Nicola Auchnie 'overwhelmed' after being named finest fiddler

AN ABERDEENSHIRE youth has been crowned winner of one of Scotland's most prestigious music prizes.

Nicola Auchnie, of Turriff, took the title in the Glenfiddich Fiddle Championship after a performance at Blair Castle yesterday.

The 22-year-old said: "I'm overwhelmed to have won this year's fiddle competition - even just to compete with so many great young musicians makes it a fantastic day.

"The Glenfiddich Fiddle Championship trophy is no doubt the most coveted of its kind and as we've seen is even known internationally, so it's a fantastic honour to have won this year."

Second place went to Maggie Adamson from Shetland, and third place went to Graham MacKenzie of Inverness.

The fiddle competition brought to a close a weekend of traditional music at Blair Castle, Perthshire, following the Glenfiddich Piping Championships yesterday. Angus MacColl, of Benderloch, Oban, took home the famous piping title.