Campaign to save Katherine Grainger boathouse wins lottery funding

A CAMPAIGN to restore a century-old boathouse where Olympic gold medalist Katherine Grainger first tried out rowing has won a £1.2 million lottery boost.

Great Britain's Katherine Grainger during the Olympic and Paralympic athletes heroes' return in London. Picture; PA

The pledge from the Heritage Lottery Fund will pay meet half the £2.4 million costs of overhauling the West Boathouse on the banks of the River Clyde, where 2016 Olympic silver medallists Polly Swan and Karen Bennett also previously trained.

The project is aimed at getting more people rowing, walking and cycling along the river, encouraging the staging of regular flotilla and regatta events, and also celebrating the rowing heritage of the Glasgow Green site, which dates back to the 19th century.

Grainger famously first tried out rowing at the boathouse, along with her sister Sarah, when she was taken there as a teenager, well before she took up the sport properly at Edinburgh University.

The timber-framed structure is rated one of the most significant boathouses in Britain.