Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Neglected Moray loch to be filled with fish for the first time in 15 years

Brian Higgs at Loch of Blairs.
Brian Higgs at Loch of Blairs.

A Moray loch that has been neglected for more than a decade will receive a new lease of life, with campaigners planning to re-stock it with fish at the end of summer.

Trout have not been caught at the former fishery at the Loch of Blairs since it was closed down about 15 years ago.

Since then, the scenic location which sits just two miles south of Forres, has become overgrown with weeds and plants and was uninhabitable.

However, campaign group Friends of Blair Loch have worked tirelessly over the last year to revitalise the secluded beauty spot, with volunteers clearing mountains of weeds and rhodendrons away from the site.

It now looks completely different and it is hoped that rainbow trout can be re-introduced into the loch in August.

Finderne Community Council chairman Brian Higgs is a member of the group and highlighted how quickly the project was progressing.

He said: “We have 12 volunteers working there on a regular basis and we hope to re-stock the fish at the end of the summer, in August or September.

“There are various fish farms in the area that provide rainbow trout and we are looking to buy stock for the loch and then start charging people a permit to come and fish here.

“Any income we make from that will be plunged back into the ongoing project to get this beautiful area back up and running.”

The group is striving to raise about £100,000 for the project and has applied to various funding streams to boost their bid.

There are also two wooden buildings alongside the loch, which Mr Higgs wants to utilise at outdoor learning areas for local schools to learn about geography and biology.

He said: “We’ve got two rooms that we hope to turn into classrooms for kids to come here and do some advanced field studies that we will offer free of charge.

“We are hoping to get the smaller one up and running in time for the next academic year and I have already been talking to a few schools about using it and they have been very enthusiastic.”

The Friends of Blair Loch is now a registered charity and is always on the lookout for volunteers and donations.

To help out, visit their website to find out more: www.blairsloch.com