A major exhibition opens today at Museum nan Eilean in Stornoway in the Western Isles. ‘Fonns Duthchas – Land and Legacy’ is a touring exhibition which reflects the roots, values and cultural heritage of the Highlands and Islands people. The exhibition is the first at the newly refurbished Museum nan Eilean.

Part of the Highland 2007 programme, the exhibition features an ‘exploding sporran’, a Gaelic text messaging guide and a Lewis Chessman, just some of the highlights in this showcase of the history, culture, music, language, geology and geography of the Highlands and islands of Scotland.

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar’s Vice-Convener Angus Campbell said: “This is a first class facility and I am delighted that the first exhibition to be displayed in the refurbished museum is also first rate. This is a collaborative exhibition involving a number of organisations. You will see paintings from the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, books from the National Libraries of Scotland and artefacts from the National Museum of Scotland.”

The exhibition features iconic objects, paintings and manuscripts from the collections of National Museums Scotland, the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Library of Scotland, and from important collections in Highland and Island museums.

The exhibition features Sir Walter Scott's Rob Roy manuscript - a passage for which was inspired by the deadly sporran on show! You can also see Antonio David's charismatic portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie and a diary, written on playing cards, chronicling the final Jacobite defeat at Culloden.

The exhibition runs until 1 December 2007.