National Trust for Scotland has secured £900k-plus towards the development of a new £2.3m visitor centre in Wester Ross, Northwest Highlands of Scotland.
The plans for a world-class visitor facility at the stunning Corrieshalloch Gorge National Nature Reserve can progress, thanks to £923,277 funding from the Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund. The remaining funding for the project comes from the Trust's restricted reserves.
The £2.3m project will enable the charity, which protects Scotland’s national and natural treasures, to build a new visitor centre, including toilet facilities and a blue loo for camper vans, improve parking at the beauty spot and expand the path network with improved wayfinding and interpretation.
Clea Warner, General Manager for the North West, said, 'These new facilities will be the gateway to the rich natural heritage of the Gorge and the Falls of Measach, one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the UK, and will make a major contribution to the local area, vastly improving the welcome we can offer the increasing number of visitors who are heading north.’
With its beautiful location and impressive scenery, Corrieshalloch Gorge has seen a 60% increase in visitor numbers since 2012, with almost 140,000 visitors in 2017/18.
Warner continued, ‘As a National Nature Reserve, Corrieshalloch Gorge requires intensive protection. These new facilities will help us to accommodate the growing number of visitors, while ensuring the site gets the important conservation care that a place of such importance needs.’
The Corrieshalloch Gorge Gateway to Nature project is part of a new £5m Scottish programme of projects to invest in the Highlands & Islands to provide more and better quality opportunities for visitors to enjoy natural and cultural heritage assets.