TWO islands off Scotland’s east coast are in charitable ownership for the first time in 320 years, in a bid to safeguard their “awe-inspiring” seabird colonies.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has acquired Bass Rock and Craigleith islands in the Firth of Forth from the Dalrymple family, with the support of £586,000 in public money channelled through the National Heritage Memorial Fund, which was set up to buy the nation’s greatest heritage and boost public access.