PUPILS from Leith Walk Primary School got their hands on golf's Ryder Cup trophy as it set off on a tour of Scotland ahead of the competition being staged at Gleneagles later this month.

It arrived in Edinburgh yesterday with golf fans and tourists all stopping by to catch a glimpse of the trophy as it was displayed in the city's Omni Centre.

It is then travelling by helicopter on a journey across Scotland, making stops in the Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, Argyll, Harris, Shetland and Aberdeenshire.

The week-long tour will come to an end when the trophy arrives at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire next week ahead of some of the world's top golfers from Europe and America descending on the fairways on September 26.

Tim Hunt, marketing communications director of Ryder Cup Europe, said: "We are taking the trophy to all four corners of Scotland.

"The support from Scotland for the Ryder Cup has been fantastic over the years but as we are near the event it's showing Scotland is really behind the Ryder Cup."

Malcolm Roughead, chief executive of tourism body Visit Scotland, added: "We've got people coming into Scotland travelling all around the country that are playing across the country, so they are going to see just how wonderful Scotland is -that's why it's the home of golf."