Digby's Miracle
Digby the dog who survived a 500ft fall from a rockface on Lochnagar has recovered from his ordeal. The four year old Hungarian vizsla was walking near the summit with his owner, Richard Graham, from Westhill, and Dr Graham's wife and brother, when the accident happened. Their trek took a dramatic turn shortly before 3pm when Digby suddenly disappeared into Raeburn's Gully. His anxious owner peered over the edge and was relieved to see Digby nursing his injuries behind a rock halfway down the cliff. Dr Graham rescued the dog - helped by walkers and Aberdeen Mountain Rescue Team, who were training nearby. The injured pet was carried down the hill on a stretcher. Describing the rescue, Dr Graham said: "We were not far off the summit when he may have seen something and ran off in front of us. "He then just disappeared over the edge and fell 500ft down Raeburn's Gully. "It was such a shock and I was dreading looking over the edge to see him, but he was sitting behind a rock." His owner called the rescue team for help, and was told members were training in the area, and were about an hour away from Raeburn's Gully. Dr Graham was advised to keep away from the edge of the gully and to take an easier route if he was going to try and reach Digby. With the guidance of a group of walkers, he walked around the ridge and right down towards Loch Dubh. Dr Graham admitted he was like "a man possessed" on the two hour trek across a snow field and up the rocks to rescue his beloved pet. He then wrapped Digby in a survival bag and started to carry him down the hill. Dr Graham then met up with the walkers again and one of them gave him a large rucksack in which to carry Digby. When the mountain rescue team arrived, they helped him carry the dog down on a stretcher. The animal was then taken to receive veterinary treatment for a fractured leg, ribs and bruising to his face. Dr Graham has expressed grateful thanks to the mountain rescue team.
Sealife Watch
The whales and dolphins off the west coast of Scotland are under watch. The specially equipped yacht Silurian, the main film platform for the television series Blue Planet, arrived recently in her new home port of Tobermory and begun a five year audit of the marine life. The £1 million project will involve the 60ft yacht being used to cruise the islands making scientific records of the whales and dolphins and then touring schools with the information. The yacht will be run by the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Society. They are a small charity which works out of a converted baker shop in Tobermory on Mull. The society's chief scientist Dr Chris Parsons says, "Not many Scots realise that they are living beside the most interesting place to study whales and dolphins in the whole of Europe, and that includes Iceland. We believe there may be 24 different species of these animals visiting the west coast." The Silurian boasts 10 berths, a large diesel engine and a big enough fuel tank to cross the Atlantic.
Shooting Box Located
Archaeologists have located the site of a two storey stone shooting box which, almost two centuries ago, formed part of the original design of Bonnie Prince Charlie's Monument at Glenfinnan. The National Trust for Scotland personnel and volunteers were working alongside the monument. Their brief was to establish the positioning of the "shooting box with apartments" so that a planned Garden of the Clans can be created without encroaching on its foundations. Built in 1815 the shooting box, or bothy, was attached to the tower, which itself became the Glenfinnan Monument, with the later 1834 addition of a statue of a clansman. Some experts continue to maintain that the figure atop of the monument is a representation of Bonnie Prince Charlie. Trust public relations officer in Inverness, Fabion Villani, said, "The two rooms in the bothy gave great views down Loch Shiel and up Glen Finnan itself. Deirdre Smyth, the trust's property manager at Glenfinnan, added, "We are pleased that the layout of the bothy has been confirmed so that the proposed Garden of the Clans can be kept clear of that part of the site."
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Toad Patrol
Children in west Sutherland have been giving up their free time to help thousands of toads safely across the road to the lochan where they spawn. Erica Gorman, who lives close to Lochan Ordain at Torbreck, near Lochinver, said there was no shortage of young volunteers for a "toad patrol" to help the amphibious creatures to cross the single track B869 between Lochinver and Drumbeg. Mrs Gorman, her husband John and their young helpers also keep a tally of the numbers of toads crossing to and from the lochan and the number that are killed by passing traffic. The couple moved into their remote house just over five years ago and answered a call from the local field club to save the toads from being run over. They have erected warning signs - a black toad on a white triangle - at each end of the crossing in the hope that it will encourage motorists to slow down. Their efforts seem to be having an effect. Mrs Gorman said they had counted fewer dead toads on the road this year than in any other year since they mounted toad patrols in 1996. "So far this year, we've found 197 dead toads. There have been many more in previous years. I think it is because the locals all know to look out for the toads and most of the holidaymakers slow down when they see the signs. "The drivers have been marvellous. Some of them even stop to allow the children to carry the toads across the road," she said.
August Opening for Queen Mum's Home
The doors of the late Queen Mother's Castle of Mey are to be opened to the public at the start of August. Representatives of the trust that owns the castle met recently to finalise preparations for the conducted tours. The charitable trust was set up to fulfil the Queen Mother's wish that her beloved Far North holiday retreat was not mothballed after her death. Trust chairman Captain Ashe Windham and fellow trustees Far North MP John Thurso were among those who attended the recent meeting at the 16th century castle. They discussed the outstanding building work and access arrangements required to ready the castle for the tours. Capt Windham, a one time military equerry and personal friend of the Queen Mother, said afterwards that the trust was confident the tours would begin in August. That is when she used to spend an annual break of three weeks there since buying the rundown castle in 1952. Capt Windham said: "We are aiming to start on August 4, which was the Queen Mother's birthday." He revealed there would be no charge for tours of the 30 roomed castle and its famous gardens during August. "There will be no charge for people visiting during August as the trust recognises that the people of Caithness were extremely good in respecting the privacy of the Queen Mother when she was in the country," Capt Windham said. "The trust wants to reciprocate that by allowing local people to be guests of the trust should they wish to visit the castle and pay their respects." While visiting times have still to be worked out, they are likely to be 11am - 6pm five days a week.
Musical Bait for Nessie
Nessie could soon be swimming to a different rythmn, thanks to a monster series of musical programmes from her own local radio station. Based in Fort Augustus, Britain's newest community station, Loch Ness FM, started broadcasting recently. Under a short term licence, the station will initially transmit until September, manned entirely by volunteers. Station manager Neil Ferguson, of Fort Augustus, said: "It has always been a dream of mine to have a radio station in the village. Fort Augustus falls between the transmission areas of other stations, and reception of these is not good. So this is a tremendous opportunity for us to provide a quality local product to plug the gap." Loch Ness FM has set up studios in the old primary school, which has stunning views of the village, and from where Nessie may just be glimpsed if she rises to the musical bait.
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