Waternish News

There was a "midge" report in The Times newspaper dated March 1st 2010 saying that "one benefit has resulted from the worst winter to grip the Highlands in decades. Billions of midges have frozen to death hibernating in the ground, according to the world's leading expert on the biting beastie."

Visit Waternish are running a Free Prize Draw competition again this year, the draw will take place on 1st December 2010 and the winner notified immediately.

This year the prize consists of two items:

First: a Limited Edition Print from an original painting: 'Sguirr nan Gillean': the Cuillin Hills, signed by the artist Diane Hoff-Rome of 'An Artist's Lfe - Painting workshops'.

Second:a pair of socks dyed using only natural ingredients on Waternish, donated by Shilasdair. The winner will be given a choice of sizes, small, medium or large.

To enter this competition you will need to visit one of our Visit Waternish business members here on Waternish and complete one of the entry forms - PLEASE write your email address clearly - it's amazing how many we cannot read!

Visit Waternish wishes you all a very "Happy New Year for 2010", we hope that you have had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year. Hopefully you were able to battle through the bad weather and transport disruptions to be where you wanted to be when you wanted to be there.

As you can see from this picture, we've had snow here on Waternish recently. It has stayed for longer than usual and we are getting fabulous sunny weather at the same time.

Thanks to Kathie Ford for the picture of a snowy wall on Waternish.

The winner of our annual Free Prize Draw competition was drawn at the Stein Inn on 1st December, the lucky winner is Mr Ken Marshall from Wakefield, England.

Jim Mather  MSP,  Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism, visited Skyeskyns on Waternish last month to hear about the challenges and opportunities of running a business on Skye. 

After lunch and meeting the staff, he was given a tannery workshop tour to see how sheepskins are made before seeing the new showroom and range of products on offer to visitors.  

Clive Hartwell, director of the company, demonstrated the enormous advantages arising from achieving a spirit of co-operation between businesses in a local area, as in Waternish,  which not only has mutual benefits but  encourages visitors to stay longer  by offering them a more integrated and rewarding experience .   “A key principle in any business success is customer retention,” he said. “This is most likely to be achieved by offering an interesting experience, good  value and high quality personalised service.”

Mr Mather expressed particular interest in the way the Waternish business community has worked together to promote its area for the benefit of the local economy and visitors alike.  “It was a delight to witness such great enthusiasm and forward thinking from staff on the island,” he said.

 

HMS Bounty put in to Loch Bay, Waternish, to shelter from  high winds last week.  Like a ghost from the past, she made a great picture here in the bay.

The replica was built in 1962 for the film Mutiny on the Bounty, starring Marlon Brando. It has since been used as The Edinburgh Trader in the final two Pirates of the Caribbean movies which starred Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow.

The original Bounty was famous for its ill-fated trip to Tahiti and the West Indies in 1797 during which the mutiny took place which saw Captain William Bligh and 18 crewmen set adrift.  On this occasion the crew were able to refresh themselves more hospitably at either the Stein Inn or Lochbay Seafood restaurant.

 

Congratulations to Eva Lambert of Shilasdair, the Skye Yarn Company who was featured on a recent episode of Made in Scotland, an STV production.  The feature showed Eva demonstrating to John Michie how she dyes her wool in a traditional and authentic Highland way and helping him to come up with some specific wool for his own tartan. For a link to the episode go to http://player.stv.tv/programmes/made-in-scotland/2009-07-30-2100

Promptly at 9 o' clock on the morning of Saturday, July 25th, the 10 intrepid riders left their starting point on Waternish, Isle of Skye to cycle 650 miles to Marlow in Buckinghamshire in aid of the Hands Across The Water charity.

Here they are, lined up for the "off".

Thanks to Steve Ford for the photo.