HEALTHY BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY FOR GALLOWAY

The forest park caters for about 850,000 visitors each year and the numbers are rising. Backed by a multi-agency marketing strategy, the end goal is to double the current visitor numbers to the forest park to a staggering 1.6 million each year by the end of 2015.

With the forest park attracting large scale recreation events and increasing visitor numbers, the Commission wants enterprising companies to come on board and work with them to drive forward healthy and green recreation developments in the park.

Four properties, situated at the heart of the Galloway Forest Park, are now being offered to companies who have great ideas to establish new green tourism centres.

The four holdings, Corwar, Glenhead, Craigencallie and Caldons, could make excellent bases for new business start-ups and can be leased from the Commission.

Keith Muir from Forestry Commission Scotland's Galloway office said:

“We’re keen to hear from anyone who has a great idea for turning any of these buildings into a tourism venue – ideally one that fits with the setting and with our ethos of promoting the health and recreational benefits of visiting forests. We have already had a number of hits on the website and are hopeful for a good number of applications.

“Around 1 million visitors come to Galloway Forest Park every year, increasing the visitor spending in the surrounding area. Many of them make a bee-line for the excellent outdoor recreation opportunities such as the world famous 7stanes trails, the mighty Merrick and a host of walking trails, not to mention all the wildlife.

“These properties are an excellent opportunity to be involved in helping to make Galloway Forest Park a showcase of innovation and sustainability.”

Corwar holding - This property has traditionally been kept by small tenant farmers. The property comprises a dwelling house, open barn and outbuildings on 12.14 hectares of land.
Glenhead holding – a former dwelling (currently uninhabitable), the property is accessed from Glentrool via the forest road and small wooden bridge.
Craigencallie – a former two storey detached stone house located between Clatteringshaws Loch and Loch Dee, this has latterly been used as an outdoor centre. A large detached two storey outbuilding is also on the grounds.
Caldons holding - a detached two-storey house with two detached single-storey outbuildings on 2 hectares of land The area surrounding the property has previously been used as a caravan/camping site.