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.

If Scotland votes Yes, will Lochaber still be the ‘Outdoor Capital of the UK’?

Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis

A Highland district may have to change its tourism branding if there is a Yes vote in the independence referendum.

Lochaber is currently marketed as the Outdoor Capital of the UK, but an independent Scotland would no longer be part of the United Kingdom.

Suggestions for a new name include Outdoor Capital of Britain, Outdoor Capital of the British Isles and Outdoor Capital of Scotland.

And one politician from the No camp jokingly suggested it could be called: “An Outdoor Capital on the Periphery of Europe”.

Highlands and Islands Conservative MSP Jamie McGrigor said: “It is the Outdoor Capital of the UK brand and the many attributes of Lochaber that have made it so popular with tourists from the rest of the UK and from overseas.

“It would be disastrous if this title could no longer be used and what would be used in its place?

“One would hardly want to call it An Outdoor Capital on the Periphery of Europe.”

Highlands and Islands Labour MSP David Stewart said: “Clearly, if Scotland becomes independent we would no longer be part of the UK so Lochaber would have to be rebranded.

“We’ve had the union for more than 300 years. English tourists are very, very important to Lochaber and to Scotland and I wouldn’t want to see anything happening to harm our tourism market.

“Whatever its name, we need to carry on marketing this area by making the most of its assets.”

SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch Dave Thompson said: “They might have to rethink the brand, but I’m sure they won’t have any difficulty in thinking of something else, such as the Outdoor Capital of Scotland or Britain or the British Isles.”

He added that a Yes vote would provide the perfect opportunity for Lochaber to remarket itself under a new name on the back of the publicity surrounding Scottish independence.

Lochaber Chamber of Commerce seemed unconcerned about the situation.

Chairman Don Hind pointed out that the chamber was politically impartial and had been holding independence debates for more than a year, hearing from both sides and from academics who presented only facts.

He said: “No matter the outcome of the referendum, Lochaber and Fort William will still be offering the same outstanding attractions and will still be a premier destination for outdoor activities.”

He added that, in the event of a Yes vote, the chamber would have 18 months to consider the situation.