a list of the venues and dates for the series of local consultations that begin on Cove on 16th March. Each of these will also be entered in the For Argyll Events Calendar on the appropriate date.
Well, we know where the Scottish Mountaineering Club‘s photographic archive is – in safe storage at Stirling University – which is the good news.
But why isn’t Scotland capitalising on this amazing resource? It would draw attention to and support one of the country’s great and enduring attractions for visitors – its mountains.
The Scottish Mountaieering Club, founded in Glasgow in 1889, is the second oldest in Scotland – by a few months. The Cairngorm Club was first.
Its photographic archive, begun soon after the club itself, holds around 20,000 images, many on glass plates.
Think how mountaineers are equipped today and imagine the practicalities of photographing Scotland’s big mountains in the late 1880s. We’ve all seen the photos of Leigh and Mallory setting off up Everest in tweed jackets and kit that the average weekend leisure walker these days wouldn’t regard as adequate. Add to that the weight and cumbersomeness of tripods and camera gear. Try tanking that up 3,000ft.
Apart from the hidden stories – like this – behind the taking of these images, they are a priceless record of eary photography as well as of the mountains of this country, those who climbed them then and how they did it.
This is a priceless resource – absolutely in line with one of Scotland’s – and Argyll’s – main targets in developing activity tourism. It needs to be seen.
The photograph above is of the ridge in Skye’s Black Cuillins. It is by Arpingstone and is reproduced here under the Creative COmmons licence.
Dalmally Livestock Auction Market is to be upgraded in a significant development by United Auctions with Scottish Government support. The news has brought a swift welcome by Highlands MSP, Jamie McGrigor, who as a farmer himself, uses the Mart.
Jamie McGrigor says: ‘I congratulate United Auctions for understanding the importance of Dalmally Auction Mart to a very large area of Scotland. Even in the bad times Dalmally has provided an upbeat service to farmers and crofters but recently has also had the threat of closure over it due to lack of modern facilities.
‘I wrote to the Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead last year requesting assistance for Dalmally Mart and am glad to see that this assistance has been forthcoming and that the improvements to Dalmally are to go ahead. This will be welcome news to those who use the market and to many who may now wish to use it in the future.
‘Hopefully more buyers will be attracted to Dalmally because of this new investment and I can only encourage them to come there as the standard of livestock is extremely high. Dalmally Market must also be one of the most beautiful settings of any market in Scotland and I am so pleased its facilities are being upgraded. This will give a boost to the confidence of the farming industry throughout the west of Scotland’.
The photograph is of Jamie McGrigor MSP at OPban. It is reproduced here with permission.
There’s an article on the SAMS Open Day tomorrow at Dunstaffnage you can read to refresh your memory on the range of things going on – and there’s a lot more thna we had room to feature.
Look forward to displays and experiences of all kinds. Here are some to tease your imagination:
This is a fabuous opportunity to get an insight into the best of today’s work on marine biology – what it means and how it’s done. It’s also designed to be famkly opriented and there are face painting sessions, films and snacks.
The day starts at 11.00am and ends at 17.00pom so drop in and be amazed at what’s on your doorstep. This is a field in which SAMS plays a leading role so you’re seeing the best there is. Admission is free. And the For Argyll film unit wll be there.
The latest e-newsletter from Cowalfest is out. This is the imaginative festival of walking and the arts in the Cowal peninsula and a notably strong performer in the Best Event category of the ForArgyll 2008 Awards.
The main news is that the 2009 Cowalfest programme – in this year of homecoming – will play its major card.
There is to be a strong focus on Rabbie Burns and Highland Mary with whom Burns had what the Newsletter describes as ‘a short but intense relationship’.
Mary Campbell was born in 1763, in a thatched cottage at Auchamore Farm near Dunoon, to Archibald and Agnes Campbell. She died young in 1786 – a short but intense life.
You can subscribe to the Cowalfest e-newsletter from the website and this issue tells you a lot more about Highland Mary – commemorated in a statue opposite the pier in Dunoon.
School kitchens at six primary schools in Argyll were down for closure in the struggle to balance Argyll and Bute Council’s budget in these hard times.
The Schools in question, with their respective roll numbers were:
The Council has now decided not to implement the decision. Council Leader Dick Walsh says: ‘Although the Council voted to close these six school kitchens as part of the budget process, discussions have continued to try to identify alternative ways to balance the books and retain the Council Tax at the same rate as we agreed with the Scottish Government.
‘I am pleased to say that a solution has now been found which will allow the council to retain the school meals service in all of these six schools, and we hope to achieve these savings through the course of the year.
‘I know that many parents and our staff who work in the kitchens will be relieved at the outcome, and regret the circumstances which led to this decision and to the worry and upset that this has caused’.
A senior team from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is in Kintyre to look at how local partnerships can work together to tackle the challenges facing the area.
Chief Executive Sandy Cumming, Chair William Roe and HIE’s Argyll team are met business and community leaders at a dinner last night (5th March) and are making a series of visits in Kintyre today.
William Roe, Chair of HIE, says: ‘We are delighted to be in Kintyre to explore with local people the issues affecting them. Partnership between government, business and representative bodies is very important in ensuring that we can effectively tackle the considerable challenges which still affect the area’.
As well as the business dinner at Craigard House Hotel, the HIE team is visiting Campbeltown Creamery to hear about its expansion plans, golfing complex Machrihanish Dunes (winner of the Best Sporting Facility Award in the ForArgyll 2008 Awards) and RAF Machrihanish – now for sale.
It seems odd that the team is not visiting the Vestas wind turbine complex, which would be, even pre-eminently, an obviously needy target. This omission can really only be interpreted one way – that the future of the plant must now be secured. If it were not, the HIE senior team would have had a serious need to engage with workers at the plant.
On the visit as a whole, Chief Executive Sandy Cumming commented: ‘This visit is part of a series of events which we are holding across the Highlands and Islands. It is vital that at this time of global economic uncertainty we have the chance to speak first hand to our customers, partners and stakeholders’.
This sort of attention to the needs of Kintyre is very welcome. Bringing together this spectrum of expertise to familiarise itself with the area, the issues and very real potential has to be positive.
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