Peter Pan was first conceived at Moat Brae House when as a child, author JM Barrie played out pirate and castaway adventures in its ‘Neverland’ gardens. With the help of a £1.78million grant from HLF, the house and its gardens will be transformed into Scotland’s first centre for children’s literature and storytelling.

[quote=Joanna Lumley, Patron of Moat Brae Trust]This grant will make a sensational difference to Moat Brae and the plans for the future of the Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust. What a thrilling piece of good news! [/quote]

Moat Brae wasn’t the only project to receive some HLF Christmas sparkle. Rounding off a year which marks 20 years and £678m of HLF investment in Scotland’s heritage, four other projects were celebrating good news.

• Campbeltown Picture House is one of the first purpose-built cinemas in Scotland with its origins in the silent movie days. It will be restored with a £1.1m grant. 
• Wildcat Action is a partnership which has formed to address the threats to a species which is in grave danger of extinction. A grant of £973,100 will help them conserve the wildcat across six priority areas.
• All six of Heritage Inverclyde’s high schools will be involved in developing interpretation along the route of a new coastal trail with the help of a £305,700 grant.
• The derelict, Merkinch Welfare Hall is the only listed temperance hall in the Highlands. A grant of £656,400 will help return the building to its sporting and community roots.

Colin McLean, Head of HLF, Scotland, said: "HLF is delighted to bring Christmas cheer to these presents from our past so that they can be cared for, enjoyed, learned from and celebrated well into the future.”