Tag: walking trails

East Lothian launches call-out for artists to help create Covid memorial

East Lothian Council, in partnership with greenspace scotland, has launched a call-out to commission an artist or artists to contribute to the region’s Covid community memorial, part of the Scotland-wide Remembering Together project.

Remembering Together East Lothian is managed by the Council Arts Service, and is being developed by artists Barbara Gardner-Rowell and Sophie Ferguson. In the project’s first phase they explored with local communities how best to reflect the region’s experiences during the pandemic, in order to create a lasting opportunity for the community to connect and reflect.

The result is a series of six accessible walking trails which have been mapped across the region, in Dunbar, Haddington, Musselburgh, North Berwick, Tranent, and Preston Seton Gosford.

The walks will encourage communities to come together and connect socially with the healing qualities of nature, reflecting the daily walking practice that many people adopted during lockdown. Each starts and finishes on local transport routes, offering an inclusive community resource that is easily accessible, that can be integrated into various facets of everyday life.

For the latest phase of the project East Lothian Council is seeking to commission an artist or artists to create a focal point of reflection for each of the six walking trails.

The commissions will be selected for their relevance and sensitivity to the project themes of Reflection, Remembering, Hope and Healing, and could be physical pieces situated on the walking route, or a soundscape, mural, piece of music or film, or digital artwork accessed via QR code.

The artist or artists selected for the commissions will be encouraged during the research phase to visit the walking trails and the archive to develop their final proposal. Funding of up to £60,000 is available to realise the artworks.

Submissions are required by 12 April 2024. Further details and information on how to apply can be found at rememberingtogethereastlothian.com

ECHO Trails gets off the ground

Project seeks to showcase east Cowal (Argyll) historic landmarks

The ECHO (East Cowal Heritage Outdoors) Trails project, a network of landmarks and walking trails encompassing the shores of Holy Loch, Loch Eck, Loch Long and Loch Goil, has been officially launched after a two-year delay due to Covid-19.

Representatives from Forestry & Land Scotland, Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, the AITC (Argyll & Isles Tourism Co-operative), Dunoon Area Alliance, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and Bookpoint Dunoon gathered recently at Historic Kilmun to celebrate the launch.

The ECHO Trails incorporates ten key landmarks around the east Cowal peninsula, including Puck’s Glen, Benmore Botanic Garden and the beach at Ardentinny, as well as a number of places of interest that reflect the rich heritage and notable, historic personalities associated with this small corner of Argyll.

Funding for the project has come from Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, Bookpoint Dunoon, HES and the Culture and Business Fund Scotland.

Jenni Minto, Member of the Scottish Parliament for Argyll and Bute, commented: “Cowal is such a beautiful part of the world, rich in landmarks and history, so anything that can be done to help showcase this should be encouraged and the ECHO trails project does just that!”

Ciorsdan Taylor, AITC Community Engagement Agent for Cowal, commented: “The ECHO Trails are a wonderful way of showcasing the interesting heritage and landmarks we have here in Cowal and there are many of them to see.

“The AITC is very glad to be supporting and promoting this great resource within Cowal and we hope that many visitors to the area and local people will use it for many years to come.”

Dinah McDonald, owner of the Bookpoint bookshop in Dunoon, said: “We are delighted to sponsor this fascinating project which will enable so many more people to explore and appreciate the amazing heritage of this peaceful corner of Argyll.

“Stunning scenery, amazing wildlife and a historical heritage going back over 3000 years, it feels like the heritage of Scotland all in one small area.”

Rob Wilkinson, appointed co-ordinator for the project earlier this year, commented: “The ECHO Trails builds on the great work of Robin Patel carried out before the arrival of the coronavirus and seeks to create an identity for this part of the world in much the same way as the Secret Coast and the Clyde Sea Lochs Trail around Dumbarton and Helensburgh.

“Links have been established with a number of community-focused organisations and individuals and we will soon be appointing a “Friends of the ECHO Trails” committee to determine the future direction of the project. There is so much potential when it comes to building a vibrant community network”.

Amy Eastwood, Head of Grants at HES, said: “We’re pleased to support this project as part of our Organisational Support Fund. The ECHO Trail is a fantastic way to encourage visitors to explore the history and heritage of East Cowal.”

Steve Gillen of Forestry & Land Scotland said: “It’s fantastic  to see this project finally coming to fruition after so much hard work by the ECHO team over the past few years.

“It is a great opportunity to highlight the number and variety of destinations in the area, and to promote and encourage responsible public access across them.”

The ECHO Trails project will be linking up with the Cowal Open Studios network to showcase the work of local artists on the 24th and 25th September at Historic Kilmun to coincide with the COS open studios weekend (23rd to 26th September).

For more information please visit www.echotrails.org. A free app “ECHO Trails” is also available for download.

echo-trails-leafletDownload