June 2026

Waternish Community Emergency Plan 

Meeting on Tuesday 7th July 2026 at 7pm in Waternish Hall

Help us get organised before something happens.

Storms. Flooding. Power cuts. Wildfires. Major accidents.
When it happens, neighbours are often first to help.

We are creating a Community Emergency Plan for Waternish so we can:

share clear, reliable information fast
check on people who may need extra support
know who to contact and what help is available
use local skills and resources in a coordinated way

We need local people to get involved.
Resilient communities:

understand local risks and who may be most affected
use local skills and resources to prepare and respond
work together with emergency responders before, during and after an emergency

Working with emergency responders

This plan supports the work of the Skye and Lochalsh Emergency Liaison Group, led by Police Scotland, with partners including the emergency services, NHS, the Council, and other agencies.

To get involved, please come along or for more information contact:
waternishcommunitycouncil@gmail.com

SMALL ACTIONS NOW MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE LATER.

Harvey's House Calls for Cats is a family run business in the Waternish area, offering a pet service for cats and cat owners. The business is named in commemoration of our own late cat Harvey.

We are fully insured and DBS checked, and offer a number of services, including:
cat sitting in your own home;
overnight stays;
cat walking for indoor cats;
cat chauffeuring.

To join us on Facebook, click on the following link:
https://www.facebook.com/harveyshousecallsforcats

To get in touch for all your furry feline needs, contact us via facebook, or one of the methods below:

tel: 01470 517214
email: harveyshousecallsforcats@gmail.com

Please read this and give it your consideration

A lady in Waternish is looking to add to her existing team of PAs. As a team member you would not be expected to be available every week, and you can do as little as one session (normally an hour) or more to suit.

Self Employed pay is £21.50 per hour.

The hours are normally 08:00 until 09:00 and 17:00 until 18:00 with the team providing cover every day between them. The position is very flexible with team members covering for each other.

So, even if you can offer just one session each week we’d like to hear from you.

For more information, please contact Catherine Leach on 01470 592 705 or mobile 07581 171 315 or email catherineleach60@gmail.com.

What a lovely afternoon we all had at the Hall celebrating its 75th Birthday!

More than 80 people came together to mark this special milestone, spending the afternoon chatting, reminiscing, and enjoying a fantastic selection of sandwiches, savouries, cakes, traybakes, and, of course, endless cups of tea and coffee.

A huge thank you to Zoe and Gary for providing such a beautiful spread. Everyone commented on how delicious the feast was, and their hard work helped make the celebration extra special.

One small mystery remains: around 10 plates seem to have gone missing! They may well have found themselves accompanying some of the left over cakes that were taken home at the end of the afternoon. If you happen to discover a hall plate in your kitchen, please could you return it to a member of the hall committee or to Jill Lopez, who can usually be found in the Yurt most afternoons.

Thank you to everyone who came along and helped make this milestone occasion such a memorable one. Here's to many more happy years at the Hall!

PS. If you didn't make it along but would like to take part in future hall events, keep an eye out for our hall ceilidh coming soon.  We would love to see you there!

A friend in the Lakes has told me how successful a local WhatsApp group has been in his area for sharing car use, to both reduce the number of journeys environmentally, and to help those without access to cars.

If you would be interested in joining a similar group locally, then please WhatsApp me on the number below, and we can arrange a meeting to discuss how best to go forward.

 

Ian Tunnicliff
07493 759339

This is to give advance notice of road closures around Portree for the Sky Half-Marathon and 10k run, which are both occurring almost concurrently from just after 10.00am on Saturday 13th June.

Details of the events can be found on this website - https://www.skyehalfmarathon.com/

The website seems to have little information on road closures (If they have any, then I can't find it), but  the facebook page has much more, including a larger version of the above map: https://www.facebook.com/SkyeEventsHM10KTri

Unless you are competing or otherwise involved with the event, the best thing to do is probably to avoid the Portree area completely on that day, from 10.00am till about 2.00pm.

Good luck to all competitors, and hoping the weather stays fine for you.

Residents around Loch Bay Invited to Share Stories of the Sea

Residents, former residents and those with strong connections to the Waternish area are being invited to take part in a community gathering to share local knowledge, memories, stories and photographs of Waternish’s marine heritage, and how its changed over the years.

Gordon and Aileen at Divers Eye Boat Trips in collaboration with Waternish wildlife Alliance is facilitating Chloe Mackley, a master's student from the University of Edinburgh, in her research project, which aligns well with historical data gathering we are gathering to build a story of Waternish’ changing coastal environment.
Chloe will be visiting Waternish from 17th–23rd June as part of research looking at how local knowledge of the marine environment is recognised in decisions about Scotland's seas.

She is interested in hearing about the knowledge, memories and traditions connected to Waternish, Loch Bay and the surrounding coast. This might include fishing as part of crofting or as a main livelihood, summer evenings spent fishing and what was caught, gathering shellfish, winkles or seaweed for food, collecting bird eggs for baking, watching wildlife along the shore, and the ways people used and travelled around the sea.
She is also keen to hear stories and tales passed down through generations, local place names and the stories behind them, songs connected to the sea, memories of fish traps and traditional practices, and observations of how the area has changed over time. Have you noticed changes in the weather, wildlife, fish stocks, seabirds, the shape of the coastline or the way the sea is used? These observations are just as valuable as stories from the past.

A short talk and community gathering will be held on Thursday 18th June at 5pm in Waternish Village Hall. The event will begin with a short introduction to the project, followed by an informal opportunity to share memories, stories, photographs and experiences of Waternish's marine heritage and how this translates to the present day.
Residents are encouraged to bring along old photographs, maps or other items they would be happy to talk about. Refreshments will be provided. Everyone is very welcome.

Anyone interested in finding out more, attending the event, or taking part in an interview can contact Chloe at C.E.Mackley@sms.ed.ac.uk or on 07808 881975.