Winter is coming and so are visitor levies

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❄️ After weeks of relatively mild, settled weather, winter is finally about to arrive. Sleet and snow is forecast from Monday, so get that kindling chopped.

🛏️ The public consultation on the Highland Council's proposed visitor levy opens today. Officials plan to add a 5% charge to the nightly bill of every visitor who stays anywhere from hotels to campsites. This could raise £10m a year for local services. If you want to find out more and have your say, then this is the link.

🥡 Also today only, the Black Pearl is delivering orders to pick up points in Poolewe, Aultbea, Laide as well as their usual Gairloch venue tonight. Details of the menu and how to pre-order here.

🐟 And whilst we're talking takeaways, congratulations to all the local chippies that won a gong in the Scottish chip shop awards. Ullapool had two winners. Deli-ca-sea won best fish supper in the North West, whilst The Seaforth was named best North West chippy. Meanwhile, the Angry Seagull chip van - which has been known to visit various parts of Wester Ross - won Best Mobile Fish and Chips across the whole of Scotland. Judging by reports of a lengthy queue in Gairloch on Nov 14, the award is well-deserved.

🍷 The festive season starts early at the Torridon Community Centre. There's mulled wine, mince pies, and christmas movies on offer at a special winter warmer event on December 7.

🎄 The date of the increasingly famous Ullapool Christmas lights switch on has been announced. The creel tree lights will be turned on at 5.30pm on November 29, accompanied by Ullapool Pipe Band. Radio Wester Ross will be broadcasting live from the Ullapool Book Shop, who are laying on wine and mystery guest authors for late night christmas shoppers.

🥃 As the night's draw in, a good way to warm up might be to book a place at the St Andrew's Night Whisky Experience planned at the Aultbea Hub on Nov 30.

ℹ️ Cold weather also means bigger bills. Citizens Advice Bureaux are now offering face-t0-face appointments at Gairloch Community Hall on the third Thursday of every month. They can give free independent advice on a whole range of subjects and help with claiming benefits. You must book an appointment though. Do that by calling on 01349 883333 or send them an email.

🎥 The Screen Machine have extended the deadline on their crowd-funder. They're hoping to raise £100,000 towards buying a new vehicle and so far they're on around £32,000. If you want to keep the mobile cinema on the road, here's the link. The appeal will now close on November 25.

🚶‍♂️If you fancy a guided walk to the Badachro Fairy Lochs, the High Life Highland Countryside Rangers will take you on a 6km circular walk taking in the lochs and the World War 2 plane crash site on December 6th. Find out more and book a spot here.

📶 If you are among the people who objected (including the Letterewe Estate) to proposals for a new mobile phone tower near Kernseray, then you might be interested to note that Chris Bryant, the new Culture Minister who inherited the programme funding it from the previous adminstration, said recently: "It seems to me illogical simply to put big masts in places of extreme natural beauty just for the sake of saying that we have covered geographical mass."

🦅 Also out on the moors, it seems Scottish Government attempts to introduce Grouse Moor Licensing are in a bit of a mess. The Raptor Persecution blog has been covering the stooshie.

🦚 And a local mystery. A rare - and very beautiful - Reeve's Pheasant has started hanging about in the vicinity of the recycling centre. Nobody seems to know where it came from. If you know get in touch! And whatever you do please don't persecute it...

And lastly an apology. Robin Robertson sent us a photo of a harvest moon recently. Sadly, it didn't reproduce very well in the last edition of the paper. It looks better here, so this is how the photo was supposed to look!

This round-up was put together by the Gairloch and District Times. If you find it useful please consider joining more than 200 other people that support us with a paid digital subscription. We can't do it without you 😄.

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