A wooden bench commemorating a fiddle legend has been unveiled by the widow of a Dundee musician.
To mark the start of the Niel Gow Scottish Fiddle Festival at the weekend, the Forestry Commission Scotland installed a new bench dedicated to Gow on the banks of the Tay at Inver, near Dunkeld.
It is sited at Niel Gow’s Oak, where he is said to have composed many of his finest tunes, and replaces the original bench that was damaged in a storm.
The new bench bears a line from a song by singer-songwriter Michael Marra, who died last year, and was unveiled by his widow Peggy.
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Peter Fullarton of the commission’s team in Tay District said: “Niel Gow was a weaver’s son who taught himself to play the fiddle but he was widely considered the best fiddle player in Perthshire.
“He was in high demand all over the country so it’s probably safe to say he was the most famous fiddler in Scotland at that time.
“Now that we’ve replaced the bench, anyone who visits the area has the opportunity to enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the setting and maybe get a taste of the inspiration that helped Gow to create so many memorable tunes.”
The replacement bench has been carved by Nigel Ross and the inscription carved by Andy McFetters.
The inscription a line from Marra’s song Niel Gow’s Apprentice reads: “I’ll sit beneath the fiddle tree, with the ghost of Niel Gow next to me.”