More good news from Loch Earn Tourism Information! The destination management group's entry has been selected for the Central, Fife and Tayside regional finals of the Scottish Thistle Awards, this time for "Innovation in Tourism", after securing BLiSS trail as a permanent visitor attraction linking the villages of Balquhidder, Lochearnhead, Strathyre and St Fillans.
LETi added Drover's Bho sculpture, pictured above, by Kev Paxton, to BLiSS trail 2017 to celebrate local drove roads in Visit Scotland's tourism year of History Heritage and Archaeology. Permanent artists’ signs were also added to BLiSS trail following generous sponsorship from Friends of The Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.
LETi Chair Kim Proven is also a finalist at the regional Thistle Awards taking place at Prestonfield House Edinburgh, on November 23rd 2017. Kim was nominated by Gordon Watson, CEO of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, for "Regional Ambassador", recognising her voluntary contributions to tourism over and above her day job.
LETi and Kim have also been nominated for BLiSS art installations in the Scottish Rural Awards 2018 - an event partnered by Scottish Field Magazine and the Scottish Countryside Alliance - hailed as the ultimate benchmark of excellence in rural Scotland. The awards will be held at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh on 22nd March 2018.
Two additional BLiSS trail sculptures are in the pipeline. The first - a collaboration of work by three female art students from Perth College UHI - will be erected at Lochside Cottages garden on Loch Earn in October.
The artists have done well negotiating and collaborating with businesses to acquire components and sponsorship. I've enjoyed helping with problem solving.
Kim Proven Chair of Loch Earn Tourism InitiativeSpeaking about the new sculptures, Kim Proven said: "The project has been a big challenge for the Perth art students over and above their college work". "The artists have done well negotiating and collaborating with businesses to acquire components and sponsorship. I've enjoyed helping with problem solving.
Kim continued: "The students are grateful to LETi, Christine Cooper of Cooper Cottages, Roslen Evans of Balquhidder Mhor luxury lodge, Angus and Ollie Cameron of Lochside Cottages and Fraser Proven of Briar Cottages Lochearnhead, for additional funding support".
Perthshire component suppliers include Meddicks Blacksmiths and The Isle Mill (Macnaughton Holdings Ltd)
A second sculpture will be placed on St Angus Church grounds, at the entrance to National Cycle Route 7, Lochearnhead, by kind permission of the trustees and Rev Paddy Allen. The sculpture is being funded with a second Art Roots grant awarded to LETi by Sustrans Scotland. LETi plans to erect the sculpture in December 2017. Details of the new art works will be announced later.
While LETi aims to attract visitors to the area to help boost the local economy, it recognises the part that many villagers play in assisting tourists and making them feel very welcome.
Discover Loch Earn Tourism at www.robroycountry.com