Northern lights and a playpark takeover

Welcome to this week's Wester Ross Round-up newsletter. This morning we're sending to 1115 subscribers. If you have a friend, colleague or neighbour who might like to get this, please do forward it to them and encourage them to sign up too.

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🟡 Local councillors have been making decisions on which local projects to support with grant funding. The Wester Ross Biosphere, Lochalsh & Skye Swimming Pool Association, Dornie & District Community Trust and an arts project led by Create inspire Project CIC were all awarded cash this time. More: Highland Council

🟡 At the same meeting councillors also agreed to sell Torridon and District Community Association the Torridon Playpark - said to be worth £20,000 - for £1. More: Cameron Angus-Mackay | BBC

🟡 338 Highland households who live in homes worth more than £1m will pay more tax after the Scottish Government said it would introduce a "mansion tax," in the last budget. Tax breaks for shooting estates will also come to an end. More: Scott MacLennan | Inverness Courier (£)

🟡 Highland MSP Ariane Burgess has raised concerns over the resources allocated to rural fire stations in the Highlands. She points out that Inverness is the only full‑time fire station in the whole of the Highlands. More:
Kyle Ritchie | Ross-Shire Journal (£)

🟡 A bid by a Lochcarron man to persuade MSPs to revise the Outdoor Access Code so that campervans would only be permitted to park in designated places along the NC500 has been rejected at Holyrood as there is not enough time to consider it properly before the May elections.
More: Steph Brawn | The National (£)

🟡 This week locals were wowed by an excellent Northern Lights display. Thank you to everyone who shared their photos with us on our Facebook Page. We couldn't include them all in this bulletin, so here's a selection.

Photo Credits:

• Cover photo at the top of this post | Aultbea | Credit: Stacy Fraser
• Gairloch Harbour | Credit: Mandy McIntosh
• Arrina, Applecross Peninsula | Credit: Patterns of Light
• Gairloch | Credit: Millcroft Hotel
• The graveyard above Boom Beach, Mellon Charles | Credit: Vanessa Clarke
• Outside the front door, South Erradale | Credit: Annie O'Garra Worsley
• Kinlochewe | Credit: Jen Pickering

🟡 The Screen Machine mobile cinema will be in Gairloch from January 28 to 31. You can see what is showing and book tickets here: Screen Machine (our pic is Hamnet)

🟡 Fèis Rois are looking for young trad musicians to sign up for the 2026 Ceilidh Trail project. Applications have to be in by February 8. More: Fèis Rois

🟡 On Saturday February 14 it's Snowdrop Day at Dundonnell Garden between 11:00 and 15:00. Entry is £5 pp and children are free. Soup/bread will be available for donations and snow drops will be for sale. All proceeds will go to Little Loch Broom Marine Life.

🟡 Wester Ross Radio are on the hunt for new volunteer presenters. If this is something you'd like to do, email them for more info: [email protected]

🟡 Highland 4x4 Response - a group that supports emergency and social services with 4x4 vehicles in bad weather, major incidents and in times of crisis - is looking to recruit new volunteer controllers. More info: Highland 4x4 Response.

🟡 After a period of better weather, a group of intrepid swimmers from Kishorn finally managed their belated New Years Dook for charity. It's not too late to donate to their chosen charity. More: Facebook

🟡 If you are shopping at the Tesco in Dingwall don't forget to use your blue tokens to support the Toybox project in Gairloch. More: Facebook

🟡 It's National Pie Day on January 23. To celebrate, folk at The Applecross Inn are serving up... er... pies. More: Facebook

🟡 On January 28, there's a charity whist night in the Lochcarron Centre. Details in the flyer below.

🟡 Primary 1 enrolment for all Highland schools for the 2026-27 session is 26th-30th January for children aged 5 on or before 28/02/27. For all schools, this is the link to enrol: Highland Council

🟡 Gairloch youth club The Den are holding their AGM on February 2 at 19:00 in Lochewe Community Church. All parents, volunteers and users of the project are welcome. More: Facebook

🟡 According to the Scottish Crofting Federation, over the next six weeks a series of public meetings will be held by the Crofting Commission across the Highlands to highlight their Annual Notice Campaign and their new focus on duties enforcement. All meetings are open to crofters and non-crofters alike. The most convenient meeting for crofters in Wester Ross will be held at Lochcarron Community Hall, February 11 from 19:00 - 21:00. More: Facebook.

🟡 It's not too late to sign up for the Great Wilderness Challenge, although 125 people have already registered, so if you are interested you need to get your skates on. More: Great Wilderness Challenge

🟡 The Badachro Moorings Owners Assocation will have their AGM on Wednesday, February 18 at 19:00 in the Badachro Inn. All welcome.

🟡 Poolewe Markets are gearing up for another season with the first market of 2026 set to take place at the end of March. Organisers are interested in hearing from local good causes who might be interested in fundraising by running the café and from produce stalls. For more info email: [email protected]

🟡 And finally... here's a frankly terrifying film from Tim Howell, that you may not have seen before. Howell completed the first ever wingsuit BASE jump in the UK in 2020, by jumping off An Teallach, but reposted the video to his Facebook Page recently. Watch: Facebook