Trust’s pride at prize-winning loo

An environmentally friendly toilet on the National Trust for Scotland’s Mar Lodge Estate has been commended in a recent round of design awards.

The conservation charity recently installed the composting toilet and revamped the car park at Linn of Dee in Aberdeenshire as part of a programme of work to improve facilities for Mar Lodge Estate’s 120,000 annual visitors.

Judges for the Aberdeenshire Design Awards said the design was well thought out and worthy of commendation.

The toilet was built with as many locally sourced and environmentally friendly materials as possible, including non-toxic linseed paints for the exterior and larch shingles for the roof.

National Trust for Scotland Property Manager for Mar Lodge Estate Chris Hewitt and project architect Dave Chouman collected the award earlier this month at a ceremony in Aberdeen.

Chris said:

“We are so pleased that our careful planning has been recognised. Thousands of people use Linn of Dee as their gateway to the Cairngorms and we knew that our facilities had to be high quality, so that visitors would come back again and again.

“We also had to ensure that the car park and toilet were modern, sustainable and appropriate for the surroundings. Obviously, plumbing is an issue in this location, so we decided that a compost toilet was an environmentally sound and safe option. We are pleased with how the project has turned out and how it is already improving the visitor experience at Mar Lodge Estate.”