Ullapool hails ‘best weekend ever’!

Ross-Shire Journal – BUSINESSES in a Wester Ross village enjoyed their “best weekend in history” as an estimated 12,000 people flocked to catch a glimpse of some eagerly anticipated visitors. Speaking in the wake of the Tall Ships Races 2011 event which took in Ullapool over the weekend, the village’s harbourmaster Kevin Peach hailed it [...]

English wedding invite ’saves life’ of Highland baby

Scotsman – AN INVITATION to a wedding in England helped save the life of an eight-week-old Scottish baby.
Isabella Di Rollo fell ill with a serious heart problem when her parents Chris and Sarah had travelled from their Highland home to the wedding on the Isle of Wight. As her condition began to worsen, specialists from [...]

Tall ships to arrive in Ullapool

BBC – Twelve boats participating in the Tall Ships Races are to start arriving in Ullapool on their journey up the Scottish coast. Ocean Spirit was expected to arrive at the Highland village later with a further seven ships arriving on Friday and four on Saturday. Harbour master Kevin Peach said there could be eight [...]

Tall ships to sweep into Ullapool

Ross-Shire Journal – A WEST coast port is preparing itself for an invasion of tall ships to help celebrate a special centenary. Ullapool has been chosen as the guest port for the 2011 Cruise in Company leg of the Tall Ship races 2011 to coincide with the Ullapool Harbour Trust’s centenary year. The Tall Ships [...]

Loopallu announces headline act

Ross-Shire Journal – THE first headline act for the Loopallu festival has been confirmed as The Feeling. The band is set to provide one of the greatest sing-a-long sets the festival has ever seen with a back catalogue of hits to choose from including, ‘Never Be Lonely’, ‘Fill My Little World’, ‘Sewn’ and ‘Set [...]

Estate owner challenges Dundonnell eco-lodge project

BBC – A Highlands estate owner has taken legal action against the developers of a planned new holiday eco-lodge. Highland Council gave Escape Lodge planning permission in September 2010 for the property and eight thatched houses at Dundonnell in Wester Ross. But Gordon Crawford, who owns the neighbouring Eilean Darach estate, said it would affect [...]

Cyclist and runner in Scotland ‘hare and tortoise’ race

BBC – A cyclist and a runner have begun a charity race from the south to the north of Scotland via different routes. Former soldier Christopher Godfrey-Faussett, from the Borders, has set off on foot from Kirkcudbright on a line right up the middle of the country. Fellow Edinburgh investment manager John Gunn aims to [...]

Ross death crash man locked up

North Star – A FORMER Gairloch fisherman, who was jailed for 10 years for killing three members of a family when he ploughed into them in his car as they walked along a pavement, is back behind bars. Justin David Elder (37), a scallop diver, was jailed for 60 days at Dingwall Sheriff Court when [...]

Ullapool Book Festival 2011 gearing up for opening

BBC – Organisers of Ullapool Book Festival are gearing up for the event’s opening on 6 May. Authors taking part include crime writer Denise Mina, who will read from her last book and also her new novel which will be published next month. John Burnside will talk about his award-winning memoir Waking Up In Toytown. [...]

BRITs winners Mumfords announce Highland tour

Highland News – THE night after bagging the BRIT award for best album, Mumford & Sons have announced a tour that keeps a promise made when they were still an unknown band touring small Highland venues. Just over two years ago, the four unknown lads from London came to play some small Highland shows before [...]

Teenager set fire to car after celebrating 18th birthday

Press and Journal – A Wester Ross teenager set fire to a car after she had been out celebrating her 18th birthday with friends, Dingwall Sheriff Court heard yesterday. Dara Mackenzie, of 9 Seaforth Road, Ullapool, pleaded guilty to the offence, which occurred at a car park at Macleod House, Royal Park, Ullapool, on July [...]

Final funding ’secured’ for Ullapool pool’s new roof

BBC – The final funding needed to put a new roof on Ullapool’s swimming pool has been secured, according to the appeal launched to find the cash needed. Called Ullaspool, the building has been shut since spring 2010 after extensive damage caused by damp was uncovered. The cost of replacing the entire roof runs to [...]

Book festival organisers reveal line-up

North Star – THE organisers of the Ullapool Book Festival have announced the line-up of guests writers for their seventh festival later this year. They include the winner of the 2009 Giller Prize for Fiction, Canada’s leading literary award, three writers shortlisted for the 2010 Saltire Society’s Scottish Book of the Year, one of whom [...]

People power pool boost for Ullapool

Ross-Shire Journal – A WESTER Ross community devastated by the enforced closure of its swimming pool has been buoyed this week after a £3,000 funding boost. The Ullaspool “Raise the Roof” campaign has this week been awarded a £3,000 cash donation from RBS thanks to the enthusiastic voting campaign by local residents. The charity is [...]

Early bird offer for book fest

North Star – EARLY bird tickets for one of the Highlands most popular book festivals are now on sale. Authors for the Ullapool Book Festival from May 6-8 have yet to be announced but for those who are willing to trust the organisers to produce a great programme, they can snap up bargain tickets. The [...]

Ullapool folk ‘incensed’ over £300,000 school hostel plan

Press and Journal – Residents of Ullapool are “incensed” about plans by Highland Council to build and run a £300,000 hostel to house up to nine school pupils. Planners gave the green light for a two-storey, nine-bedroom student block to be built beside Ullapool High School to accommodate its pupils from the remote Scoraig peninsula. [...]

Mobility scooter drinker banned

BBC – A 63-year-old man who was caught drink-driving on a disability scooter has been fined and banned from driving for two years. John MacLean’s solicitor told Dingwall Sheriff Court the vehicle was not “designed for hell-raising”. MacLean, of Ullapool, admitted drink-driving on various roads in the town. The court heard that the former council [...]

Solar power plan for Ullapool pool’s new roof

BBC – A new roof for Ullapool’s swimming pool could include energy-saving features to make the building more efficient. Called Ullaspool, the building has been shut since spring after extensive damage caused by damp was uncovered. The cost of replacing the entire roof is estimated to run to more than £360,000.

Guitarists win chance to shine at Ullapool festival

Press and Journal – TWO young Highland guitarists have won the chance to perform a set at a music festival next month after proving their talents in a competition in Inverness at the weekend. Plockton High School pupil Michael Ferrie, 17, was the winner of the contest at the Spectrum Centre on Saturday, with Ross [...]

Festival crowd goes Loopallu for stars

Press and Journal – The rain did nothing to dampen the spirits of thousands of dedicated music lovers who danced the weekend away at this year’s Loopallu festival. The two-day event on the shores of Loch Broom, Ullapool, was a 2,500 sell-out weeks in advance for the fifth year running, and proved once again a [...]

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