'Common sense' call over Highland A82 work to avoid disruption
Calls have been made for a "common sense" approach to roadworks on a major Highland trunk road. Planned work in Fort William and near Drumnadrochit could bring further disruption on the A82 Inverness to Glasgow road for the third time this month. Lochaber councillor Andrew Baxter fears visitors and people accessing medical appointments at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness will be impacted. Trunk road maintenance company Bear Scotland said all road closures were agreed in advance with key partners.
Mr Baxter told BBC Scotland News: "We are desperate for these road improvements to happen."But a bit of common sense and a bit of understanding about local circumstances would help enormously."Work at Nevis Bridge in Fort William is due to start on Sunday.Originally, full overnight closures were to be implemented.However, following pressure from local politicians, Bear Scotland has agreed to run a convoy system.Later this month, the A82 will be closed to the south of Drumnadrochit overnight for three nights to allow for resurfacing work. Amnesties were put in place during recent works at Loch Lochy, near Spean Bridge, allowing traffic to pass at set times.A spokesperson for Bear Scotland added that closures were scheduled overnight when there was less traffic on the road to ensure "the lowest level of impact" on journeys.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
31 minutes ago
- The Sun
I spent the night in the UK's biggest National Park with both stargazing and Northern Light spotting
AS I gaze upwards, my eyes are greeted by dozens of brilliant white stars glittering across the deep blue midnight sky. Welcome to Cairngorms National Park, the largest in the UK and one of the best places in the world to stargaze. 4 4 My mum and I had escaped to the Highlands for a weekend break to immerse ourselves in nature — and with a sky like this on our doorstep, it wasn't hard to do. That's the real standout of a holiday home at Cairngorm Bothies, its location. And a luxury self-catering bothy — a Scottish hut — was my home for the next few days. As well as a cosy interior, it featured a large decking area so we could soak up the sky at all hours. When I checked in, staff member Sarah told me to look north if I wanted to see the Northern Lights. Sadly they didn't make an appearance that night, but during the winter months, you're more likely to see them than not in these parts. Luckily, any disappointment was eased by the roaring log burner and plump sofa, which were beckoning from within our cosy retreat. While a bothy is typically a very basic shelter used by outdoor enthusiasts, the bothies here are a little fancier. From the outside, our two-person bothy looked a little like Hagrid's Hut in the Harry Potter films. Inside, however, it was kitted out with tartan furnishings and a snug bedroom, which had just enough space for a double bed. Martin Lewis warns about strict passport rule that could see you board your flight - only to get sent home on arrival When you're not getting cosy by the fire or soaking up the endless stars, there's plenty else to get stuck into in the surrounding area. Hiking is hugely popular, with the Cairngorms home to hundreds of trails suitable for all abilities. If you're not much of a rambler, head to the Victorian village of Ballater, a short drive away, which is filled with boutique shops. Ballater is also home to the Old Royal Station, once used by visitors to Balmoral Castle, as it was the closest station to the Royal Family's summer residence. Queen Victoria While the station closed to passengers in 1966, it has acted as a hub for tourism in the years since. Inside you'll find a tourist information centre, a tea room that would not look out of place in an Agatha Christie novel, and a replica of a rail carriage used by Queen Victoria. After glimpsing royal life, we drove the ten minutes to Balmoral Castle where we could soak up even more of the royals. The castle wasn't open to the public when we were there, so Mum and I enjoyed a leisurely walk around the majestic lawns. With no sign of any royals, we felt like we had the whole grounds to ourselves. When it comes to filling your belly, this region isn't short of pubs serving slap-up Scottish food. 4 4 Farquharsons Bar and Kitchen in nearby Braemar was one of our favourite evening spots, with a roaring fire at its centre and quaint garden out the back. Expect hearty plates of bangers and mash, which we washed down with a pint of Tennent's, a local lager made with Scottish barley and water from Loch Katrine. For something a little lighter, The Bothy tea room back in the village of Ballater serves proper sarnies crammed with meat as well as jacket spuds and some of the most delicate homebaked cakes I've ever seen. Or you can pick up something from the supermarket to cook back at your bothy. We definitely came home with stars in our eyes.
Times
3 hours ago
- Times
Spectacular Scotland is unusually quiet right now. Make the most of it
Ask Rachael Henley, general manager of the Fife Arms in Braemar, when is the perfect time to visit Scotland, and she'd say now. Well, she would, wouldn't she? 'No midges, no heatwaves, 18 hours of sunshine in which to enjoy the great outdoors,' she counters. 'Plus no small amount of art and culture to discover on the odd rainy day.' As well as the recent clement weather, there's an added attraction this year — anecdotally, at least. It all seems … quieter. Henley, whose luxury boutique hotel is stylishly crammed with art and antiques and, being close to Balmoral, is a honeypot for rich Americans, says that bookings are being made later, ie closer to the departure, rather than being down. But our journalists report that the roads (at least, off the NC500) appear less busy. Campsites — where it's historically hard to find space in during the summer months — have more availability, even popular pitches such as Findhorn at the start of the Moray Malt Whisky Trail. You can even find rooms in the country's upmarket hotels, suggesting that annual block bookings — the preserve of the overseas tour operator and foil of the spur-of-the-moment domestic holidaymaker — have not materialised to the same extent as in previous years. Even though the US schools havenow alreadybroken up for their seemingly endless (ten-week) summer holidays, the lochs, castles and whisky routes usually favoured by American visitors are quiet, and the Glencoe-Fort William-Loch Ness-Inverness-Aviemore-Speyside-St Andrews-Edinburgh circuit feels to have been humming rather than buzzing. This apparent downturn also comes as something of a surprise. Provisional International Passenger Survey (IPS) figures released at the end of last week showed an uptick across the whole of 2024 for overseas visitors to Scotland. The survey, carried out by the Office for National Statistics for Visit Scotland, Visit Britain and Visit Wales, records the number and types of trips made by people travelling to and from the UK, and displayed a new record of 4.38 million visitors. This overtook pre-Covid tourism (the enduring benchmark for peak tourism figures) by 27 per cent, and 2023 by 10 per cent. Combined with a rise in the amount those tourists spend once they've arrived, Scotland outperformed all the other UK nations. What's more, despite the pressures of the cost of living and global market disruption, all indicators pointed towards another stellar year. But look closer, and there are signs of other emerging trends that could be making the country seem quieter while having a positive impact for visitors. There may be more people visiting, but they are spending less, according to VisitBritain's 2025 Inbound Tourism Forecast. 'VisitBritain recorded 39.2 million visits to the UK for 2024, up 3 per cent versus 2023 and just below — minus 4 per cent — pre-Covid levels,' says Frazer Coupland, CEO of West Highland Chamber of Commerce. 'However, it also notes that spend was slow from long-haul markets in particular in the first half of 2024, driven in part by a decline in length of stay. This suggests that even if US visitor numbers are recovering, their spending habits might be more constrained, impacting the West Highlands … where anecdotal evidence points to a decline.' • I love Scotland more than anywhere else. These are my 25 top stays The net result? Overseas visitors taking shorter stays means there are more rooms available, and potentially at lower rates — good news for the canny domestic visitor. That US travellers are booking later could also spell opportunities for UK holidaymakers, who are less likely to find their preferred hotels booked up. 'We are not seeing a dramatic decline in [the number of] Americans travelling to Braemar, what we are seeing is very much last-minute business appearing,' Henley says. 'We have seen a different start to the summer booking season compared to previous years,' agrees Conor O'Leary, managing director of the luxury-hotel-cum-country-estate Gleneagles and its chichi Edinburgh outpost, Gleneagles Townhouse. 'We are seeing a much shorter booking window. April saw strong last-minute uplift, particularly from the US. May was a bit slower, with less group travel business, but the overall picture suggests a shift in travel patterns rather than a decline.' WildLand, a collection of art houses and cottages across three Highland estates, has had a similar experience. 'Lead times have shortened dramatically, now typically three to six months instead of the usual 12 or more, and there's a greater reluctance to commit, even when interest is high,' says Victoria Marlowe, head of guest relations. 'We've had US families stay at Aldourie, the jewel in our portfolio, with as little as a month's notice.' Such new patterns reflect a post-pandemic reluctance among UK travellers to book in advance, having become accustomed during international lockdowns to a more uncertain world and developing more spontaneous travel habits. The unpredictability of the US economy and world events may also be a contributing factor. • 16 of the most beautiful places in Scotland Hoteliers also point to an increase in guests actively seeking ways to save money, opting for in-room dining over restaurant meals, or picnicking in their rooms, which can be good news, keeping tables available for speculative diners. At the opposite end of the market, while the US market isn't key for camping and glamping, those of us looking to visit Scotland under canvas can still benefit from these new booking trends. 'Across the UK, generally the lead time has shortened and bookings are coming in later, especially on [glamping site] Canopy & Stars,'' says Emily Enright of Sawday's. 'There is a marked increase in bookings 2-4 weeks out and even those within seven days, pointing to greater availability.' According to Dan Yates, founder and MD of the camping booking site while it might seem quiet, it's really not. 'Some 66,000 people have already booked for Scotland this year — 23 per cent up on last year,' he says. 'However, booking value has not spiked, pointing both to lower prices and people booking lower-priced accommodation and taking their own tent or tourer rather than glamping.' • These are my favourite almost-secret beauty spots in Scotland If this has whet your appetite for an early summer Scottish sortie, don't get carried away and turn up on spec expecting a bargain (or an empty pitch!). Buck the trend and book ahead, but push for the best deal, especially midweek, when you might find you can negotiate added extras. The same goes for booking tickets forvisitor attractions, for which demand remains high among day-trippers as well as overseas visitors. And arm yourself with ideas from our list of oft-overlooked beautiful places that are quiet even at peak times. Where's your favourite place to visit in Scotland? Let us know in the comments below
Times
20 hours ago
- Times
I hated camping, but a posh clifftop tent in Fife changed my mind
I don't like camping. The thought of shivering under canvas has filled me with dread ever since struggling to pitch a tent in a howling Kilsyth Hills rainstorm as part of a Duke of Edinburgh gold award scheme. Then I married Claire, who loves camping — a compromise was needed. To the rescue: Catchpenny Safari Lodges, perched on the cliffs between Elie and St Monans, where Alex Nairn and his wife Tara have put the glam into glamping with eight luxurious safari lodges you might expect to find in a five-star African game reserve. With a setting, decor and facilities beyond the wildest dreams of a camping sceptic, Catchpenny's lodges are the Taj Mahal of glamping. They have everything a happy camper could wish for, from fully equipped kitchens to log-burning stoves and fluffy blankets to hot-water bottles. Tara's design flair is evident in stylish hand-crafted furniture and artwork in a large open-plan living room and three bedrooms, including a quirky elevated king-size cabin that our six-year-old claims with delight as a hidey-hole playroom. Throw in big comfy couches, quality bed linen, constant hot water, powerful showers and discreet floor lighting and you have a warm, cosy home from home, powered by small wind turbines and solar panels. All that's missing is a TV — and that's fine with us, especially once our daughter discovers playmates in the lodge next door. For the next week the racket of TV cartoons is replaced by the laughter of children playing hide and seek, which we contentedly observe from a large front deck with a sofa, chairs and barbecue. The camp is perched on a small grassy escarpment directly over the Firth of Forth, with sweeping panoramas from the Isle of May to the Pentland Hills. It's a kaleidoscope of changing weather. In sunshine the Firth sparkles happily like a river of jewels, and on dull days the views become misty and mysterious, as if conjuring images from Greek mythology. And always the endless, soothing sigh of the sea and a profound sense of peace and calm, broken only by a pod of dolphins at one point, leaping and twisting in mid-air close to shore. The lodges stand alone on farmland, so each morning we wake to the lowing of cattle in a harmonious duet with the sea. One night nature joins the chorus with light rain and the soft pitter-patter of raindrops on the canvas roofs. Our stay dissolves into lazy mornings musing on the hurly-burly roundabout of daily life, and the need to step off it more often. Time passes with no pressing need to do anything or to go anywhere. The Fife Coastal Path passes right below our lodge, and there are tidal rock pools just below that offer hours of happy pottering. However, I find myself succumbing to the temptation to sit on the deck with a glass of wine and stare at the sea and do nothing. One day we sample the produce of Bowhouse ( a collective of butchers, bakers and candlestick makers less than one mile up the coast selling everything from jewellery to venison sausages. • Baern at Bowhouse, East Neuk, Fife, review — a serious foodie destination Another highlight — and one to check out if you are here between July 12 and 20 — is Largo Arts Week ( where more than 50 artists display in homes, gardens and public buildings. I leave with a print of a lone yacht sailing on a darkening sea that speaks to me of solitude, peace and freedom. Our final port of call is Cambo gardens ( a magical kingdom of fairyland forests, flowers and fun on a huge coastal estate near Crail that fires children's imaginations with a Lost Elf Village and the biggest, most inventive wooden playpark our wee one has ever seen. • Five of the best walled gardens in Scotland There is a maze of woodland paths and a walled garden ablaze with sweet-smelling roses. Banks of wildflowers by a fast-flowing burn are havens for birds, bees and butterflies and we wander here happily for hours, lulled by wind rustling softly in the trees, water tinkling over rocks and joyful birdsong. It could have been the theme song of our glamping Taj nights' self-catering for six at Catchpenny cost from £425 (
