The first elements of ground-breaking marketing initiatives for the Banffshire Coast area have now been launched.  The website now contains a new section focusing on one of the area's key attractions, Dolphins and Marine Life, as well as ideas for Great Days Out along our coastline.  These features will make it easy for visitors to find useful information not only about the wildlife, but also about the best viewing points and the range of marine attractions to visit.  The three Marine and Wildlife Itineraries provide ideas for great days out along the coastline, giving visitors lots of reasons to spend time here, whether one day, a few days or longer.  In March, the new Area Guide will be launched.

Residents of a small Moray Firth coastal community are celebrating success as the owners of Crovie pier, the Crown Estate, have drawn up plans to save the crumbling B-listed structure. 

Salmon and Sea-trout season-  11 February 2012 to 31 October inclusive. Brown trout season  15 March to 6 October Inclusive.

The river Deveron due to its more illustrious North East neighbours the Dee and Spey is a well kept secret where anglers return year after year, generation after generation.The Deveron rises in the high hills above the Cabrach along with its main tributaries the Blackwater and the Bogie.

Salmon can be encountered right from opening day on February 11th anywhere on the river but the higher beats are usually a favourite. During April and May the brown trout fishing is superb with many specimens of 5 to 6 lb being caught each year.

Sea Trout start running towards the end of May until July and again a 7 lb fish is not uncommon.

The grilse run begins mid July but given water can start in June and can last all season. This is supplemented with the summer Salmon which can reach 18 lb. The back end run starts in September and fish can weigh up to 40 lb +. Indeed the British record for a salmon caught on fly came off the Deveron and weighed 61 lb.

Favourite flies include the Stoats tail, Munroe Killer. Willie Gunn, Ally Shrimp ,Cascade and the executioner. Spinning is allowed on most beats in high water and flying "c", Toby's and Rapalas are great takers of fish in high water.

A treasure trove of wartime memorabilia has gone on display at Duff House, Banff.  The exhibition includes historic documents, newspaper cuttings and artefacts from World War II.  A range of interpretive boards have also been set up to explain what life was like for the north-east during the 1930s and 1940s.  Duff House itself played a significant role in the war as a military base and prisoner of war camp.  The 18th-century house had been used as a hotel and sanatorium when it was handed over to the UK Government in 1940.  Initially it became an internment camp for people living in Britain who were believed to be a threat.  It was later used to hold prisoners of war.  In July 1940 it was attacked by a lone Heinkel HeIII bomber whose pilot had mistaken it for an allied base.  Six PoWs were killed in the raid.  The house was later used as a base for Scottish, English, Norwegian and French troops until the war ended.

A voluntary group of local residents, artists and community organisations are now hard at work preparing for COAST 2012.  The 5th COAST Festival will take place from Friday 25th May 2012 to Sunday 27th May 2012. 

The programme will contain a range of events, with the theme for the core events being "The Creative Individual".  The Festival will be presenting experienced artists, art students, the work of traditional artisans and the often unseen work of the home-based creator.  The "Show Your Hand" exhibition will feature artworks and artifacts showing traditional artisan skills, from ceramics and leatherwork, to enamelling to smithing.  The Festival will also have family fun events, including the ever popular sandcastle competition, the spectacular duck race, and a programme of hands-on workshops for all ages.  Brochures will be available at the end of April.

If you want to create an event, please contact the organisers at info@coastfestival.org.uk.

The Aurora Borealis - or Northern Lights - is entering the liveliest stage of its 11-year cycle. And that means eerie hues of green and purple could be dancing over us several times a month. Our chances of seeing a display are increasing; solar activity goes in cycles of roughly 11 years, and the current cycle is set to peak next winter. It is possible to predict when an aurora will occur - to an extent. Sunspots indicate activity on the sun and there are websites which allow anyone to follow the "kp index". It measures solar flares. If it exceeds five, there may well be activity in mid or northern Scotland.

It is possible to see the very brightest of displays from towns, but it's best to be out in the country where it's darker. People do travel to Northern Norway and Iceland, but you can see them well from the north of Scotland which has the same latitude as Stavanger in Norway and Moscow. It's best to have a low horizon, so Cullen in the north east is a great spot.

Those who wish to find out when the Northern Lights will be visible can sign up for e-mail updates from AuroraWatch (click on http://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk to sign up).

An exhibition of traditional craft skills will be a major part of the annual COAST Arts Festival at Banff and Macduff in May 2012.  Banff and Buchan Arts Forum is now appealing for entries for Show Your Hand which will showcase traditional pursuits from ceramics to leather work and enamelling to blacksmithing.  This will be a major exhibition for the Festival and an important way to revealing the skills that are being lost.

Work is expected to start soon on a £162,000 development to expand the interior of the Boyndie Trust Visitor Centre.  The popular centre provides training for about 60 people who are either unemployed or have learning difficulties.  It also features a shop, cafe, garden centre and an exhibit on RAF Banff, and its popularity has meant that the work is necessary for it to continue to grow.  The work will be a revamp of the inside of the centre to provide visitors with better access to it.  It will include creating more retail space and training facilities, and it will mean people will get to see a lot more of the centre.  The car park will also be extended to create about 20 extra spaces.  And it is hoped that more work placements for training will be available.  All of the funding is now in place (including almost £70,000 from the rural Aberdeenshire LEADER fund, other grant awards and the Trust itself), and the work is expected to start very early in the year. 

The Banff Preservation and Heritage Society is looking to bring one of the town's oldest existing artefacts back home.  A replica of the Mercat Cross now stands at the Low Street Plainstones; however the Society wants to bring the rare original (currently stored by the North East Scotland Preservation Trust) to the town's museum.  The Mercat Cross dates back to the 16th century and it was erected where the Biggar Fountain on the corner of Low Street now stands today.  In 1767 it was removed from the spot because of its size and interference with traffic, and its custody was given to the Earl of Fife.  He erected it on a hill at Sandyhill Road before it was re-sited at the Plainstones in 1900.  The base at Sandyhill Road remains and is a doocot.  In 1994, the Society created a replica of the cross and the original was then put in storage.  The Cross is a very rare piece in Scotland as it is one of the few remaining pre-Reformation crosses.

A former stables block is the focus of plans for a £200,000 development at Banff Castle community centre.  The aim is to produce a cultural practice and performance area while preserving a part of Banff's buildings heritage.  Banff Community Association runs the castle - which is a mansion house - as a centre for local leisure and activity groups.  Both levels of the two-storey stables block will be used for the folklore centre and there are also plans for a cafe with access to a walled garden. 

The 2012 Scottish Traditional Boat Festival will play a role in the Year of Creative Scotland and will have an emphasis on cultural heritage and the area's creative links to Europe and the rest of the world.  Visitors, which usually number in excess of 16,000, will also be able to see traditional boats from far and wide in Portsoy's historic 17th century harbour, along with associated crafts, music, song and dance and the very popular Festival Food Fayre.

Plans to create a traditional boat building and restoration base in Portsoy have taken a major step forward.  The Portsoy Organisation for Restoration and Training (Port) - a subsidiary of the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival group - plan to renovate a derelict property near Portsoy harbour. Two feasibility studies - to look at the buildings (which will include sleeping accommodation for visiting groups) and the business planning/operational side - will be complete by the end of March.  There will be community, environment and tourism benefits from the development; the project will also provide youngsters with an opportunity to develop their skills and confidence.

The management of Duff House will be transferred to Historic Scotland, who will also become responsible for the 25 staff.  Since 1992, Duff House has been run as a partnership by Aberdeenshire Council, Historic Scotland and the National Galleries of Scotland.  Duff House had been threatened with closure over the winter months; however, it is hoped that this move will be the best way of securing and developing Duff House in the future.

Supporters of Turriff's Auld Post Office Museum are looking forward to a happy new year after securing vital funding to ensure its future.  The funding will allow the Society to take up a five-year lease on the Museum which is run voluntarily by the Society members.  Included in the museum's artefacts are Turra Coo memorabilia and the robes of the former town council.  It also hosts talks and exhibitions, and is visited regularly by local school pupils.

Aberdeenshire Councillors have agreed to transfer the assets of the caravan site at Portsoy to the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival organisation.

There are now plans for immediate investment in the site to refresh the facilities. In the longer term, the plan is to replace all the facilities and bring the site up to modern-day standards. There are plans to make the Portsoy site the best in Scotland.

The park currently has more  than 30 pitches for static vans, tourers and tents.

Design work is under way on new features for a historic north-east bridge to help streamline the water flow. Shaped stone sections called cutwaters are to be fitted to piers on the 18th-century Banff Bridge.

The work is part of a £450,000 project to protect the catergory A-listed structure at the mouth of the River Deveron.

It is hoped the work will be carried out during Summer 2012.

Moves are under way to identify a programme of improvements at the Scotstown cottages at Banff.  The houses were built in the 19th century to house fishermen from Portknockie who wanted to move to Banff.

A replica of a 19th-century fishing boat will play a part in celebrations to mark the Queen's diamond jubilee.  The Obair-Na-Ghaol - Gaelic for Labour of Love - will be made ready for the event by the Portsoy-based Scottish Traditional Boat Festival group; the boat is a replica of the scaffie Gratitude which was a traditional herring drifter with a dipping lug sail.  The original was built in Portknockie in 1896 and Obair-Na-Ghaol was launched exactly 100 years later after being built at Portsoy.  The vessel will be made ready for the event by volunteers from the festival's restoration and training project.  The humble wooden vessel will join a flotilla on the Thames in London this summer for a spectacular river pageant.  About 1,000 boats from throughout Britain and the Commonwealth will assemble to pay tribute to the Queen. 

Dutch tourists could be flocking to the shores thanks to an innovative deal between a travel agency in the Netherlands, and a North-east tourism group.

The Banffshire Coast Tourism Partnership (BCTP) is celebrating the new venture which it hopes will bring new visitors to the North-east.

The BCTP has created a link with Dutch travel agency, Travel4Reasons, who specialise in theme trips to Great Britain and Ireland.

The agency from Groningen already have a track record in bringing Dutch and Belgian Beatle fans, and football afficionados to Britain, as well as whisky drinkers, golfers and anglers to Scotland.

But it is our landscape and the quality of the light on the Banffshire Coast which Travel4Reasons think will appeal to nature lovers and photographers from the Low Countries.

BCTP chairman, Roger Goodyear, explains: “This company is promoting the Banffshire Coast and very much hope to bring groups over ‑ a particular possibility being for photographic packages, thus capitalising on one of our great assets ‑ the wonderful light.”

Travel4Reasons say: “For years we have enjoyed the Scottish Country, the beautiful landscape of the Highlands and the Cairngorm Mountains and the diversity of the Scottish Coast. They inspired us to make packages to meet the beautiful country on its very very best!”

The gruesome remains of a partly decomposed cat-like animal was photographed by a cyclist on the Banff to Aberchirder road, and published in the Banffshire Journal on November 22. It shows the head of the cat, which has extremely large teeth, and unusual ears and nose. The photo has been passed on to the  Big Cat Society for analysis.
Intriguingly, the location is very close to Cornhill, where there have been photographs taken of large black cats and Scottish wildcats in recent months.

Visitors to Macduff Marine Aquarium can look in microscopic detail at the creatures in the Aquarium's sea lab, using binocular microscopes which can project in high definition onto a plasma screen. An underwater camera also allows the smallest sea life in the lab to be filmed and seen in intricate detail.

The new equipment is a result of a successful £2,000 bid to the People's Postcode Lottery by the Aquarium, and the Aquarium say it really enhances the Sea Lab.

An empty shop in Banff's Strait Path has been re-opened as a gallery and exhibition space, used by local artists.

Artists include illustrator Jimsin Vogel, metalworker Barry Twain from Gardenstown, and wildlife artistr Katy Rewston from Alvah, near Banff.

The rest of the shop will be used as a workspace by local film-maker and animator Dave Chisnall.

Top local ice cream maker and retailer, Portsoy Ice Cream are chillin' out after picking up a record TEN awards in the Ice Cream Alliance contest.

Owner Alex Murray says the only previous time he entered, he won a single diploma, so is delighted with his success.

Winning flavours included their green apple sorbet. The firm produce no fewer than 100 flavours, but not all are available at the same time!

Portsoy Ice Cream prides itself in responding to customer suggestions for flavours, and use local producers wherever possible.

The busy shop on Portsoy's main street welcomes visitors from all over Scotland, who have already tasted their fantastic ice cream, or have heard of the shop's reputation.

Visitors and locals alike to the beautiful town of Cullen are invited to submit photos for the town's calendar.

The local community council are opening the photo contest for the 2013 calendar, so it will be ready in the shops next May.

The organisers are looking for photos taken of the area. The competition is in three categories; primary age, secondary schoolo, and adults.

The calendar has been a great success in recent years and the community council want the 2013 calendar to be in the shops as early as May next year, so that visitors can purchase them; hence the launch now.

Full information is available on the www.discovercullen.com website, by e-mailing community@discovercullen.com; or by phone to 01542 840314. Entry forms are also available at the Cullen Paper Shop, and Cullen Corner Shop. Closing date for entries is April 14, 2012.

Macduff Marine Aquarium have bid a reluctant farewell to one of their biggest residents, a six foot conger eel called Rip. But Rip seemed reluctant to leave, and had to be persuaded to go when he was released into the Moray Firth just outside the aquarium.

The Aquarium's motive on letting Rip return to the wild is both compassionate and passionate. Male congers go through a mid life crisis, when they head for the only time in their lives to the breeding grounds near the Azores, off the African coast, to find a mate, and die.

Rip was named for his habit of tearing food from the divers' hands who hand feed him in the Aquarium's giant 16 five metre tank. After six years at the Aquarium, he was showing the tell-tale signs of unrequited love: leaving his permanent hidey-hole, and swimming in daylight hours.

Rip quite happily went into his escape route, a large bag. But when it was lowered by crane into the firth, it took some persuasion by the Aquarium's divers to entice him from the safety of the bag, and set off on his one way mission.

But he eventually took the plunge and was last seen heading out to sea.

An injured sea eagle, originally from Ireland, is recovering after being stranded on seacliffs near Pennan.

Banff-based boat trip operators, North 58 Sea Adventures rallied to the call from the RSPB when a kayaker spotted the exhausted eagle on the cliffs in an inaccessible cove near the RSPB reserve at Troup Head.

While North 58 boat skipper Ian Page struggled against the failing light and a falling tide, brave RSPB sea eagle officer Rhian Evans ran onto the beach, and swam towards the bird to get it off the cliff, before grabbing the bird and getting it on onboard the Buchaneer. She was pictured in the P&J on the Buchaneer, with an ear to ear grin whilst still keeping a firm grip on the massive bird with its hooked beak and razor talons in clear view.

The bird was whisked off the vets to recover from its ordeal.

Early attempts were made to release the bird back to the wild at the Loch of Strathbeg bird reserve near where it was found, but the eagle refused to go.

It has been taklen back intro care, so that vets can check it for oil on its feathers, and to allow it to put on weight.

Great news for the Banffshire Coast Tourism Partnership. Our new mobile website is now live on-line, and available to all who use their mobile phones to access the internet.

This is the future! It means that folk in their cars, or in the street can find out where to go, where to shop, where to eat, where to stay etc in our area, just with a few clicks on their mobiles.

The Banffshire Coast mobile website includes some minor mods to make it easier to use and to read on small  phone screens.

Thanks go to our IT gurus at blue square for creating it.

If you don’t have an internet enabled  phone, you can get a look at the mobile website on:  http://m.banffshirecoast.com/  To see how it actually  looks on a phone screen, make your viewing window much narrower. (Of course, it is much smaller on a phone too.)

Aberdeen airport is a key hub in the fast-growing global air network being built by Air France-KLM. The company's UK manager reported growing demand for the flights, with more flights and bigger planes being needed for the 10% rise in passenger numbers they have recorded in the past year.

Air France-KLM operate five flights a day from Aberdeen to Amsterdam, and three to Paris. 60% of passengers then board flights to other destinations.

Macduff will be ablaze with a new set of Christmas lights this year, thanks to fundraising efforts by the Banff and Macduff Christmas Lights Association.

The lights in Banff and Macduff will be officially switched on at a ceremony on the Plainstones, on Low Street, Banff on the afternoon of Saturday November 27.

There will be stalls, Santa's grotto, horse and cart rides, Macduff RNLI, the coastguard and fire service. Music from the Banff Castle Pipe band, singers and a magician.

The event starts at 12.30pm, and the switch on is at 4.30pm.

The downloadable information about the winter programme is:

BCTP The Next Steps booking form (Word doc)

BCTP The Next Steps Leaflet  (pdf).

If you are unable to access or print these, please contact the BCTP and we will be happy to send out hard copies. Reply to this e-mail, phone (012610 815641, or write to:

Banffshire Coast Tourism Partnership,

Banff Castle,

Castle Street,

Banff

AB45 1DL

Banffshire Coast Tourist Partnership were recently awarded £35,000 funding from a combination of the Rural Tourism Business Support project, the VisitScotland Growth Fund and Aberdeenshire Council.

Over the next 18 months, tourism businesses along the Banffshire Coast will have the opportunity to participate in several significant marketing initiatives, thanks to a recent funding award of £35,000.

The funding, from a combination of the Rural Tourism Business Support project, the VisitScotland Growth Fund and Aberdeenshire Council, will enable the Banffshire Coast Tourism Group to further develop and market the Banffshire Coast as a highly attractive visitor destination.

Roger Goodyear, Chair of the Banffshire Coast Tourism Partnership, commented: "This award is a fantastic opportunity to promote our area to both first time and returning visitors, and follows on from a very successful short marketing campaign run at the beginning of this year which resulted in visits to our website (www.banffshirecoast.com) rising by more than 1500%."

The four marketing initiatives fall under two themes - Outdoor and Ancestral.  A full-colour 48-page pocket Area Guide, to be distributed throughout Scotland and the Banffshire area, will contain high-quality imagery and editorial content to encourage both visits to and wider exploration of the area.  The other three initiatives will focus on the area's strengths of Marine Life, Walking and Birdwatching, and Ancestral.  They will all involve a combination of activities, including the creation of new sections for the website, e-flyer campaigns to targeted market segments, PR trips and familiarisation visits, as well as social media campaigns.  All four initiatives will provide tourism businesses in the area excellent opportunities to advertise their own individual offering.

Roger Goodyear commented further:  "The Banffshire Coast has a wide range of tourism attractions and services, but these have never been brought together in a way which is 'visitor friendly'.  The planned campaigns will draw all of these elements together in one place and promote comprehensive packages and itineraries to those with these specific interests - for the very first time.  We will be showing visitors just how they can spend their time in our area - whether one day, a few days or longer.  By focussing on the web and social media, we will be able to achieve more significant results than the traditional advertising routes which are out of the reach of our budget, as well as utilising the most up-to-date promotional tools.  We are very grateful to our 3 funding partners - without whom we would not be in a position to make this step change in tourism on the Banffshire Coast."

For more information, please contact:  Zillah Jamieson, Director, Banffshire Coast Tourism Partnership Limited; 01542 840314; zillahj@btinternet.com

A basking shark has been spotted in Banff Bay, and photographed by a local man. An expert guessed the animal was a young male,which would probably make its way back to the Atlantic, where they are resident.

Good news for the thousands of visitors who use service buses to get around.

The biggest bus operator in the North of Scotland is reducing the price of many of its multiple journey day tickets.

The firm is introducing a zonal system for calculating fares. One route to benefit is the service between Banff/Macduff/Turriff and Aberdeen, where weekly tickets are being reduced.

The company have also announced that they are freezing prices on their single and return ticket prices.

More details from the company's website: www.stagecoachbus.com

The home-baking in the Laird's Kitchen tearoom has won a Scottish Home Baking Award, thanks to nominations from happy customers of its delicious cakes and scones. The awards recognise real home baking done on the premises, and consistent quality.

The judge said: “You absolutely must try this castle and the Laird’s Kitchen if in this neck of the woods- not only for the experience but for the chance of eating excellent home baking in the kitchen of this ancient castle. The baking is just the way my Gran taught me many moons ago and is truly fantastic.  We were generously handed a full dark gingerbread to take away which did not last long on the journey home.  An absolute must for Joan’s storytelling and baking alone.  Keep the spirit alive Delgatie!”
Joan Johnson, Trustee of the Delgatie Castle Trust was delighted "To receive such an award following nominations from the public is wonderful.  We have always taken pride in being able to offer fresh home baking every day at the castle since the Laird’s Kitchen opened almost 20 years ago and to have this recognition is a real honour."

Delgatie Castle is open to the public every day from 10a.m. until 5p.m. until the 20th December. Visitors do not need to tour the castle to visit the Laird’s Kitchen.

A puffin has become the leading actor on TV cameras at Troup Head  bird reserve after it made its burrow right in front of the live bird-watching camera. The colourful little seabird can be watched entering and leaving its burrow, which may have chicks inside.

The final RSPB bird watching evening of the summer at Troup Head takes place on Tuesday, August 9 from 6pm-8pm.

As well as puffins, visitors will be able to watch at close hand the only mainland gannet colony in Britain, with RSPB experts on hand. There are 3,000 pairs of the beautiful seabirds nest on the towering cliffs every summer.

 Duff House at War tells the eventful story of the stately home, now an art gallery and and restored stately home.The house was bombed by the Germans, ironically killing several German prisoners of war. As well as a prison, the house was used as an internment centre for foreigners at the start of the war, and to house Allied soldiers.

Duff House manager Rachel Kennedy is very excited about the new book, saying that it makes a significant contribution to local and national history. Duff House at War includes 40 pages of photographs, and includes memories of wartime residents. It is written by Allan Burnett.

The Moonlight Tandoori is the winner of the Scottish section of the 2011 Lyca Tiffin Cup. It beat 61 Scottish Asian eateries to the title of best South Asian restaurant in the contest, held in the Houses of Parliament.

The Moonlight was nominated as the North-east entry by local MP, Eilidh Whiteford.

Photographs have been published of what is claimed to be a Scottish wildcat and kitten near the village of Cornhill. The pictures appeared in the Banffshire Journal, and are from the same area which produced video footage of what some believed was a big cat species.

There have been other documented sightings of big cats in the past decade, very close to Banff, at nearby Whitehills, and south of Turriff. The Scottish wildcat is an extrememly rare and endangered species, and there have been no recorded sightings in lower Banffshire for many years.

Now nature-watchers to the Banffshire Coast can add another rare creature to their must-see list, on top of dolphins, gannets and seals!

40% discount on hire of classic MB sports and touring cars for the month of October. Classic Highland Car Hire are offering this very generous discount on their beautifully restored MGs, MGBs and MG Midgets. The cars can also be hired for just four, six or eight hours, as well as daily and weekend rates. See www.classicmghighlandcarhire.co.uk, or phone 01224 537275.

Duff House: Under 16s go in for free (visitors must quote ref: BCDUFF16 at point of entry.)   

Boyndie Visitor Centre: Used Macduff Aquarium tickets entitle holder to free soft drink, tea or coffee. Duff House ticket holders receive 10% discount on garden plants. 

Delgatie Castle: Special tea room deal: afternoon tea deal (£6) includes sandwiches, scone, cake and tea or coffee.