See opera by boat
The undoubted highlight of Highland 2007 is St Kilda: A European Opera (main picture), a multi-artform performance over the summer solstice telling the story of the remote. abandoned island, including film, opera, and aerial ballet suspended over cliffs. It’s going to be simultaneously broadcast in five European cities and performed completely in Gaelic, and represents a huge artistic and imaginative undertaking for the Scottish arts scene. The Scottish leg of the performance is not, as rumoured, going to happen on St Kilda itself, but in the slightly more accessible Stornaway. You still need a boat to get there, though.
St Kilda: A European Opera takes place on Sat 23 Jun. For more Information see www.3tkilda.eu
Surfing in Thurso
You wouldn’t necessarily expect to
94 THE LIST 7—21 Jun 2007
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encounter sun-bleached surf dudes hanging out in the teashops and quiet streets of one of mainland Scotland’s most northerly towns, but the barrelling waves crashing onto Thurso’s East Beach, among the fastest in the world. have engendered a small, dedicated, friendly surfing community. Surfers from all over the world visit for the quiet coastlines, which have got busier since the town started hosting the O’Neill Highland Open
Something differnt for the weekend
Holidaying at home isn’t all midges and battlefields. Kirstin Innes wanders off the tourist trail and discovers some of Scotland’s far less typical attractions
two years ago, although the surfers co-exist happily with the local community. Hawaiian shorts aren’t going to cut it in the fashion stakes, though — the water temperature never makes it much above 10°C. Lessons at the North Experience Surf School
(NESS): 01847 892 500
Have a spontaneous folk encounter Singer-songwriter Dougie MacLean may no longer be at the helm, but the
atmosphere in the bar of the Taybank Hotel in Dunkeld (formerly MacLean’s Real Music Bar) is still potent. It’s a cosy, real-ales-and- fireplaces sort of place. which regularly attracts the cream of Scottish folk musicians. However. MacLean’s idea in founding the place, which the new management still adhere to. was to create ‘Scotland’s Musical Meeting Place’. an environment for spontaneous jam sessions which pulls in musicians and other interested parties from all over the world. Everyone from Elaine C Smith to Jerry Springer has been sighted there, and quite frankly. that’s the sort of party we don‘t want to miss out on.
Taybank Hotel, Dunkeld. www.taybank.com, or 01350 727 340 for more information
Stay in a wiqwam Nursing a long-suppressed
politically incorrect desire to play cowboys and Native Americans? Clusters of wigwams are popping up all over the country. offering ramblers and revellers alike low- tech accommodation without the need to lug a tent about. The
largest settlement is still at Strathfillan near Crianlarich. providing easy access to a number of Munros, but a recent village at Mortonhall in Edinburgh is marketing itself as alternative Festival accommodation.
See www.sac.ac.uk/ wigwams for further information
Eat in a treehouse
Cleverly combining childhood nostalgia with a very grown up five star dining experience. the Lodge complex, by the side of Loch Goil. offers a complete escape from the rat race only an hour‘s drive from Glasgow. The main attraction of the complex is of course the gigantic treehouse-cum-dining room. available for lunches during the week. but private parties are