Gary Campbell on crofting
Gary Campbell is chief executive of the Crofting Commission (Coimisean na Croitearachd).
Gary’s previous work includes 11 years with the University of Highlands and Islands and 30 years as a chartered accountant with EY where he travelled across Scotland advising commercial businesses.
In our episode together Gary shares some of the places he has been able to experience and enjoy through his work as well as more about crofting itself.
“The perfect day could be on the croft, but actually, to be honest, my perfect day would start as soon as I see the sign that says Fàilte gu Gàidhealtachd, anywhere in the Highlands and Islands.
But there are so many perfect days in Scotland, that's the thing.
Some of them can start on top of a mountain. Some of them can start on a beach where you're the only person on a beach that, on a glorious day, beats anything on the planet.
You know, they look like tropical beaches in the Western Isles.
Since starting this job and going around and meeting people in the crofting areas and, and the various jobs I've had before, which have all really involved me traveling around the Highlands and Islands, you just sometimes you sit back and you look and you go, I've got the best job on the planet because, because the places I'm allowed to visit.
It goes from beaches, it goes from wild moorland, goes to fantastic towns where there's great pubs and restaurants where you can set up an evening and sit and listen to some music and then just meet some people and just have a ceilidh, as they say.
Or just more recently go and visit a spaceport and from where there's going to be rockets launched in the UK for the first time ever.
That spaceport is on croft land, so crofters have diversified there and allowed a spaceport to go where they would previously have been sheep.
It's a hugely diverse part of the world and to get the perfect day would be virtually impossible because you'd be trying to pack in so many different things.
It'd be a perfect week I think. ”
Gary’s perfect day:
Where: SaxaVord Spaceport, Isle of Bernaray, Birlinn Yarn Company, Barra, Isle of Barra Distillery, among others
More about crofting:
