Local pupils do good and screen machine returns

Welcome to the latest Wester Ross Round-up and possibly the last one of 2025. This week the newsletter is going out to 682 people. If it's been forwarded to you and you'd like to get it every week (when it's not Christmas), please just hit the button below and sign-up for free. We'd love to have you on board.

Let's begin with two lots of congratulations.

👨‍🏫 First up, congratulations to "local lad" Stuart Caddell who has been appointed Head Teacher at Gairloch High School. In an email to parents he said: "It is a privilege to be appointed to this post and a responsibility that I do not take lightly.

"I would like to thank my predecessor, Mr Wim Chalmet, for all of his work during his time in Gairloch High School and wish him the best in his new post."

You can see a photo of him as a Gairloch school pupil on the Gairloch High School Instagram account.

🏆 And impressively, congratulations to former Gairloch High School pupil, William MacNeill who was given an award from the Institute of Physics after he got the highest marks in Advanced Higher Physics in Scotland. You can also find a photo of him getting presented with the award on the Gairloch High School Instagram account.

🎄 Another local festive community event has been announced. On December 17 at 7pm in Lochewe Community Church at Aultbea there will be a mince pies and carol singing. See the flyer below for more info.

📻 Radio 4's The Patch has been recording in Gairloch this year. Bookmark this page, as the Gairloch episode asking "What happens when a postcode starts to run out of children?" is scheduled for December 23 at 11am. Will they conclude "the ones that are here end up getting really good marks in Physics?" You'll have to tune in to find out.

📺 Sticking with The BBC, they've released more details about a new four-part gaelic TV series set in the Hebrides. It's billed as the "BBC's most expensive Gaelic drama." Find out more here.

🍻 Local beer purveyors Ewebrew have announced a series of events for 2025. Here's the flyer.

📽️ The Screen Machine has announced some Gairloch dates. The touring cinema will be in Gairloch High School car park on January 27 and 28. Over the two days it will show four different films; Small Things Like These, Wiked, Paddington in Peru, and Gladiator 2. Book tickets here.

🏖️ The Scottish Government is proposing to add another £4m to the Rural Tourism Infrastructure funding scheme in the next financial year, according to The Scotsman. In previous years, this funding pot provided £147,364 towards the new toilet facilities at Gairloch Beach. Perhaps next year the cash could help re-open Poolewe public loos?

💷 The Scottish Government also sent us a press release highlighting the extra cash local authorities are set to get in the next Holyrood budget. Highland Council will receive £38.8m more to spend in 2025/26, a 6.7% increase. Sounds like a lot, but in percentage terms it's one of the smaller rises awarded to Scottish Councils. According to The Inverness Courier, local officials are still planning big rises in council tax in coming years.

🚜 The Farm Advisory Service has published a short guide to peatland restoration for farmers and crofters interested in the idea - and the funding that might be available to help you do it. Read it here.

🚧 BT plan road works around the bottom of Mihol Road and from Glebe Park Junction To Fasaich Junction, Strath, Gairloch. Work is to start on the 18 December and is to last up to three days.

🪓 And lastly a group of Highland Councillors have made public calls to split up Highland Council. Fort William and Ardamurchan councillor, Andrew Baxter backed the idea and said, "A smaller form of local councils would deliver better results for local residents." What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

Thanks to Professor Donna Hall for sending us the lovely image from Ormiscaig that we used as our header image. If you've taken a photo and you'd like us to share it with everyone you can send it to us here.

The Gairloch and District Times team are planning to take a bit of a festive break for a few weeks over the holiday period.

So we all want to take this chance to wish all our readers, advertisers, and especially our volunteer team, a very merry Christmas and happy new year.

Issue 25 of the paper will be out on Thursday 19 of December and it'll be available to buy in all the best local retailers then. Even better, you can get access to a full colour digital edition and all our archives by signing up as a subscriber (if you haven't already). Hit the button below to give yourself an early Christmas present.

If you have something you'd like to share with the neighbourhood –Deadlines for 2025 can be found here.