The iconic John O’Groats hotel is set to have one final moment of glory before work begins to redevelop it as part of the regeneration of the well known tourist destination later this year. It will form the centre piece of ‘Transform’, a weekend of community celebration at the start of July at John O’Groats featuring street art, video projections, ceramic firings, story-telling, and music. The hotel, which has been a derelict and rotting backdrop to many visitor’s photos, will be madeover by street artists using spray paint to create massive pictures as well as a huge 3D Rubiks cube.…

Following an appeal by RSPB Scotland, one of the sea eagle’s made famous by an early series of Springwatch as been found living and breeding on the west coast of Scotland. Itchy featured as a chick alongside brother Scratchy, in the BBC Two programme filmed in 2005 on the Isle of Mull. Both birds were tagged and they fledged successfully in July 2005. Since then there have only been occasional sightings including one on the north end of Skye in 2007. However since the appeal, Itchy, has been found breeding with an untagged adult female in an undisclosed west coast…

The Scottish Highlands is set to benefit from the continuing trend for Brits to holiday in the UK. Early good weather around Easter, combined with the additional bank holiday, meant that the tourist season in the Highlands got off to a good start. Bookings slowed since, but the fact that the Highlands has just come top of a survey of UK staycation destinations, has given tourism businesses a reason for optimism. The survey, carried out by Travelodge, had the Highlands as the number one destination for British people planning to holiday in the UK, London was second, followed by Edinburgh,…

Fancy walking 24 miles overnight between Forres and Grantown on Spey? The annual Dava Way Ghost Train Walk will be running again this year on the weekend of 18 – 19 June and is looking for walkers to jump aboard. The walk uses the Dava Way – most of the route follows the old Highland Railway line and crosses the rarely-visited Dava Moor as well as heading through woodland and farmland. The central section of the walk goes behind the Knock of Braemoray, remote from the road or habitation apart from the now deserted steading at Bogeney. When inhabited it…

The Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park has commented on recent reports in the BBC and national newspapers on the proposal to built a theme park on Loch Lomondside. The National Park is keen to stress that it has not yet given the green light to the scheme. The reports stated that Glasgow nightclub owner, Wayne Gardner-Young was hoping to build a £100 million attraction to include zip-wires, treehouses, cafe, restaurant and visitor accommodation. The location and timescale of the proposed plan has not yet been revealed but it is understood to be somewhere on the banks of Loch…

Moorland fires have broken out in the Highlands as the long dry spell of weather continues. The BBC reports on large blazes being fought by fire crews at Torridon – where properties were under threat – in Lochaber, the Trossachs, Kintail and by Dundonnell. The fires have been burning since Saturday, and hillwalkers have had to be lifted by helicopter from Liathach, where water has also been dropped from the air on the flames. There are road closures in the Trossachs where fires are burning on the north side of Loch Katrine, and the main road through Kintail was closed…

Firefighters have been tackling a large hill fire near Drumnadrochit through the night. The large grass and gorse fire was reported on Wednesday afternoon and had spread to cover a two and half mile area around Loch Gorm, north of Milton on the Glen Urquhart route from Drumnadrochit. At the peak of the fire, over twelve units were dealing with the blaze which is now (Thurs 28 April am) believed to be under good control although four crews remain at the scene. Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue said there were no reports of injuries and that the cause of…

The hunt for Scotland’s best nature pictures is on, as part of a Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) contest to celebrate Scottish Biodiversity Week. The fifth annual Nature Photography Competition is open to both amateur and professional photographers. First prize is a one-to-one tutorial with a professional photographer; second prize is a Olympus E-450 Digital SLR camera; and third prize is a Panasonic Lumix F245 Digital Camera and a Hama Star tripod. This free contest celebrates Scottish Biodiversity Week, which runs from 21 to 29 May. This year’s theme is the gifts which nature gives to us all. SNH is looking…

Three sites in Scotland are bidding to acheive UNESCO World Heritage Site status. The three places which have reached the UK shortlist are the Forth Rail Bridge, the Flow Country of Caithness and Sutherland, and three iron age broch sites in Shetland: Mousa, Old Scatness and Jarlshof. Announcing the list, which includes another 8 eight sites in England and Wales, UK Tourism Minister John Penrose said: “Few places in the world can match the wealth of wonderful heritage we have available in the UK. “The 11 places that make up the new UK tentative list are fantastic examples of both…

The winners of the first Scottish Nature Photography awards have been announced. The overall winner was Ron McCombe, a professional photographer from Coldstream in the Borders who also won the Scottish wildlife category with this image of a waxwing. 2nd prize went to Jim Robertson, and third to a superb image of Am Buachaille and Sandwood Bay by Skye-based photographer Colin Threlfall. Organiser and judging panel member, Niall Irvine, said, “This competition has really highlighted the excellence of the photography that is undertaken here in Scotland. Against such a strong field, Ron’s winning image encapsulated the exceptional quality, creativity and…