Gairloch Co-op opening date, a "Ewe-FO" mystery and Reindeer Day
We've put all the Wester Ross festive events we know about in one email.
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🥁 Staff from the Co-op attended a meeting with Gairloch Community Council recently and revealed the opening date for the new store. Assuming everything goes to plan the firm hopes to open the Gairloch store on December 12. In addition to a home delivery service and a laundromat, the firm has said that parcel collection for the likes of Evri and DPD will be supported at the new store.
👽 Several people have confirmed (in a private local Facebook group thread so we won't name names!) that they have seen strange lights in the sky around the Cove area of Loch Ewe, Loch Maree and at Opinan. According to the original poster: "They look like stars but they move up and down and side to side sometimes quite erratically and then disappear only to reappear in the same place." Is it a military exercise? Is it drones? Is it shooting stars? Have aliens come to rescue us? Do you have videos or photos? If you can help solve the Ewe-F.O. mystery, please get in touch.
🔭 There are three extra Wester Ross Dark Skies Festival events taking place over the next couple of weekends. Details in the flyers below.
🍺 Ewebrew have announced a beer and skittles night at Poolewe Village Hall on November 15. Get in touch ahead of time to let them know what flavour pasty you want. More: Facebook
🛍️ And we're now well and truly in the run-up to Christmas. On November 20, there will be a Christmas Market in the Loch Torridon Community Centre. More: Facebook.
🛍️ On November 29, Applecross Community Hall will be hosting a festive market. More: Facebook
🎨 The mainly women artists of Art at the Old School House Inverasdale (ART@OSH) are holding their second exhibition - FESTIVE SMALLS - at Inchgowan Gallery, Gairloch. The preview is open to all from November 29 at 12.00 till 15.00. It will carry on afterwards on afternoons from Thursdays to Saturdays weekly or by appointment. Artwork will be priced between £10 and £50.
🤶 On December 4, there will be a Christmas Market and pop up cafe in Gairloch Community Hall. More: Facebook
🎁 And on November 29, as well as December 5 & 6 there will be more Christmas Market events at Poolewe Village Hall. More: Facebook
🎄 In Poolewe it's Reindeer Day on December 5. There's a huge amount going on, details in the flyer below.
🎁 In Shieldaig, they've announced a Christmas Fayre in the village hall, planned for December 6. Stalls may still be available. More: Facebook
🎶 Also on December 6 at 5pm, there will be Christmas carol singing in the Aultbea Hub.
🎅 On December 12 there's a Christmas Party planned for kids aged up to P7 at Aultbea Hall. You need to let organisers know you're coming by November 28. More: Facebook
📦 Looking for a unique gift idea for a Wester Ross lover? We're pleased to announce you can now give the gift of a Gairloch and District Times Digital Subscription to anyone, by buying a unique gift code from us. All you need to do is fill out this form.
💃 Aultbea Hall will also be hosting a Christmas Fayre and pop up cafe on December 13 with live music. And the following weekend on December 20, there's a family festive ceilidh planned in Aultbea Hall, with music from Eoin and Anndra Cumming. More: Facebook.
🛍️The Ledgowan Lodge Hotel, Achnasheen are holding their Christmas Fair on December 13, with lunch and afternoon tea available at the hotel as well.
⛺ On November 19, there will be a community consultation on proposals for the community to take over the operation of the Torridon Campsite. Details in the flyer below.
📚 Local author Andrew Goss will be holding a talk about the "power of the pen" at an event in The Shieling in Gairloch on November 21. More: GALE
🚣 On December 13 at 16:00, the Gairloch Coastal Rowing Club are holding their AGM at the Gairloch Boat Club on Harbour Road. If you want to try your hand at rowing turn up early, as there will likely be boats in the water if the weather is kind. All welcome. More: Email the club.
⛏️ Cairngorm Wilderness Contracts Ltd are looking for upland path workers to work throughout Scotland. The firm is currently working on paths at An Teallach. More: HiJobs.net
🌳 The National Trust for Scotland are hoping to fill a vacancy for a First Gardener at Inverewe Garden. It's a permanent post. More: nts.org.uk
⚒️ Meanwhile the National Trust for Scotland path team have been hard at work improving the Coire Mhic Nobuil path in Torridon. More: Facebook
🚧 A further delay in the A835 check point corner roadworks near Garve has pushed the expected completion date to July 2026, leaving locals waiting 31 months for repairs. Work is now not scheduled to start until after the new year. More: Iona M.J. MacDonald | Ross-Shire Journal (£)
🛣️ In better news, the increasingly treacherous potholes outside the new Co-op store on the A832 at Gairloch have finally been fixed by a combination of Co-op and Highland Council input. They were so bad they once inspired protest poetry that we published earlier this year. Cllr Kraft has thanked all involved. More: Facebook.
⛰️ New visitor facilities at Stac Pollaidh have been opened by Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes recently. The £836,944 investment includes a new 78 space car park and off-grid toilet facility. Funds raised from parking fees will be invested in maintaining the facility and the paths on the mountain. More: Dan Bailey | UK Climbing
🚗 Highland Council also raises money from "Invitation to Pay" car parks in Wester Ross, including one at Gairloch Harbour. 50% of the cash can be distributed to community groups, but applications must be made in partnership with the local community council. Gairloch Community Council have asked local groups to get in touch with them if they would like to discuss putting an application together. More: Facebook
🎄The Ullapool Fire and Light group that organises the famous creel tree in the town are crowd funding to support the project. So far they've raised £380 of their £500 target. More: Crowdfunder. Their Creel Tree Switch-on is scheduled for November 28 at 17:30.
📍And lastly, Land ownership expert Andy Wightman has written about the ever expanding Strathconon Estate and the "astonishing" price paid by the Danish owner for their most recent purchase. Would new Land Reform legislation just passed by the Scottish Parliament have made a difference? More: Land Matters
We're putting together the next issue of the Gairloch and District Times this week. If you have something that you'd like us to include in it use this form to send it to us by 10:00 on Friday November 14.
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