TOURERS FACE GATHERING PROBLEM
ACCOMMODATION is at a premium for next week’s Cowal Highland Gathering, by far the biggest event in the peninsula’s year.
However, a dramatic downturn in the number of holiday parks offering facilities for caravans, mobile homes and campers may create major problems over the weekend.
Jo Haddon, who runs Invereck Holiday Park near Kilmun, explained: “There has been a steady reduction over the years in parks offering these facilities. There are now only four offering pitches for tourers, the Cot House, the park at the rear of the Balaclava, ourselves, and the park at Glendaruel, which is very attractive, but is 14 miles away from the Gathering.
“We’ve been fully booked for a long time, but are still being inundated with calls for people looking to site their touring vans and tents over the weekend. The fact is, if they can’t find somewhere to park, they’re not going to come, and this will certainly have a knock-on effect in the future.
“This is supposed to be a holiday area, trying to attract tourists. But a lot of tourists nowadays come in caravans and mobile homes, and if we can’t cater for them they will go elsewhere. It’s certainly an issue at this time of the year.”
Mrs Haddon said that the isssue was not just about people coming to watch the Gathering, but also competitors. “We have our own little Gathering here after the big one,” she said. “These are people who come year after year, and unless this issue is addressed, then they will stop coming.”
Over at the Cot House Park Anita Craggs agreed that there was a problem with accommodation over the Gathering weekend.
“Our site is licensed for 14 tourers,” she said, “and as a general rule that seems to meet demand.
“However, during the Gathering we have special permission from the council to extend that, and we’re fully booked with over 30 at the moment.
“There are fewer stances for tourers since Stratheck went totally residential. Under normal circumstances it’s not a problem, but if we took all our bookings over the games weekend we could easily have 200 tourers and tents”
She suggested that a ‘diversification’ policy operated in England might provide a solution.”If farmers have land which has perhaps fallen out of use, due, for example, to the poor return on dairy cattle, then the council provides grants to put facilities on the land so that it can be used for camping or tourer hookups.
“People do camp out on a sort of ‘ad hoc’ basis at the West Bay, for example and probably in the woods around Cowal, but competitors are really looking for facilities such as toilets and showers.”


HOLLYWOOD COMES TO STRACHUR
INTERNATIONAL actor Brian Cox, originally from Dundee, was in Strachur on Monday filming the epic movie ‘The Waterhorse’, which is due for release in the UK in December 2007. Mr Cox is playing a cameo role in this major production which is from the producers of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ and ‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe’ and was only with the production for one day, before being whisked off to attend a premier in Edinburgh.
Other stars of the film are Emily Watson, twice nominated for Oscars, Ben Chaplin and David Morrisey (fresh from his role opposite Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct 2).
Much of the filming is taking place in New Zealand, and most of the Scottish filming is taking place at an estate near Cairndow.
Security was tight around the set at The Square in Strachur, with traffic being held up in both directions for a few minutes at a time as shooting took place. The studio was operating a ‘closed set’ policy, which means that we were unable to take any photographs on or of the set, or the actors on set.
The Water Horse is a sweeping epic rooted in one of the most enduring and intriguing legends of our time. Set in the desolate landscape of the Scottish Highlands during World War II, The Water Horse tells the story of Angus, a 12-year old boy who anxiously awaits the return of his father who is serving in the military overseas. Spending his days exploring the shores of a nearby loch, he stumbles across a mysterious egg. Taking it home he watches as the egg hatches into an amazing creature, the mythical “water horse” of Scottish legend.
At first he is able to conceal it from his mother, who is dealing with her own emotional torment and coping with a regiment of soldiers who have been billeted at the estate where she acts as housekeeper. Although he has become attached to the creature, it grows so rapidly that he is forced to release it into the loch where it evolves into a terrifying yet understanding sea monster that Angus risks his life to protect.
The special effects for the film will be done by Weta Digital and Weta Workshop, who most recently were responsible for the ground-breaking visuals in Peter Jackson’s blockbuster King Kong. The producers previously worked with Weta Workshop to develop the fantastical creatures in The Chronicles of Narnia.
Angus is being played by Alex Etel, from Manchester, who made his debut in Danny Boyle’s 2004 film ‘Millions’.
Director Jay Russell most recently directed Ladder 49, starring John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix. His previous directing credits include Tuck Everlasting and My Dog Skip.
Despite the tight security, however, a story reaches our ears, however, of a local fan of Mr Cox gaining access to the great man at lunchtime to have his dog-eared copy of the actor’s biography signed. On noticing the ‘Govan Library’ stamp on the inside cover of the book, Mr Cox reportedly told the fan to make sure his fine was paid.


Community council accused of “procrastinating”
DUNOON Community Council voted unanimosusly on Tuesday night to oppose the proposed siting of a wind farm at Leapmoor, on the hills opposite Cowal near Inverkip.
The plan has attracted almost universal condemnation on the grounds of visual impact, with Argyll and Bute Council, Sandbank Community Council, and now Dunoon Community Council, as well as community bodies on the Inverclyde side, all coming out in opposition to it.
Ironically, the only body not to have voiced an opinion is South Cowal Community Council - ironically, because it was in Innellan that organised public opposition began and where the pressure group CARES (Cowal and Renewable Energy Sense) took shape.
Rather than coming out either for or against the plan, South Cowal Community Council has decided instead to commission a survey on the whole issue of windfarms to gauge public opinion
The secretary of South Cowal Community Council said: “We have discussed the matter of wind farms in detail and are striving to reach an informed decision. We have decided to gauge the true feeling of the community via a questionnaire and are still finding out the real implications of the proposed developments. Additionally, individuals are welcome to communicate their opinions to us by email, to secretary@southcowal.org.”
However, this response did not satisfy CARES.
Chairman Ian Gamage said “CARES are exasperated with South Cowal Community Council, who insist on undertaking an unstructured, unprofessional qualitative survey by school children to establish the feelings of an ad-hoc and unrepresentative sample of the residents of Innellan and Toward, before they are prepared to make a decision about the giant turbines planned for Leapmoor Forest, Inverkip. A survey which by its very nature could be totally misleading.”
He hit out at the community council for its sense of priorities, saying: “It’s interesting to note that on other issues such as the Matheson Garden Project and a new pier for Innellan, the council do not feel a survey of the local community is required but, in a letter this week received from the Chairman of the Community Council, it was stated that: ‘The Community Council have not yet reached a view on whether as a body it supports or opposes windfarms. It is in the process of an information gathering exercise to gauge public opinion on the matter and is actively seeking further information so it can reach a balanced and informed view.’
“We are very suspicious of the intentions of a community council who prevaricate on an issue as important as the visual impact of the Leapmoor Wind Farm knowing that they, by not objecting, are supporting the project.What have they to gain by not opposing the planning application?
He went on to say: “Our message to the community council is simply this. Stop procrastinating.
If you are against the Leapmoor Forest Windfarm – Object - as over 100 residents in the community already have.
“If you are for the Leapmoor Forest Windfarm at Inverkip - say so. At least make a decision before the closing date for objections on August 3.”


A SIGN OF THE GRIMES
The condition of some the area’s road signs has prompted the secretary of Kilfinan Community Council to write to the head of Argyll and Bute Council’s Roads and Amenity Services in an attempt to get something done about them.
Fred Robson says that the illegibility of some of the signs in Cowal are in such poor condition that tourists are having trouble finding their way about.
He cited in particular the sign for the B836 from Sandbank to Glendaruel, Tighnabruaich and Colintraive.. “It’s not an obvious junction in the first place,” he said, “And the sign is in such a state that it’s virtually incomprehensible - certainly to a visitor. To make any sense of it you would have to stop the car and analyse the missing letters.
“The same can also be said of the signs at the Tighnabruaich road end indicating the B8000.”
In his letter to the council Mr Robson said that he had commented on the filthy state of many road signs on numerous occasions to council staff and now felt it was necessary to register a formal complaint. He continued: “It is obvious that there is no cleaning or repainting programme in place and many signs in the area are becoming illegible because of a covering of grime and green algae.
He went on: “There are also signs within the Kilfinan area that are just as bad, those on the approaches to and from Tighnabruaich and Kames and at Millhouse crossroads being examples.
“The state of these signs is causing problems for tourists to the area, something commented on by a number of visitors to Tighnabruaich.”
Mr Robson said that he assumed the responsibility lay with Argyll and Bute Council to ensure that signage is kept in a clean and legible condition and that he hoped the council would take steps to make their own examination of signs in the area and ensure that cleaning is carried out as a matter of some urgency.
A spokeswoman for the council said that the root of the problem was lack of cash, but that the issue was to be addressed at a meeting later this month.
Asked why, rather than maintaining directional road signs, the council had spent money on new ‘Twenty’s Plenty’ signs she said that this was Scottish Executive money and was ring-fenced for the purpose.
She said that road users should see a significant difference in the condition of the signs in the near future.