A life-size statue of countryside legend Tom Weir is to be unveiled tomorrow on the 100th anniversary of his birth.
Friends and fans of the toorie hat-wearing Weir’s Way presenter raised more than £60,000 for the memorial on the banks of Loch Lomond.
The celebration to mark his life at the Balmaha Bay picnic area will be attended by Tom’s widow, Rhona, 94, who said her late husband was very fond of the beauty spot.
Among the guests of honour is Sunday Post photographer Barrie Marshall. That’s because the statue being unveiled is based on a photograph Barrie took of Tom at his house in Gartocharn in 1992.
Barrie is thrilled that his shot was chosen out of the hundreds available.
He said: “What you saw on TV with Tom was just what you got in person, too he was a lovely, warm man and his passion for Scotland was infectious.”
The statue is the work of sculptor Sean Hedges-Quinn, whose creations include everyone from Sir Bobby Robson to Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring from Dad’s Army.
A small-scale model was presented to Rhona two months ago. She said: “I hope the statue will be a source of pleasure to those who visit Loch Lomond. I am thrilled with the likeness to Tom.”
Fundraisers are aiming to bring in a further £15,000 to make improvements to the statue site. Tom died in 2006, aged 91, after a lifetime of climbing, writing and championing rural issues.
Tom wrote a column in The Scots Magazine for 50 years. Find out more about the fundraising effort in the January issue, on sale now.
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