UHI NWH Centre for Recreation and Tourism Research

26/03/2026

It's great to see our 'Connections through tea' project getting coverage in The Herald. Supported by the British Council 'Connections through Culture' program, Knowledge Exchange Associate Dr Katie Murray and Associate Researcher Dr Lalith Welamedage will be researching the historic involvement of Scots in the Sri Lankan tea industry ahead of an exhibition to be held in Sri Lanka this summer.

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/25964730.new-exhibition-explore-scottish-roots-sri-lankas-tea-industry/

UHI North, West and Hebrides
UHI
British Council Sri Lanka
Arts – British Council
Highland Archive Centre

A new exhibition is to explore Scotland’s vital role in shaping Sri Lanka’s world-famous tea industry - a partnership dating back to the 19th…

19/02/2026

We are working on this project which celebrates the achievements of the 19th century figure Charles Fraser Mackintosh. Our work will build on a pilot project we were involved in that can be found at www,charlesfrasermackintosh.com. Looking forward to learning much more in the coming months.

https://www.nwh.uhi.ac.uk/en/news/major-community-archive-project-to-celebrate-influential-figure-who-shaped-inverness.html

The largely unrecognised achievements of a 19th-century property developer and prolific collector who shaped the modern townscape of Inverness will be celebrated in a major project led by UHI Inverness.

19/02/2026

A few years ago we co-created the 'A Walk in Ardgour' audio trail. It encompassed local heritage tales written and recorded by the local community. Now they have revisited the tour and redone it in Gaelic to further reflect the local culture.

On Saturday 21st February CRTR will be attending a 'Gaelic Geotour & Community Afternoon/ Geocuairt Ghàidhlig & Feasgar Coimhearsnachd' to hear the new Gaelic version. If you are in the area and have an interest in local culture it would be great if you could come along.

At the event there will also be Teallach - live forging with Niall Turnbull, who will create a new Gaelic horseshoe sign for the hall. Those attending will be invited to help shape a letter of “Talla Bhaile Àird Ghobhar” at his mobile forge.

A feasgar de Ghàidhlig, cultar is coimhearsnachd / an afternoon of language, craftsmanship and community spirit.
All welcome!

UHI North, West and Hebrides UHI NWH Fort William Ardgour Glensanda Development Trust
Bòrd na Gàidhlig

09/02/2026

Dr Katie Murray, Knowledge Exchange Associate, and Kelly Morrison, Associate Researcher, are delighted to be presenting on 'Living Maps, Living Communities' at the UHI Institute for Northern Studies 'Mapping Identities' conference tomorrow. Programme and registration link below.

UHI NWH Fort William
UHI North, West and Hebrides

20/01/2026

Knowledge Exchange Associate Kendra Turnbull travelled to Ireland last week to take part in the RETURN project partner meeting. The project is an Interreg Northern Periphery and Arctic co-funded project that examines how revenue transfer models in tourist destinations can fund solutions that support local communities, environmental conservation and long-term resilience in the Northern Periphery and Arctic (NPA) Region.

Thank you to MTU and Leave no Trace Ireland for hosting such an informative trip.

05/12/2025

We were delighted when Centre Director, Dr Steve Taylor, was given this 'Shaping Sustainable Tourism' award by the Interreg Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme at their 25th anniversary conference in October. Steve picked it up on behalf of collaborators we have worked with across the region on responsible tourism projects.

UHI NWH Fort William UHI North, West and Hebrides

Dr Steve Taylor, Director of the Centre for Recreation and Tourism Research at UHI North, West and Hebrides has accepted the “Shaping Sustainable Tourism” award on behalf of the Sustainable Arctic and Peripheral Cycling Tourism project (SUB).

22/11/2025

Knowledge Exchange Associate Katie Murray is at Roam West this evening, at an event hosted by the Nether Lochaber Community Association. She's showcasing an interactive map and self-guided audio trail we created with local walks, cycle routes, photographs, videos and stories, to encourage visitors to spend longer exploring the area. Hope to see any locals here, or to find out more contact Katie at [email protected]

UHI North, West and Hebrides
UHI NWH Fort William

10/11/2025

Knowledge Exchange Associates Kendra Turnbull and Katie Murray are at the very impressive Fountain Road Hall hosting a drop-in session in collaboration with Go Golspie Development Trust. We are creating new slow tourism itineraries for the GoGolspie website and would love to hear from locals about what should be included.

GoGolspie is a non-profit organisation dedicated to local community development and are keen to develop a tourism offering rooted in their locale. This project builds on this previous work completed by Kendra creating a map, leaflet and website updates.

https://www.uhi.ac.uk/en/business/ric/research-specialisms/tourism/case-studies/

UHI North, West and Hebrides

25/09/2025

We've written about our recent partnership with the Hynish Trust in this blog post on the Coast website.

Coast has partnered with the Hynish Trust to add six new stories about the Hynish Shore Station and Skerryvore Lighthouse to our archive. Read about the partnership at www.coast.scot/blog



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19/09/2025

The second in our series from the Hynish Trust on Coast social media. We are looking forward to hearing more stories about this iconic site.

We are collaborating with the Hynish Trust to bring you stories from the Hynish Shore Station, created to build and service the iconic Skerryvore Lighthouse.

"On the morning of the 17 March 1954, the observer on duty in Hynish made a shocking discovery. The light was not showing and the outside of the tower was blackened. Fortunately, the support vessel was due to visit that very day:

"Skerryvore, which stands on a rock ten miles south-west of Tiree, is today a burned-out hulk. The three keepers were rescued yesterday after they had clung to a rock in the Atlantic for nearly 12 hours. Principal keeper John Mowatt and his two assistants, Malcolm MacKinnon and James Jaffray, all married men, were found by the lighthouse tender Hesperus when it arrived on a routine trip with their reliefs. In a night of terror, with the Atlantic breaking over them, the three men crouched on a narrow ledge of rock in fear that the 158-foot tower, weakened by fire and shaken by explosions from rocket and other signal charges, would fall on top of them." (Edinburgh Evening News, 18 March 1954)

The fire had been discovered in the light room at 7pm. The keepers fought the flames with extinguishers but the fire quickly grew out of control, and they had to evacuate the tower. It took five years to repair, during which time the rock was guarded by an unmanned lightvessel."

Contributed by Dr John Holliday on behalf of the Hynish Trust

For more west coast stories visit coast.scot or download 'The Coast that Shaped the World' app.

📸 Aerial shot of Skerryvore Lighthouse, from the collections of An Iodhlann, the historical centre on Tiree



NatureScot CalMac Ferries West Coast Waters Wild About Argyll Hynish Trust Northern Lighthouse Board UHIUHI UHI NWH Fort William

15/09/2025

Over the next few weeks we will be posting stories from Hynish Shore Station on the Coast Facebook and Instagram pages, beginning with this overview of its history and creation. It has been fabulous to work with the Hynish Trust to learn about the history and ongoing development of the site, and to continue to add to the Coast archive of stories gathered from the west coast and islands of Scotland.

NatureScot UHI North, West and Hebrides

We are collaborating with the Hynish Trust to bring you stories from the Hynish Shore Station, created to build and service the iconic Skerryvore Lighthouse.

The first story in our series gives you an overview of this fascinating and community-owned site.

"Located on the southern coast of the Isle of Tiree, the Hynish Shore Station was established in the 1830s as the operational base for the construction of the Skerryvore Lighthouse—one of Scotland’s most ambitious maritime engineering feats. Designed by Alan Stevenson, the station played a vital role in supporting the remote lighthouse, located 11 miles offshore on the treacherous An Sgeir Mhòr.

The site originally included over twenty buildings, among them barracks, workshops, a signal tower, and a pierhead store. The barracks housed a workforce of over 100, including 45 stonemasons and their families, as recorded in the 1841 Census. These skilled workers hand-carved more than 4,300 granite blocks, each uniquely shaped and meticulously crafted for the lighthouse.

The signal tower was a key feature, enabling visual communication with the lighthouse via a system of hoisted balls. Other facilities included a smithy, washhouse, cow sheds, and a powder house for storing explosives used in quarrying.

In the late 20th century, the Hebridean Trust acquired and began restoring the site. Today, the Upper Square cottages—once home to lighthouse keepers—have been renovated into family housing. The Alan Stevenson House is a hotel with a restaurant and bar, and Morton Boyd Hall now serve as an exhibition space, preserving the legacy of the station. Hynish Shore Station is now community owned and managed by the Hynish Trust. Hynish Shore Station stands as a testament to Victorian ingenuity, community resilience, and the enduring importance of maritime safety. It remains a cultural and historical landmark, offering visitors a glimpse into the lives of those who built and maintained Scotland’s lighthouses."

Contributed by John Pirie, former lighthouse engineer, on behalf of the Hynish Trust. John lived and worked on many of Scotland's lighthouses, including Skerryvore.

For more west coast stories visit coast.scot or download 'The Coast that Shaped the World' app.

📸 John Pirie



NatureScot CalMac Ferries West Coast Waters Wild About Argyll Hynish Trust