MICHAEL PALIN made his second trip to Highland Perthshire in five months at the weekend when he officially opened the converted Aberfeldy Watermill.

The former Monty Python star, now equally well known for his travel writing, is a friend of the owners of the new visitor centre, Kevin and Jayne Ramage, having got to know them through their London bookshop.

“Michael is a regular customer,” Jayne said. “We’re thrilled that he agreed to come up here specially for our opening.

“He’s a great guy and a real supporter of independent bookshops. We made sure we were well stocked with Michael Palin books for the occasion!”

Palin declared that it was a “privilege” to open the watermill.

He said, “To me there is only one thing better than being in a bookshop, and that is being able to open one. To open a bookshop, art gallery and coffee shop in an old watermill is unique.

“It is a tribute to Kevin, Jayne and their team that the building has been restored into such great shape and the Aberfeldy community is very lucky to have such a special building brought back to life.”

The watermill is the last survivor of the days of water power in Aberfeldy. It is a Grade A listed building with a working waterwheel and ancient millstones.

After a long working life, which ended as recently as 2002, it has been brought back to life as a visitor centre incorporating a bookshop, art gallery, music and coffee shop.

The sympathetic restoration has seen much of the industrial machinery and artefacts retained.

The £500,000 project has created a major venue for the arts and will support an emerging literary and artistic community in Aberfeldy. It will also help to create a critical mass of visitor attractions in the town and reinforce Aberfeldy’s status as one of Scotland’s finest tourism destinations.

It will offer:

* The largest bookshop in rural Scotland, featuring a children’s book department, books and maps for outdoor activities and a reading room providing free access to reference books, children’s books, and magazines.

* An art gallery focusing on original work and limited edition prints of post-war abstract art from all British schools. The gallery will host periodic exhibitions and commission sculpture by Scottish artists.

* A programme of literary, art and music events including readings and talks by noted authors, performance poetry, art workshops and live music performances covering all genres. The premises will also be available for use by local reading groups.

* A coffee shop using locally produced, organic and Fairtrade products wherever possible.

An exhibitions programme is already being developed. The first exhibition, to coincide with Saturday’s opening, is by Philip Hughes and features work inspired by Scottish mountains.

The Ramages moved to Aberfeldy in July 2004. Kevin has extensive experience in running bookshops and was a member of the literary advisory committee of the London Arts Board.

He has also organised literary events with established authors like Palin, Iain Banks and Margaret Atwood.

In January Palin attended the Winter Words Festival in Pitlochry.