Copyright scotsman
A rural community often associated with being home to “Britain’s most remote pub” has just acquired a new slogan after taking home an international award. Knoydart, on the west coast of Scotland, has been crowned winner of the Michael Dower Award for European Rural Resilience. The international title, in memory of conservationist Michael Dower, is given to exemplars of how local communities and individuals are tackling economic, environmental and social challenges to improve rural life across the continent. Read more: One of the most impressive communities I've met since walking round Scotland for the last 18 months Finalists for the pan-European prize included communities from Armenia, Germany and Ireland. Last year marked 25 years since the Knoydart community completed a buy-out of the former Knoydart Estate for £750,000. The change in hands of the 17,000-acre estate in 1999 began a turn-around to make the community what it is today. Read more: 'It's the next big thing' - Inside a Scottish community preparing to be first for island subsea tunnels While much of the west Highlands and Hebridean islands have struggled with depopulation and school rolls falling, Knoydart has seen an astonishing doubling of the population from 60 in 1999 to around 120. Today’s residents have talked also about improved quality of life and positive changes to the landscape under new management. In the past two decades, the Knoydart Forest Trust said some 600,000 trees and 450 hectares of new woodland have been planted, which it said has also created jobs from the production of timber and firewood. There is an established ranger service on the peninsula for deer management and nature tours. The local pub, the Old Forge, has also since been acquired by the community and transformed into a hub for the village of Inverie. Only accessible by either a near 20-mile walk through mountains or a boat ride from Mallaig, the community’s pub is often referred to as the UK’s most remote spot for a pint. Ranger Finlay Greig and former chairman of the Knoydart Foundation, Davie Newton, collected the award along with a €5,000 [£4,365] prize at the 6th European Rural Parliament in Inverurie last week. Accepting the award, Mr Greig, a former journalist who relocated to the peninsula four years ago, said: “Thank you to the Michael Dower Award for shortlisting our community, let alone naming us as winner, and to our fellow finalists for sharing their inspiring stories of community resilience. “Thank you to all directors present and past of the various Knoydart institutions, who set aside countless hours, days, weeks, months of their lives voluntarily to ensure our community thrives. “Last year marked 25 years since the community completed the buy-out of the tired remains of the Knoydart Estate. In that time, our population has near doubled, living standards have improved dramatically and rolling black-outs are a thing of the past thanks to our renovated hydro power scheme. “Hundreds of hectares of new woodland have been created, our red deer population is under control and a mosaic of habitats are regenerating before our eyes. “The health of the land and the livelihoods of the people who live in it has thrived in that quarter century.” Mr Dower was the former chief executive of the Peak District National Park and oversaw the creation of the National Forest, a 200-square-mile forested landscape in central England, spanning parts of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, and Staffordshire. It is the first time the rural resilience award has been given since his death in 2022.
