PLANS to renovate an historic museum at Stirling Castle have been awarded nearly £1m from the National Lottery.

The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum will benefit from the cash.

The award is the most significant boost to date for the museum’s Thin Red Line Appeal, a fund-raising campaign under the patronage of HRH The Earl of Strathearn.

The plan will improve the Museum’s ability to interpret and commemorate for modern visitors the history of one of Scotland’s Highland regiments.

The £973,000 award means the museum can begin storing its collection of militaria, art and artefacts in order for building work to start this autumn.

The revamped museum is set to re-open in summer of 2019.

Lucy Casot, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland, said: “This award marks a key change for The Argyll & Sutherland Museum.

"It will be transformed from a traditional military museum to one which engages visitors in a modern and exciting way as they learn about life as a soldier over the past 200 years.

"The current cramped conditions will be replaced with bright, contemporary displays.

"Better access will allow many more people to visit ensuring a brighter future for The Argyll and Sutherland Museum and its important collections.”

Stirling Castle is one of the most-visited sites in Scotland, with over 560,000 visitors a year.

Colonel A K Miller, project director of the £4m Museum programme said: “After six years of developing our plans and much hard work by a small team, we are now in a position to deliver something very special in Stirling Castle.

“We are indebted to National Lottery players for their support, and I would like to acknowledge the roles played by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic Environment Scotland in helping us reach this key milestone."

www.stirlingcastle.scot

A DELEGATION from Sha Lo Wan, a village of 50 people in Lantau Island, Hong Kong, has travelled to Stornoway to learn from the HebCelt festival ahead of hosting its first music, dance and drama festival in November.

Artistic director Dr Vicki Ooi and Oscar Fung, of AFTEC (the Absolutely Fabulous Theatre Connection), watched the final preparations for HebCelt this week and will attend the opening two days of the award-winning festival, which runs until Saturday night.

Sha Lo Wan is accessible only by foot and ferry and suffers from depopulation and a fragile economy.

The villagers decided to organise a festival to help regenerate the area, and are using HebCelt as a model.

HebCelt generates £20 million for the local economy and has won a series of awards.

Caroline Maclennan, director, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome our visitors from Sha Lo Wan and hopefully their visit here will give them some ideas and encouragement to get their own festival established.”

The 2018 HebCelt runs until 21 July and will be headlined by Deacon Blue, The Fratellis, Eddi Reader, Skipinnish and Roddy Woomble.

www.hebceltfest.com

THE EDINBURGH International Culture Summit this year is to focus on "cultural solutions to health and wellbeing".

David Leventhal, Prince Totto Théogène Niwenshuti and Faisal Abu Alhayjaa are among those attending the summit from 22 to 24 August.

Other themes are Culture and Investment and Culture in a Networked World.

Prince Totto Théogène Niwenshuti, is a Rwandan multidisciplinary artist, dancer and academic, and David Leventhal is programme director of the Mark Morris Dance Group's Dance for PD (Parkinson's Disease) programme.

Dr Assal Habibi, assistant research Professor, Brain and Creativity Institute at the The University of Southern California, will "discuss the importance of creativity at all stages of life presenting her research on how musical training accelerates brain development in children."

Prof Bas Bloem, Medical Director and Consultant neurologist, Radboud University Medical Centre will "provide a practical framework for clinicians to adapt cultural practices to treat chronic illness", with his former patient Julian Herman, violinist and former concert master of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra performing a solo.

Faisal Abu Alhayjaa will address patient care, describing his experience of working as a clown in children’s wards and refugee camps.

The Summit, the fourth time it has been staged, will take place at the Scottish Parliament.

www.culturesummit.com