A BESPOKE bagpipe making business has built up an 18-month waiting list amid growing interest from home and abroad in its hand crafted creations.

Ross Calderwood decided to form Lochalsh Pipes after seeing increasing demand from musician friends for his instruments.

Until then the former engineer had been running the Ceol Na Mara bed and breakfast at Balmacara, Ross-shire, with his wife Jayne.

But he decided to build a proper workshop in his garden after more and more people began to contact him through his website requesting pipes.

He believes sourcing wood from sustainable Scottish sources is one reason enthusiasts from across Europe and North America have placed orders with him even though prices for a basic set start at £680.

So far he has sent pipes to Brazil, Canada, the United States, France, Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Austria.

Mr Calderwood, who started playing bagpipes aged eight, said: "The thing I was interested in was trying to keep it as green as possible.

"My timbers are all locally sourced and I also use the [Glasgow based] social enterprise GalGael as it has a timber yard."

Mr Calderwood also tries to stay away from plastic materials where possible and often finishes his pipes with ram's horn and other natural materials.

He said: "The orders are always made to customer specifications. I've an 18 months waiting list. People know it is not off the shelf but they are happy to wait."

While Mr Calderwood has been making pipes for many years he has been running the business full-time for less than a year.

The increasing order book led to him investing in the dedicated workshop, which he received some funding from Highlands and Islands Enterprise for.

He said: "I was in an old garage and it just wasn't working. You can't be efficient when it is cold and one of the biggest things was keeping the humidity of the timber right.

"You can't tune up in the cold either.

"The new workshop is wonderful and will allow me to take the business to a new level. Waiting times will be shorter and it will enable me to experiment with ideas."

The local Business Gateway office advised Mr Calderwood in a number of ways including the administrative side of setting up a company.

He said: "They helped me to see this could be a full-time job. Until then it was just a hobby."

Alistair Danter, from Business Gateway Skye, said: "Ross is a great example of someone who is reaping the rewards of turning a hobby into a business. We have supported Ross in a number of areas but mostly with his growth plans as he realised he had to take his business to the next level. As well as our support in developing a business plan that incorporated projections and future possibilities, we arranged external advice on an effective marketing strategy and website review, which has contributed to Ross' recent growth. "