PICTURES: Watch out there be pirates about in Aviemore, me landlubbers!
An ‘oar inspiring’ band of pirates have been on the hunt in Aviemore but not for booty.
Instead of enjoying some ‘arr and arr’ in their spare time, the merry band has been getting together to tidy up their village.
And because the craic is so good, many of them are hooked on the outings which have developed into quite the social occasion.
It all started in May, earlier this year, when Scott Burn-Smith and Marc Bruce set sail as the Path Pirates.
They have been joined by a ever growing group of me hearties as the weeks have progressed.
Now more than 25 Path Pirates can be seen in their work groups cleaning the decks.
The volunteers meet for one hour a week and their mantra is ‘Hit the task hard and fast’ with their shovels, brooms and wheel barrows at the ready.
They consist of all ages but what they have in common is that they want an Aviemore to be proud of.
Mr Burns-Smith said: “We’ve been blown away by the support we’ve had to this new community collective.
“We started out as two pirates back in May and each week we are seeing at least 20 to 25 amazing members of the community turn up to help clear our local paths of weeds and detritus but more importantly meeting up for some craic’ and a bit of a social.”
He estimates the Path Pirates have contributed well over 600 hours of physical work to Aviemore’s paths over the last five months.
It is work that the cash-strapped Highland Council has struggled to keep on top of in recent years.
Mr Burns Smith said: “Unfortunately as local government have less money available, unless we the people come together and do something about it our own community environments are going to be turned into overgrown wastelands which over time are going to be unrepairable
“The support from a number of businesses financially has helped with buying more tools and also shouting a round of light refreshments following the evening’s shift so, of course, we are most grateful to all the support to date”.
“There’s a real following now for our efforts but it’s important that public bodies from the tourism sector and also the likes of Highlands and Islands Enteprise and the Cairngorm National Park Authority take stock of the work we are doing.
“Aviemore has an amazing community but it is also a major player in Scotland for tourism.
“We need to be taking care of the basic infrastructures of where we live and work as our towns and villages should be seen in the best physical light, and not just through rose tinted glasses of social media platforms.”
Mr Burns-Smith has said the more hands on deck the better.
To get involved follow @Path Pirates - Aviemore
