Mowi fish farm probe and visitor levy delayed

Hello and welcome once again to our latest Wester Ross Round-up. We hope you've been enjoying these short nights and all the midges have been successfully repelled. This week our newsletter is being sent to a record 1125 people. If you know someone who might enjoy it, please encourage them to sign up too.

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🟡 A kayaking animal rights crusader has sparked an official probe into the Mowi operated Corry fish farm in Loch Broom. Don Staniford drove a box full of dead salmon from the fish farm to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) office in Inverness as part of an emergency animal welfare complaint. In an email response, APHA said "a welfare assessment would be carried out," by their local team. More: Facebook

🟡 Highland Council looks set to delay the introduction of a Visitor Levy, otherwise known as a "tourist tax". A report to be considered by councillors (pdf) suggests the earliest any levy could be introduced is August 2028 and that more public consultation is planned. More: BBC News

🟡 A list of closed children's play facilities has been released via a Freedom of Information request. It turns out that over 50 Highland play parks, or more than a third of the total available, are closed or partly closed and awaiting a safety inspection from a council official. The list includes out-of-use play equipment in Ullapool, Aultbea, Gairloch, Applecross and Lochcarron. More: WhatDoTheyKnow.com

🟡 More post problems in Aultbea. For want of a working post van, locals are being encouraged to collect their mail from Aultbea Hub between 12:00 and 15:00 until further notice. More: Facebook

🟡 If there is a young theatre-maker in your life, they might be interested in joining this program run by the Roots Collective in Ullapool. More: Roots Collective

🟡 If there is a young entrepreneur in your life, they might be interested in taking part in a program being run by the Wester Loch Ewe Trust. More: OldSchoolHouseInverasdale.com

🟡 A two-bedroom house has gone up for sale in Shieldaig for £210,000. More: Bell Ingram

Events

We rely on our readers to help us update our new people-powered events calendar for Wester Ross. You can check it out here and add an event here. Below you can see a selection of recently added events.

🟡 Due to a technical hitch on The Gairloch Highland Gathering ticketing website we were led to believe that the Family Ceilidh on Friday July 3 was sold out, and we marked the event this way in Issue 12 of the paper. It turns out that it isn't sold out at all and you can still get tickets here.

🟡 Croft Fresh Cafe [Every Thursday]
Croft Fresh Cafe offers healthy eating options at a low cost and is the ideal spot to connect with friends and the community.
Thu 25 Jun | 11.00am | Aultbea Community Hub · Aultbea & Laide | More info

🟡 3 Lochs Cinema: The North
Bart Schrijver's acclaimed international hit drama follows two friends who meet up after a decade to hike Scotland's West Highland Way and Cape Wrath Trail. Rated 15.
Sat 27 Jun | 7.30pm | Aultbea Community Hub · Aultbea & Laide | More info

🟡 Demba's Dimanche Dish at The Old Inn
Demba's Dimanche Dish brings the vibrant, authentic flavours of West Africa directly to our traditional fireside setting. This monthly event is a project with a purpose. A portion of the proceeds from every dish goes towards supporting development projects in Demba's home village in Senegal. Booking is essential.
Sun 28 Jun | 12.00pm | The Old Inn Gairloch · Gairloch | More info

🟡 Big Field
The Big Field Blues Band are taking the stage at 8pm. It's bound to be a fantastic evening of live music.
Sun 28 Jun | 8.00pm | Applecross Walled Garden Cafe & Restaurant · Applecross & Shieldaig | More info

🟡 West Coast Arts AGM
The annual general meeting of West Coast Arts will take place in the Gairloch Community Hall Annexe. All welcome.
Mon 29 Jun | 7.00pm | Gairloch Community Hall · Gairloch | More info

🟡 Summer Exhibitions Preview
Gairloch Museum warmly invite you to come along, enjoy a glass of wine and help celebrate and launch our Summer Exhibitions. In our Upper Gallery, Fiona Mackenzie will be exhibiting "Unbroken - hill of the Sparrowhawk" and in our Lower Gallery "Out & About" by Rosanne Wiseman will be on display.
Fri 03 Jul | 5.00pm | Gairloch Museum · Gairloch | More info

🟡 Ceilidh Dance
Music by The Islands Ceilidh Band. Dancing Until Late!
Sat 04 Jul | 7.30pm | Loch Torridon Community Centre · Kinlochewe & Torridon | More info

🟡 Ullapool Coastal Rowing Club Regatta 2026 [Until Sun]
Get ready for a fun-filled weekend as we welcome 17 clubs for an exciting regatta packed with thrilling races, great company, and plenty of action on the water! What to expect: Competitive and friendly racing | Raffle prizes up for grabs | Our famous burgers (you won't want to miss these!) | Racing starts at 18:00 on Friday.
Fri 10 Jul | 10.00am | Ullapool Harbour · Ullapool | More info

🟡 Wellness Weekend [Until Sun]
We are delighted to invite you to our first Wellness Weekend at The Old Schoolhouse. Your ticket includes access to a variety of guided activities throughout the weekend, including movement, mindfulness, creativity, breathwork, sound healing, wild swimming, and more. Places are limited, so book early to avoid disappointment.
Fri 17 Jul | 6.00pm | Old School Inverasdale · Poolewe | More info

View all the events we know about here

Jobs

Are you hiring? You could reach even more local people by advertising with the Gairloch and District Times. Book your ad here.

🟡 Ullapool Medical Practice are looking for a Receptionist/Administrator. More: Facebook

🟡 Corriness Guest House in Poolewe are looking for a part-time Housekeeper. More: Facebook

🟡 The Old Inn in Gairloch have a number of staff roles available, and accommodation can be provided. More: Facebook

🟡 Rhiddoroch Distillery in Ullapool also have a number of different jobs available and they promise "no crazy hours." More: Facebook

More News

🟡 The Highland Poverty Commission have published their final report. You can read it here: Highland Council (pdf)

🟡 Why is Applecross called Applecross? It turns out that it isn't because of apples or crosses. Applecross Heritage Centre explain more: Facebook

🟡 It looks like a regular Wester Ross Athletics club might be getting off the ground after a "fantastic turnout" for a trial event organised by Gairloch Active Schools. The next session will be on June 29. More: Facebook

🟡 Visit Scotland has named two Wester Ross restaurants on it's top 10 best seafood shacks list. More: Visit Scotland

🟡 While we await the arrival of the brand new Screen Machine mobile cinema, the people who run it want to hear what you think of the service, whether you have used it or not. More: Screen Machine

🟡 Early signs of recovery have been found on an area of protected seabed which was destroyed by illegal fishing in the Summer Isles near Ullapool. Campaigners are highlighting the improvement as they call on the Ministers to bring in better marine conservation rules. More: BBC News

🟡 An independent investigation by the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman has found that NHS Highland failed to provide adequate care to a child following a mental health crisis, leading to a request for an apology to both the child and their parent. More: Federica Stefani | Ross-Shire Journal

🟡 Angus MacDonald, Lib Dem MP for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire, has also been told to apologise to a trainee court reporter after the MP was found to have breached the Westminster Parliament’s Bullying and Harassment Policy. More: Radio Skye

🟡 There are loads of photos from the recent Gairloch Boat Club Challenge Regatta on Facebook. More: Facebook

🟡 And lastly here's a video of a pine marten at Gairloch Harbour. More: Facebook