PAUL MURTON OPENS HISTORIC KILMUN

Broadcaster, writer and Scottish adventurer Paul Murton recently officially launched the new tourist season at Historic Kilmun.

Paul, who recently had his ‘Grand Tours of Scottish Rivers’ aired on BBC Scotland, performed an opening ceremony with a recently discovered key for the Douglas Mausoleum at the ancient venue, dubbed the ‘Rosslyn of the West’, on the banks of Holy Loch.

The Douglas Mausoleum is dedicated to the memory of General Sir John Douglas who saw action in the Crimean War including the Battle of Balaclava and the Siege of Sebastopol in 1854. Born in 1817, he inherited the Glenfinart estate in 1871 and died in 1888.

Jennifer Bryson, a Trustee at Historic Kilmun, explained: “It was great to see Paul, a Patron of Historic Kilmun, open the mausoleum for the first time in front of so many friends. “Historic Kilmun will be open from Thursday to Monday, 11am to 3pm, until the end of October. Expert guided tours will be available for visitors and we also have a busy programme of events including live music, book sales and recitals using our famous water driven organ.”

For more information visit www.historickilmun.org.

Amanda Clark, former Chief Executive of Taste of Scotland and current joint owner of the former Bridge of Lochay Hotel in Killin now a large luxury self-catering holiday house, has recently been appointed Chair of the Destination National Park Group. She follows on from a successful spell by Neil Wells of Lochs & Glens Holidays who was Chair through the exceptionally difficult years of the Covid 19 pandemic when businesses in the National Park and elsewhere in Scotland struggled to survive. The group brings together a cross-section of tourism businesses throughout the National Park and senior staff from the National Park Authority. It meets regularly to discuss and share information on a range of tourism issues and to progress initiatives to strengthen the resilience of tourism locally and improve the appeal of the National Park as a leading and high quality destination. Current projects being progressed include a £100,000 staff retention and recruitment initiative and an Arrochar & Tarbet regeneration review. The Group is also providing input to a series of Park Authority led visitor infrastructure studies and the next Park-wide Partnership Plan.

Amanda, who has lived and worked in the National Park for 13 years, said: “I am delighted to be at the helm of the Destination Group which involves a great mix of tourism business operators committed to delivering high quality visitor experiences and making the most of the special qualities of the National Park, working in collaboration with each other and public sector partners.

“During my term of office I hope to continue the good work of previous Chairs. In particular, I am keen to ensure there is a strong voice for tourism and hospitality businesses in the Park to deal with pressing issues, so they can flourish in what is an increasingly tough trading environment.

“Both the UK and Scottish Governments need to listen and act on our pleas regarding business rates relief and VAT rates which are much higher than in other European countries and are acting as a major deterrent on re-investment plans”