Monday 17 September 2012

Scots Magazine Features Loch Earn Tourist Villages and Personalities


It was my great pleasure to accompany D C Thomson & Co Ltd  journalist Garry Fraser on a tour of the four villages around Loch Earn in July on behalf of The Loch Earn Tourism Initiative (LETI) of which I am a member.  Garry Fraser was considering material for a story in The Scots Magazine.

August edition of The Scots Magazine
LETI members support each other in looking after visitors and in  promoting local  events, services, private tours, Perthshire holiday accommodation and places to eat and drink via website www.robroycountry.com .  I drove Garry around Loch Earn to the picturesque villages of St Fillans, Strathyre, Balquhidder and Lochearnhead visiting many points of interest and covering local stories and folklore. We visited St Fillans Golf Club (Sandy Lyle's favourite inland golf course), the entrance to majestic Munro Ben Vorlich from Ardvorlich House,  Edinample Falls and bridge beside Edinample Castle, Glen Ample (where Diana Rigg once lived with SAS founder David Stirling's brother Archie),  Balquhidder Kirk which houses stories of famous visitors including Queen Victoria and William and Dorothy Wordsworth and where Rob Roy MacGregor is buried,  Sula Soft Furnishings new workshop,  The Lochearnhead Hotel and The Lochearnhead Water Sports Centre.  We discussed ancient pine forests, the drove roads, fairy stories, the close knit community, wild camping, The Highland Games, the annual sheep shearing event and The Black Face Sheep trophy,   The Villagers newspaper, The Lochearnhead Water Sports Centre, fishing, history of the first person to water ski on Loch Earn, local Munro's, ospreys on Loch Earn and so much more.  The result was a four page feature in the August edition of the magazine with a quote from yours truly and a photo of Fraser and me in front of Briar Holiday Cottages.    Garry returned to interview local personalities including Loch Earn's resident sea plane flying instructor and The president of The BLS Highland Games. This time a seven page feature was published in the September issue. The front cover is a fantastic photo of the local red sea plane taking off at the water sports centre. The shot was taken by local photographer Alistair Barclay of Alba Virtual Tours.

September issue of The Scots Magazine

 A two page teaser view of the September issue can be seen on the Scots Magazine website. 
 
I have been very impressed with the quality of articles and the people that are interviewed for The Scots Magazine. I am about to order three 2013 calendars for relatives in Canada and America and am now planning a subscription for a family member for Christmas.  

NB: For a self catering holiday cottage on Loch Earn for Christmas or New Year visit www.stayatbriar.co.uk .


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2 comments:

Stay In Britain said...

Hope I can see more places for this!

Janet @ Unique Holiday Cottages said...

I'm pleased to know that LETI members are helping and supporting each other to look after their website visitors.I'll visit the links that you shared here.I'm sure Garry enjoyed a lot.Thanks for sharing an informative post.