The Scotsman reports today that a whole new forest is to appear near Loch Katrine, bringing back native species and offering a unique experience and the chance to see how Scotland looked like 500 years ago before sheep started to graze the lands.

Nothing like it has been seen for centuries. A new forest of four million trees is to be planted by the side of a famous Scottish loch in the UK's biggest woodland restoration scheme. The ambitious 20-year project to create a wooded wonderland will cover around 8,000 acres of land to the north, south and west of Loch Katrine with native species such as Caledonian pine, Atlantic oak, birch, hazel and alder.

Costing more than £3m, it will provide a new tourist attraction at the heart of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, and create new habitats for native wildlife. Project managers hope that species such as wild deer, otters, pine martens and red squirrels will move in, while birds of prey will take up residence on the open fringes

The US billionaire Donald Trump has announced plans to build a new world class golfing centre in Aberdeenshire. The development could bring £150m to the local economy over the next decade, creating 400 jobs. The complex is planned for the Menie Estate, close to the North Sea coast between Balmedie and Ellon. First Minister Jack McConnell welcomed the move, but Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) stressed the local countryside would have to be protected.

The Aberdeenshire Council's infrastructure committee however rejected (on the casting vote of its chairman) the plans by US tycoon Donald Trump. The plan had been earlier approved by local councillors, by seven votes to four, but the infrastructure committee seemed to hit the project into the long grass. However, there appeared to be a public outcry from those who saw the economic benefit of the scheme disappearing to another part of the world.

Now a special meeting of the full Aberdeenshire Council has been called to "reconsider" the decision. The time and place of the meeting have yet to be announced. The Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Forum and the local Chamber of Commerce view the Trump development as a golden opportunity to boost leisure tourism and raise the area's profile around the world. Refusing planning permission was therefore seen by them as a blow to the long-term prosperity of the region. Protesters have claimed that the resort would have a major impact on wildlife and destroy a beautiful part of Scotland. The Trump International Links scheme includes two championship golf courses and 1,500 homes. It is claimed the houses will pay for the development at the 1,400 acre site near Balmedie.

The decision also delighted Michael Forbes, 55, a local resident who refused to sell Mr Trump his 23 acres of land on the edge of the scheme. Mr Trump said on his last visit to Aberdeen that the small farm was an eyesore, and Mr Forbes responded by telling him to "stick his money". He was not at the meeting but his wife Sheila said they were "surprised but happy". Mr Forbes said he was "over the moon" after hearing the result. He added: "Hopefully, Trump has now got the message that we're not a bunch of cabbages up here. "We've managed fine without him up to now and we'll get on just as well without him." To be continued...

The Pennan Inn, which was featured in the 1983 movie "Local Hero" starring Burt Lancaster, is up for sale. Fans still visit the village on the Moray Firth coast to see the 200-year-old inn - and the red telephone kiosk across the road, which was the focus of communications in the film. Lancaster played the part of an American oil company executive sent to buy up the entire village so they can build a refinery. The present owner of Pennan Inn is now going off to a job in the food service industry in Canada.

The movie Local Hero however is not entirely filmed in Pennan. The parts that were shot on Ben's Beach were filmed near Morar and the beach is known as Camusdarach beach. This is clearly visible in one of the last shots of the movie when MacIntyre leaves Ferness by helicopter to Aberdeen. In the first shot you clearly see the Isle of Skye and Rum in the background and one shot later you see Stella looking at the helicopter and the view over the sea is completely different. The movie is wonderful and the story behind it is classic with lots of humor in it. The views from Camusdarach Beach towards Rum and Skye are one of the finest in Scotland, and so are the sunsets in this lovely area. Also worth mentioning is the relaxing and excellent music from Mark Knopfler throughout the movie.

In 1863 Elihu Burritt, an English writer, made a walk from London to John O'Groats in the north of Scotland. He made a very comprehensive travelogue and gives a nice view of Scotland in the 19th century. I made an extract from his first stage; Loch Leven to Inverness. Have fun reading

LOCH LEVEN-ITS ISLANDCASTLE—STRATHS—PERTH—SALMON-BREEDING—THOUGHTS ON FISH-FARMING—DUNKELD—BLAIR ATHOLL—DUCAL TREE-PLANTER—STRATHSPEY AND ITS SCENERY—THE ROADS—SCOTCH CATTLE AND SHEEP—NIGHT IN A WAYSIDE COTTAGE—ARRIVAL AT INVERNESS.

On Friday, Sept. 11th, I left for the north the morning after my arrival in Edinburgh, hoping to finish my long walk before the rainy season commenced.  My old friend and host accompanied me across the Forth, by the Granton Ferry, and walked with me for some distance on the other side; then bidding me God-speed, he returned to the city.  The weather was fine, and the farmers were very busy at work.  A vast quantity of grain, especially of oats, was cut and ready for carting; but little of it had been ricked in consequence of frequent showers.  I noticed that they used a different snath for their scythes here from that common in England.  It is in two parts, like the handles of a plough, joining a foot or two above the blade.  One is shorter than the other, each having a thole.  It is a singular contrivance, but seems to be preferred here to the old English pole.  I have never seen yet an American scythe-snath in England or Scotland, although so much of our implemental machinery has been introduced.  American manure-forks and hay-forks, axes and augurs you will now find exposed for sale in nearly every considerable town, but one of our beautifully mounted scythes would be a great novelty here.

Scotland boasts some of the most wonderful (Botanic) gardens in Britain and the gardens from the National Botanic Gardens of Scotland belong to the oldest and most beautiful in the world, and also contain one of the richest plant collections. Their gardens are located in Edinburgh, Benmore, Logan and Dawyck.

Dawyck Botanic Garden is located in the Scottish Borders on the B712, only eight miles southwest of Peebles. This botanic garden is more than 300 years old and boasts some of the tallest trees in Britain, as well as exotic conifers. Located in a picturesque glen Dawyck is a trully magnificant garden offering spectacular displays of azaleas, rhododendrons and lovely walks on the hillside and along little burns. Themed trails provide insight into the special collections at Dawyck, and follow the adventures and discoveries of plant collector David Douglas, after whom the Douglas fir is named.

Dawyck Botanic Garden has a gift shop, conservatory and of course very nice plants for sale. Dawyck House unfortunately doesn't belong to the garden and can therefore not be visisted, but is well visible from the several trails. Dawyck Garden is open daily, starting at 10.00am, from the beginning of February to the end of November. Admission is £3.50 for adults, £3.00 concession and children pay £1.00.

Today is probably a historic day for Islay because it is confirmed that Bruichladdich will start a second distillery in the beautiful village of Port Charlotte. The name of this new distillery will be Port Charlotte Distillery, referring to the old distillery on the same location that closed down in 1929.

A quote from the Islay Weblog
Bruichladdich Distillery has now officially announced its plans to create the new distillery at Port Charlotte. The distillery will be built, subject to planning permission, on the site of the Lochindaal Distillery that ceased production in 1929. The new name will be Port Charlotte Distillery, one of the original names of the 1829 enterprise. The Distillery was also known as Rhinns Distillery and Lochindaal Distillery.

A record number of galleries have applied for space to exhibit in the tented pavilions in George Square of the Glasgow Art Fair which takes place from April 19 to 22. A total of 43 galleries (including 11 from Glasgow) will have work from 1,000 national and internationally renowned artists on display. Last year, 16,000 visitors attended the event to admire the exhibits and to buy works ranging in price from just a few pounds to thousands. A total of £1.1 million was paid for 1,200 pieces of art, including five prints by Beatle John Lennon which sold for between £500 and £3,200.

In an earlier article on the Islay Weblog I wrote about the new website for the Persabus Pottery and I am happy to announce that today the new Online Shop from the Persabus Pottery came online and is now ready to use. The last weeks Arra and myself added the last items and descriptions and after a few test runs we decided that the shop is "ready for action". Payments can be made using most credit cards, Paypal and a postal form. Later an Acrobat Order Form will be added.

Persabus Pottery is a small craft shop located on the beautiful Isle of Islay near Port Askaig on the Bunnahabhain road. In their shop they have a very nice display of all their pottery items and, with their wonderful Islay hospitaly, coffee and home made bakings are always ready to serve.

The online shop contains more than 50 items in eight categories and almost every item is available in twelve different colours. The variety of items in the shop is quite large. Categories have been made for vases, kitchen ware, lamps, nightlights, wall plaques, coffee and tea-pots and of course their famous water jugs including a very special model, the greylagg water jug, which is demonstrated through an online QuickTime video (this is a large file so allow some time). The pottery has unique designs only available from Persabus and are mainly based on the carved stones and crosses which can be found on several locations on Islay.

The latest accounts from the Rosslyn Chapel Trust Ltd show that the profits have soared in the last year to over £500,000. The 560-year-old building was the centerpiece of the famous film "The da Vinci Code" and the publicity from that has seen the visitor numbers grow from 30,000 a year to 170,000 in 2006, with each visitor paying a £7 entry fee.. Rosslyn is undergoing a lengthy £12 million restoration programme and has had scaffolding and an unsightly steel roof to try to dry out the fabric of the building. Fortunately, the rich carvings inside are still as splendidly impressive as ever. The extra profits will be invested in the restoration programme and an extension to the visitor centre.

The UK government's nomination for World Heritage status was announced this week by the UK Culture Secretary. As widely expected, the site being put forward to the conservation body Unesco is the Roman Antonine Wall, which runs for 37 miles across central Scotland from Old Kilpatrick on the river Clyde to Bo'ness on the Firth of Forth. The wall was built around 140AD, in the reign of Emperor Antonius Pius, to deter warriors from the north invading southern Scotland. But it lasted only 25 years, after which the Roman occupying force retreated to behind Hadrian's Wall, across northern England. Unesco will examine the proposal and will make a pronouncement at a later date.