OCTOBER 2024: Congratulations to Mr Neil Bielby, our Trustee, who has been awarded THE JUBILEE MEDAL. He is recognised for his outstanding committed devotion to the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), through ambassadorial work (giving talks, attending events), organising BTO surveys locally and regionally, fundraising for BTO, surveying particularly challenging areas, data inputting/system testing/archiving/digitising records, writing/contributing to books, supporting monitoring schemes, training ringing trainees, contributing as Regional Representative and leading training courses for BTO. We celebrate and appreciate his deserved recognition.
NOVEMBER 2023: A tribute to Mr Hector Finlay Ross Maclennan whose professional association with Howietoun in the 1980’s was initiated with his Scotch Whisky marketing strategy of the ‘Ballantine Trout’. In recent times, with his genuine interest in Howietoun’s reinvention, he became a beacon of encouragement, a kind ear and sounding board. A respected Scottish Gentleman whose cheer and ‘can do’ inspiration will be greatly missed.
OCTOBER 2023 – Grant, Sean and John to the rescue from RTA Builders making sure The Summer House is watertight in our ongoing pursuit for Listed Building Consent.
AUGUST 2023: Howietoun Trustees wish to extend their utmost gratitude to Directors of RTA Builders and their team for their commitment in erecting a protective roof covering for The Summer House, preventing water ingress whilst the project seeks funding to fulfil the necessary staged surveys and consents. https://www.rtabuilders.co.uk/services
MAY 2023: All credit to Stonemason Mentor Johnnie Cunningham and Stonemason Apprentice Mark Johnson who have created a stone cairn for Howietoun’s Heritage Plaque at the entrance into the Old Victorian Fishery. Their technical skilled expertise, passion for the art and creative flair has produced a robust structure to be appreciated for generations and we are very grateful to them both.
12 MAY 2023
MAY 2023: We extend our sincere appreciation to Chuck Jones, Technical Conservation Skills Programme Manager from Historic Environment Scotland who facilitated the opportunity for Howietoun’s Heritage Plaque to be set in stone! The Technical Education and Training division seek practical on site experience for their apprenticeship programme. Chuck made this link possible and in so doing helped mark Howietoun’s historical significance for current and future generations, commanding the respect it deserves.
FEBRUARY 2023: Following the overwhelming generosity of Director Mr Grant Lindsay of Lindsay Scaffolding Contracts Ltd, all credit to his team NATHAN, RICHIE and JAKE (with volunteer support from CRAIG too). Pioneers in achieving a milestone in the history of Howietoun and wading through mud, wind and rain with bountiful good humour, sharing our unwavering passion to begin to save the enigmatic Summer House.
SEPTEMBER 2022: We wish to extend our sincere gratitude to Lindsay Scaffolding Contracts Ltd following their most significant and generous donation: namely their commitment in erecting scaffolding and screening for the full duration of this restoration project. This is to prevent The Summer House in the island pond from further decline, whilst we work hard to secure funding to progress the necessary surveys in obtaining Listed Building Consent. Achieving this, will facilitate our pursuit for full and proper restoration of this unique heritage structure.
AUGUST 2022: Howietoun’s value and significance is crucially dependent on the natural landscape in which it lies. In support of Howietoun’s charitable objectives and hence endorsed by Howietoun, Old Sauchiemill is now a member of the Nature Friendly Farming Network. It supports sustainability through demonstrating that farming and nature can go hand in hand, to achieve a countryside that is both productive and bursting with wildlife.
ONGOING: Meticulous extraction of significant waste and hazards suffocating the landscape, including excessive barbed wire and snares. Some visible, some buried. Alongside the surrounding Old Sauchiemill land management, that also supports the Charity objectives, as of May 2022 a collection of 19 skips were filled for removal.
MARCH 2022: A Big THANK YOU to People’s Postcode Trust for their support. This included funds to purchase Holly Hedging to replace the rusty barbed wire fence in March 2022 and introduce a natural evergreen boundary barrier. Apart from offering food and shelter for wildlife, it will also act as a natural wind break to support Sir James Maitland’s original choice for the ponds location, allowing them to thrive in their own micro-climate. Old Sauchiemill’s tree planting in the surrounding field assists with this objective by mirroring the landscape shown in the Old Victorian photographs.
howietounheritage.co.uk 