September 29 2023

The construction contract to build a three-storey watchtower and ramparts on the shores of Loch Katrine has been awarded to Creating Adventurous Places (Cap.Co) by The Steamship Sir Walter Scott Trust.

Rising above the famous vessel at Trossachs Pier the vertical timber fin-clad tower will stand as the latest phase of a viewpoints strategy to improve the visitor experience within the National Park.

A short path has already been constructed on an old road leading to the site from the pier in anticipation of the lookout tower, which will take the form of two circular viewing decks connected by an elevated walkway.

Simon Egan, business development director of CAP.Co, which won a competitive tender to build the tower and walkways, said: "We are excited to be taking this project forward through the build stage and are delighted that our initial designs, which blend sensitively into the stunning landscape at this iconic site, have been widely welcomed by many community groups and individuals who strongly supported this imaginative scheme at the planning stage.

"We will be making use of a helicopter to transport materials to the site as part of our light-touch approach to building structures in this environmentally sensitive location, and we plan to complete the project before the end of the year so visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy the special views from 2024 onwards."

Larch battens will be blackened using the traditional Shou Sugi Ban preservation technique which involves charring timbers to protect from weathering.

2 Comments

#1 Posted by Ernest Hemingway on 29 Sep 2023 at 10:08 AM

"We will be making use of a helicopter to transport materials to the site as part of our light-touch approach to building structures in this environmentally sensitive location''
Said of course, without the blink of an eye, but my BS detector did register the usual green baloney.

#2 Posted by James Hepburn on 2 Oct 2023 at 12:15 PM

What's a 'Lock' Katrine?

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