Express & Star

New tartan created to help save Scotland’s heritage

The design will be sold to raise funds for the National Trust for Scotland’s Save Our Scotland appeal.

Published
Clare Campbell

A new tartan has been created to help preserve Scotland’s heritage.

The Save Our Scotland tartan was designed by Highland company Prickly Thistle and will be used to raise money for the National Trust for Scotland.

It has been officially listed by the Scottish Register of Tartans and comes in two versions representing the charity’s past and future.

The Hands Of The Past tartan includes blue, green, brown and grey, while the Hands Of The Future version is red.

The Hands of the Future tartan
The Hands Of The Future tartan (National Trust for Scotland/PA)

The trust last month announced a loss of essential income of £28 million caused by Covid-19 lockdown measures.

Its Save our Scotland emergency appeal aims to raise at least £2.5 million.

Only 2,020 metres of bespoke tartan will be woven and all profits will go to the appeal.

Clare Campbell, founder and co-owner of Prickly Thistle, said: “As soon as I saw the Save Our Scotland appeal, I knew I wanted to help somehow.

“As the trust are protectors of sites such as the Culloden Battlefield, a place of incredible significance to the tartan story for Scotland, there was an important story that we could literally help weave into the trust’s narrative for the future.

“We feel we have a responsibility to support the Save Our Scotland campaign because when something is gone, often it is irreplaceable, and it is never quite the same again.”

Jenny Howard-Coombes, of the National Trust for Scotland, said: “When Clare approached us with her tartan designs, we really felt her passion for the work that we do in caring for and protecting Scotland’s heritage.

“We’re looking forward to seeing what buyers of the Save Our Scotland tartan craft with their pieces of cloth and we hope to see some really wonderful creations in the near future.”

The tartan can be bought from Prickly Thistle at https://pricklythistle.shop/collections/nts-save-our-scotland-appeal.

More information can be found about the Save Our Scotland appeal at https://www.nts.org.uk/donate.

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