Arts, culture and heritage

Strathnaver Museum has been announced as a recipient of £650,000 in grant funding from the Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund. The Redevelopment of Strathnaver Museum as a heritage hub for north west Sutherland project will improve the visitor experience, secure the existing museum collections, conserve the historic church building and improve access to its heritage resources.

A rural Perthshire-based enterprise support organisation has welcomed its 1000th client since October 2016.

GrowBiz's team of experienced facilitators have advised and supported people of all ages, from all walks of life and at all stages of their entrepreneurial journey. 

A further 30 events have been announced as part of the Year of Coasts and Waters 2020.

The Themed Year will see a wide variety of events take place right across the country -- from coastal-inspired opera to a seaweed festival!

Events supported through round two of the Year of Coasts and Waters event fund include:

Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust are currently working towards building a historical and exciting off-road trail covering approximately 16 miles across West Lothian.

Next February will see two weeks of arts and astronomy events take place on the Isle of Lewis as part of the second Hebridean Dark Skies Festival.

The programme for the festival has been announced, with singer-songwriter Karine Polwart, Sky at Night presenter Chris Lintott, and arts and astronomy project Creativity and Curiosity will be among the headline events.

The festival will run from 7 to 22 February 2020 with events spanning theatre, live music, film, visual art, food, astronomy talks and stargazing. 

The first ever National Islands Plan for Scotland has been laid before the Scottish Parliament for consideration.

The proposed National Islands Plan provides a framework for action in order to meaningfully improve outcomes for Scotland's island communities.

This year's Stranraer Oyster Festival has been hailed a 'phenomenal success' by organisers.

Attendance at the event was up 25% on last year, with around 17-18,000 people thought to have attended the three-day event.

The community-run festival is organised by the Stranraer Development Trust and takes place next to Loch Ryan, which contains Scotland's last remaining wild, native oyster fishery.