Sport and leisure

Pedal for Scotland events help make cycling accessible to more people across Scotland, with a particular focus on families and people new to cycling by providing a safe and fun environment.

Community organisations can now apply for grants of up to £10,000 to organise beginner-friendly, local cycling events in 2022.

Forty-seven community groups, museums, and culture and heritage organisations have been supported through the first round of the Community Stories Fund, bringing an exciting programme of storytelling events to all areas of Scotland as part of the Year of Stories 2022.

Communities play a crucial role in encouraging others to walk and cycle by making places more enjoyable to travel through or to. By encouraging more people to walk and cycle, traffic congestion is reduced, public health improves and carbon emissions and air pollution is lowered.

Sustrans is a charity that aims to make it easier for people to walk and cycle and as part of that mission they are delivering the ArtRoots NCN fund, a community fund for artistic and aesthetic improvements to traffic-free paths along the National Cycle Network in Scotland. 

Spearheaded by the Mull and Iona Community Trust, ambitious plans are underway to transform Ardura's dark conifer plantations into a vibrant community woodland, that will benefit nature, climate and local communities.

Scottish Futures Trust has published their new ‘Place Guide’

Living well locally is a key ambition of the Programme for Government.  Building the conditions to live well locally is about taking a place-based approach to needs, services and investment opportunities.

The Perth and Kinross Visitor Management Group is currently working on a Tourism Infrastructure Development Plan for 2022 – 2025 and are seeking the views of residents in the Perth and Kinross area.

The Coronavirus pandemic led to a vast increase in the number of visitors to Perth and Kinross throughout 2020-21 and the Group want to understand how the rise in staycations has affected residents and their communities so that they can continue to support them effectively.

A £25 million fund to improve ventilation in business premises and reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission will open for applications next week.

Small and medium-sized businesses such as restaurants, bars and gyms will be able to claim back costs of up to £2,500 to undertake work such as the installation of carbon dioxide monitors and remedial improvement work to windows and vents.

The two-day Scottish Agritourism Conference was a hugely inspirational, educational and enjoyable event.

Are you a farmer or crofter considering diversification but not sure where to start? Are you in the tourism, hospitality or the food and drink business and keen to benefit from the growth of agritourism in Scotland? Or just curious to find out more?

Book your free place today at an Outdoors Scotland Tourism Strategy Regional Workshop – come along, have your say and get involved in how Outdoors Tourism is developed in Scotland.