April 2015

Happy Easter!
Kishorn has been quiet over the past couple of weeks. Storms have come and gone, and snow still remains on the Bealach na Ba. The road was closed last week due to weather conditions.
The Kishorn Seafod Bar and Patterns of Light gift shop have now reopened for the season. The brand new Bealach na Ba Café and Gallery will be opening at the end of April, and I am sure will be very popular.
Four new homes are getting built in Achintraid and this also means that the streetlights and ‘thirty’ speed limit will be extended to the river. The council have refused however to extend the streetlights and speed limit at the other end of the village. How completely ridiculous when over half of the village’s children live ‘past the cattle grid’! We look forward though to welcoming the new tenants into the houses soon. These developments are vital to keeping people in the area.
The Scottish Sea Farms sea site now has brand new feed and accommodation barges in preparation for the expansion of the sea site. This expansion will also keep people in the area as new jobs are being created. People should really think twice before they try and stop fish farms being created. Yes, the cages and barges may not be the most elegant of structures, but surely it is more important to keep people in the Highlands and Islands and create employment. And if the damage to the environment was really as bad as some people make out it is, fish farms would not exist. It would probably be illegal. There are many organisations that monitor fish farming, do not doubt the integrity of these organisations.
A breakthrough has been made regarding the Stromeferry Bypass. Two options have now been identified to replave the troublesome road; a new road through Glen Udalain or a new bridge and Lochcarron Bypass. In my opinion a new bridge is the only option. The new road would be high up and would be prone to heavy snow and ice. Journey times would also be increased which is not favourable, especially as a new state of the art hospital is about to be built in Broadford, opening up medical access in Wester Ross, Skye and Lochalsh. The bridge would actually be fairly sheltered from high winds. And I am sure the bridge would not need to be as high as the Skye Bridge which was designed to allow the Royal Yacht Britannia to pass underneath. So long as boats like the fish carriers and pleasure boats could fit underneath then the bridge would not need to be high.
Despite planning permission being granted , all seems to have gone quiet with the with the Kishorn Port development. The community has not been kept up to date with the development, last I heard there was a hold up with something. The Ferguson Pier continues to be as busy as ever, with many ships and landing craft coming in and out of the bay on a  daily basis. Calum’s Seal Trips boat ‘Sula Mhor’ was spotted in the loch last week on her first trip of the year and the MV Glenachulish left the boatyard after her winter overhaul.
The Easter Holidays are here and it won’t be long before SQA exams begin in Plockton High School. Good luck to all the students particularly those from Kishorn. And then summer will be here which means one thing…tourists!
Have a great Easter Weekend and holiday.
RJM