Mallaig FC win the league

With 33 points across 11 matches Mallaig FC retain the West Highland League title. A euphoric announcement on the club's social media celebrated this amazing achievement with grateful thanks extended to all of the sponsors, volunteers and supporters who have been there on the journey of success along with the team. Well done from all at West Word!

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Hello and a very warm welcome to the September - October issue of West Word.
We had the West Word AGM in August and it was a hopeful and positive meeting. We have a few new faces on the board bringing fresh ideas and energy, combined with the wisdom and knowledge of members who have been involved with West Word for decades. There is still room for more though - if you can spare an hour or two a month to be a board member or help distribute West Word to our stockists, please do get in touch to find out more.
We are definitely heading into autumn now, by the time you are reading this we will only be a week or two away from the autumn equinox and the dual role of a paper copy of West Word as a midge swatter has come to an end for the season! I'd love to hear how you use your issues once you have read them - last Christmas we made paper chains and a miniature Christmas tree from Dè tha dol? back issues - I am already planning festive upcycling uses for West Words too!
We have some great contributions in this issue - please keep them coming. I love hearing your stories and I know our readers do too. I will be at the Mallaig Hub on 17th September for a couple of hours, so do come along and say hello and bring me your ideas.
As always a huge thank you to our stockists and advertisers, our contributors and our wonderful volunteers, all of whom play their part in getting this issue of West Word into your hands.
Happy reading and have a great month!
Nic
Nic Goddard, Editor

ISLE OF CANNA

The start of August was pretty much a wash out but it has fallen away to glorious sunshine and heat. Gone is the low lying cloud and drizzly rain and out come the vest tops, lunchtime snorkels and swims in the sea. Amy held a World Cup sweepstake earlier in the Summer and the profits made from that are going towards a fund to get some new playground equipment.
We have welcomed baby Aidan to the Shearer family. A little brother for Jeannie. Aidan's arrival was fairly dramatic with Rona & Tom being whisked away in the helicopter. Thankfully Rona was able to hold on until they got to hospital and Aidan wasn't born in a helicopter! Everyone is doing well and Jeannie seems to be adapting to her new sibling fairly well.
The shop would like to thank George and Alison Edington for their generous donation of postcards and cards for the community to sell in the shop. The postcards and cards have lots of lovely photos of the Canna landscape and have already sold out!
The farm team has been busy this week sorting lambs getting them ready and organised to go to the sales in September.

Wind & Sun spent a week with us upgrading our renewables grid. They are always a pleasure to have on the island and they absolutely love coming here. It was all hands on deck to remove the old lead acid batteries and install the new lithium batteries which look very smart. They take up much less room than the old ones and there has been some debate about who is going to be able to store things in there now there is space! With a few slight hiccups that system is now operating well.

The NTS Seabird Team is here for the Manx Shearwater Project. The chicks have been brought over from Rum and are now ensconced in their burrows. The team has to feed the chicks daily so there are many trips out to the site and I believe, a lot of pureed sardines!
Only 5 of us made it over to Eigg for the Small Isles Games - 4 on the ferry and 1 under sail. Caroline and I did a three-legged race and managed to come 4th and Canna won its round against Eigg in the tug-o-war. We hope everyone has had a good Summer and long may this sunshine continue!
Margaret Willington

ISLE OF RUM

The solar eclipse on Rum - also called a cloudy evening spent on the campsite in the most midges I've felt all summer. It was an anticlimax to be honest. Our own Dark Sky Association had stacks of the special glasses to wear - if only we could have seen anything through them. Families balanced precariously on rocks on the shore trying to get away from the midges, it didn't work. Rum has a reputation for midges, today it lived up to it. We had our new very fancy telescope set up to record the view. Elle, with her visitor services manager hat on, gave a running commentary of what we could expect to see, whilst Coinneach strode up and down with the pushchair on mission to keep baby Caillean quiet and happy - he had the harder job. I was live streaming the BBC coverage on my phone, so we did get to see what it looked like in Iceland and Cornwall, stunning, I'm sure. After the cloudy day turned into cloudy evening we all retired back to being indoors.

The Small Isles Games - held on Eigg this year. After a false start due to weather and CalMac complications (it seems I say that a lot), the games were postponed to the following week and CalMac did to their credit change the timetable to accommodate travel for us islanders. Thanks.

Team Rum gathered at the pier to catch the ferry, we felt robust, there were a lot of us. We chowed down on a quality CalMac breakfast of fried egg rolls, cider and gin and got the craic with team Canna when they got on an hour later. Only two more hours to Eigg, plenty of time to strategize or gossip or sleep or crochet hats. Eigg put on a great day, lots of fun events, loads of tasty food and it was fab to catch up with everyone.
Highlight of the day was when we stole the tug of war. Usually, the home team wins it right? The judges made it fair so there were equal numbers on each side for a change, we got Eigg's Saira Rennie as extra muscle to even things out. It was looking like we were going to lose despite our somewhat Braveheart strategy to 'hold' for as long as possible before we start pulling, when fate intervened. We don't know what happened, perhaps Eigg thought they had won, but the rope got decidedly slacker, so we pulled and pulled till the ribbon was past the marker and by the miracle that is Rum, we won it. But not the whole games, Eigg won that comprehensively. Special shout outs to Sam, who won the hill race by miles for Rum; to Saira's mental obstacle course worthy of navy seals training and everyone who ever tries jumping in a bulk bag in a team of four. It was the best day, thank you Eigg!!

School is back - still six at Rum primary, three at Mallaig high and Eve is back to Edinburgh University for her second year
A few of us were awake at 5am the other day to try and see the lunar eclipse, I saw a glimpse but it was obscured by the trees - heading out of the village to get a better view seemed like a good plan but by the time I was clear of the trees the moon had set behind the mountains. Better luck next time. Roll on astronomical dark when we can start to see some amazing dark skies.
Congratulations to Joss who gave up two weeks of the summer holidays to train to become a swimming teacher and lifeguard at the pool.
August birthdays were Eve and Aisling 18, and Edwin is a mighty 6.
Fliss Fraser

ISLE OF EIGG

Small Isles Games
Saturday 8th August - ferries were cancelled - the wind and rain were against us - but we were determined for the games to happen, so we rescheduled for the following Saturday with our fingers crossed! A big thank you to Calmac for adjusting the timetable to mean that the other islands could make it along. Canna and Rum teams competed, and we look forward to having Muck join us again next time. Thank you also to the band, Ape House, for being so flexible. We ended up having a wonderful day on Saturday 15th August in the sunshine, with all the games and the evening ceilidh. All BBQ smells and laughter as children and adults competed in the serious, and ridiculous (!), games organised by members of the community - from sprints to bulk bag races and hills to obstacles. What fun!

Seagrass Restoration
In the second week of August there was a fantastic volunteer turn out for the Seagrass Restoration project run by Marine Conservation Society, Eigg Guiding and the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust. Thousands of seeds were collected at low tides over several days from a donor bed and deployed to another bay by snorkelling. We are hoping to see new growth by next spring in sparser areas in need of restoration.

Cidsin a Chuain
We have been lucky enough to have Jaqueline and Ewen's delicious seafood pop-up at the pier and the Brewery this month, serving the local catches, deliciously prepared. The dishes include crab arancini, lobster tail cocktail and pollock goujons to name a few. Delish!

Back to school (and Nursery!)
It's that time of year again and the children went back to Eigg Primary School on the 19th, full of summer stories. They extend a warm welcome to Edith, 3 years old, who has just joined the nursery. Here's a picture of her on her first day with a big smile - she's taken to it wonderfully. Well done, Edith!

The Heart and the Hawthorn
Big congratulations to Laura Coleman for releasing their first novel into the world - The Heart and the Hawthorn, which was written mostly on Eigg. It's a fantasy queer love story about 'following your heart and what's possible when you realise that every single creature deserves a voice' and it looks fantastic!

Wildlife - an update from the SWT Ranger, Norah
'The Scottish Wildlife Trust team were delighted to help at the Canna Naturefest again this year, and we helped with various wildlife surveys and public events. It was also a chance to meet other people working in conservation and make connections. Canna is an inspiring example of how a rat eradication programme can be achieved.
On Eigg, we have been collecting wildlife and island data as part of the rat eradication project we are working on with the RSPB, who led the Canna programme. We are undertaking a seabird restoration study and the RSPB will be coming back in November to share their initial findings with us. Rat predation is a major issue for breeding seabirds on islands and there has been a drastic decline in populations over the last 40 years.
There has been mixed success with breeding birds this season with the disruptive weather patterns. The white tailed eagle had 1 young, however only 1 pair of both golden eagles and hen harrier had 1 young. The terns are gathering now in large numbers getting ready for their long migration south. And our wonderful volunteers are leaving now for their next venture, so a big thanks to them for all their hard work.'
Thank you, Norah!
So - it's back to school and the volunteers and terns are leaving - there is certainly a change in the air. The bracken is beginning to brown and the brambles are out. The summer flew by, as it does every year!
Laurie King

ISLE OF MUCK

Hello Muck Calling....
Well summer finally got under way and it has been the way summer should be with glorious sunshine with the teasing chance of a downpour the moment you light the BBQ or in deed attempt to put on the Island Games which on intended date was a complete bust and for us on Muck was a bit of a disaster as the following week pretty much all residents were otherwise engaged.....we did manage to press gang a wee team of 'ringers' or holiday makers to give the underdogs a bit of representation.
Its unbelievable how quick our end of one season is fast approaching with only a couple of weeks left, and the other one already underway with stalking on Rum and Bird dates upon us, better look out those flags and hand warmers you beater folk.
With the new school term starting so did a new chapter with the arrival of our new teacher Diane Russell and husband Andy who have settled onto the island and we welcome them both into our wee community and look forward to getting to know them and find out who they're hiding from (just joking!).
Now that summer is about over we can finalise our tenders for the 2 newbuilds and renovation work on the vacant properties can get underway. We have managed some much needed wind turbine maintenance and still wrangling with our space age generator which speaks a different language than the power boards it seems.
Well folks that's our news for this time.
Bruce

Mallaig Lifeboat Log

At 1.55pm on 29th July, Mallaig RNLI launched to reports of a sailing vessel that had fouled its prop, located on the south side of Rum. Upon arrival on scene, an assessment was made which confirmed the vessel was fouled in 2 pot buoys and rope. The Y-Boat, with 2 crew onboard, was launched to try a free the sailing vessel from the fishing gear. After numerous attempts and no success, crew reached out to local fisherman to locate the owner. Although not at sea that day, they kindly headed out to sea to assist. However, they too were unable to free the fishing gear from the sailing vessel and it had to be cut at the closest point. With the sailing vessel still entangled in the fishing gear and drifting in the elements, the decision was made to tow the vessel back to Mallaig harbour. Once it was safely returned to its mooring, the lifeboat was refuelled and made ready for service again by 9.45pm.
On 30th July at 3.51pm, Mallaig RNLI was tasked to assist a casualty at Inverie; who had fallen and injured their back. The lifeboat transported a paramedic from the Scottish Ambulance Service to Inverie pier, then crew members assisted the paramedic & their equipment to the casualty's location. A medical assessment was carried out, and the decision was made to extract the patient by helicopter. Lifeboat crew members then assisted in transferring the casualty to the helicopter, who was taken to hospital for onward care. The lifeboat, crew and paramedic returned to Mallaig and the boat was made ready for service again by 6.45pm
Mallaig RNLI lifeboat launched at 9.55pm on 3rd August to transfer the fire brigade and their equipment to Sandaig bay; where a generator fire had been reported. The lifeboat made best speed possible to Inverie pier, where they were met by HM Coastguard crew and a vehicle to transfer the fire brigade. The lifeboat then headed to Armadale, to collect a second fire brigade to assist further. However, it was confirmed that the fire was contained, so the Mallaig crew returned to Inverie to then transport the fire brigade back to Mallaig. The lifeboat was refuelled and made ready for service again by 12.40am
The pagers sounded at 7.07pm on 5th August when Mallaig RNLI was tasked with assisting an injured person at Inverie. The lifeboat arrived at Inverie pier where the casualty was waiting, was assessed and then assisted onto the lifeboat by the crew. Upon returning back to Mallaig harbour, the patient was transferred to the Scottish Ambulance Service for onward care. The boat was refuelled and ready for service again by 8.30pm.
At 4.16pm on 8th August, Mallaig RNLI was tasked to a sailing yacht in difficulty outside Mallaig harbour. The all-weather lifeboat arrived on scene at approximately 4.30pm to assess the situation. With poor weather conditions, young children onboard and the yacht's skipper having difficulty controlling the vessel and unable to start its engine, the decision was made to take the vessel under tow into Mallaig harbour. With the help of local HM Coastguard members, the yacht and crew were safely secured alongside the marina pontoon. The lifeboat was ready for service again by 5.30pm. The 18th August was an eventful day for the Mallaig crew. Firstly, at 3.35pm, they were tasked with aiding a sailing vessel that was having difficulty making its way to Mallaig and unable to start its engine. The situation was assessed, and it was decided that the safest option was to tow the yacht back to Mallaig harbour. Whilst manoeuvring the yacht onto the pontoon, with the assistance of the Mallaig Harbour Authority, a second tasking request was received at 5.30pm. This time, there was a casualty on Knoydart with multiple suspected fractures who required assistance. So, after safely securing the sailing vessel at the marina, the Mallaig lifeboat crew then onboarded members of the Scottish Ambulance Service and made best speed to Inverie. On scene, the patient was stabilised, assisted onto the lifeboat and subsequently transported back to Mallaig for onward care. The lifeboat was refuelled and ready for service again by 6.36pm.

News from Mallaig Harbour

It's hard to believe that it is already the end of August, and summer is almost past before it really began here. Provident has completed her charters from Mallaig for the season, and Eda Frandsen has one more trip to go before heading south to Oban. There's also a marked difference in the number of yachts at the Marina in the last week or so, after a busy season.
You can also tell that summer is almost over because the MV Lochnevis has headed off to dry dock for her annual overhaul. This is slightly earlier than normal. She headed off on 26th August, and is due back on service on 22nd September. The MV Loch Bhrusda and Western Isles Cruises 'Larven' are covering the Small Isles service in her absence. This means that, as with much of the rest of the season, MV Coruisk is operating a single vessel service to Skye, so capacity is limited. We have had various visitors from CalMac over the month, as although the infrastructure works are complete, there is still work to do to replace fencing, walkways etc. and we are taking a bit of time to work with CalMac to ensure that any work done results in the safest, most appropriate solution for everyone. One of the challenges is that the new area is much more open but is also likely to have gangways from berthing vessels being manoeuvred on the opposite side in addition to the berthing operations from the ferry on the linkspan side. We need to find a safe path for pedestrian access through this. This includes access to the statue at the end of the breakwater. We try to maintain as open access as possible for visitors to the Harbour, but we are asking people to be mindful that it is a working area, and to follow any instructions from CalMac staff and avoid berthing operations during their visit.
We also still have to install the sensors on the fendering along the linkspan berth to measure the speed of approach and pressure on the fendering of the various ferries, but especially the Lord of the Isles. The sensors have all been tested in the lab but there is still an issue with one of the interfaces, and until this has been overcome, there is no point in the sensors being installed on-site.
July was a much quieter month in terms of fish landings, but we have had a few more visiting vessels in August. This of course coincided with us having to clear the fish box store ready for the works to start on Jary's Wharf, so the boxes (of which there are more than there seem to have been for months!) are currently in the prawn market. The compound itself has been dismantled as it was becoming unsafe. We have relocated Milligan Transport to the end of the fish pier ready for Aberdeen Marine Services to start the works. Weather permitting, the barge is arriving on 2nd September, a week later than planned, and the two mini cranes are already on site.

We had a visit to the Harbour on 25th August from Graham Simpson MSP. Graham is a Reform MSP and is part of the Transport Committee so was interested to learn more about the importance of Mallaig to the Small Isles and Knoydart for freight as well as passengers and vehicles. We have also had introductory meetings with Willie Rennie MSP, Maree Todd MSP and our own constituency MSP, Andrew Baxter over the last few weeks. These are all designed to raise awareness of Mallaig's importance as a Transport Hub, and to support our future case for new ferry infrastructure. We were lucky with the weather for Graham's visit, and he got to see for himself freight being loaded for the Knoydart peninsula, and to speak to both Joe Blower from Western Isles Cruises and Julie MacRae from CalMac to understand the limitations of our existing infrastructure. We also timed the photograph's just right for the Lord of The Isle's departure!

On Wednesday 26th August, the Board of Mallaig Harbour Authority came together for a Strategy Workshop. This was facilitated by Donald MacLean, and supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and was designed to allow the Board to think about the future opportunities we have for the Boatyard; the old site of Andy Race's factory, and the other assets we have around the Harbour. We were encouraged to think about these at a higher level, and to formulate a strategy statement against which all future developments are assessed. It was a really interesting, and thought-provoking day; encouraging us to think not only about where the future opportunities are, but also about the things we might do at the moment that take up a lot of time and energy for minimum return. Our next Board Meeting is on the 11th September, and we will be talking about this a bit more before deciding the next steps. We'll keep you posted!
Jacqueline McDonell

On and Off the Rails

Hello, it's me again!
Writing for the September edition and still not rewritten my Christmas card list that I was going to do in January! Morrisons already have a Christmas walkthrough section, next to Halloween!
However, whilst we can still enjoy the late nights and glorious views around us here is a local good news start to the column with photos to make you smile. Kelsey Macbeth is the fifth generation in her family that has to drive trains out of the Mallaig depot that has the most spectacular views on our famous West Highland line. In an interview Kelsey says:
"I was working seasonally with CalMac when I was 20 and I was looking for full time work. My dad and sister are also with CalMac so it's a total transport family we're in. Then a job with the booking office came up in Mallaig so I applied for that and was lucky enough to get that. I progressed to becoming a conductor and then went on to become a driver." She described the application process to secure a job in the driver's cab as "challenging but rewarding". High profile hiring drives by ScotRail regularly swamp the company with interest, such as 22,135 applications received for 100 jobs in a major campaign. "There was an internal application to apply for a driver's position", said Kelsey. "Then you do psychometric tests and interviews and I was lucky enough to get through that. I got the job then I went down to Glasgow for driver training. So I started in October last year and got training through to July when I passed out. I would say to any young woman definitely go for it. At the start you might find the process quite tough and challenging but it's definitely rewarding when you get to the end of it. It's good in the railway because everyone really helps each other."
Kelsey drives on the same route as her mum, from Mallaig to Crianlarich. Industry figures show that women make up roughly 5% to 10% of all UK train drivers. Mark Ilderton, ScotRail Service Delivery Director, said, "It's fantastic to see more women choosing to build their careers as trained drivers with ScotRail. We now have 151 qualified female drivers across the network - more than double the number we had in 2020 - and women make up almost 17% (30) of our current trainee drivers.
That is a really positive sign that the work being done to attract more women into the railway is making a difference. There are excellent opportunities for women across the railway, and we are proud to see more joining the driving grade, developing their skills, and playing a vital role in keeping Scotland moving. We want that progress to continue and to see even more women considering a rewarding career in the driver's cab."

The Good News keeps on coming
World train journey scenic rankings in Europe according to "Time Out" magazine: on Friday 26th August in eighth position - with no bias - there we are with Fort William to Mallaig.
Whilst the Oslo to Bergen route in Norway was chosen as number one, to come in as a creditable 8th deserves me saying sometimes you have to look back to see how far we have come. All credit to the visionary planners, parliaments and financiers, who dared to dream and bring the railway from Fort William to Mallaig creating a fishing port, with platforms to take away our "Silver Darlings", and bring in tourism, houses, and a way of life that sustains us. The "navvies" breathed life (some of them losing theirs) into Mallaig (the Bay of the Gulls). Everyone who lives here now sees Mallaig reinventing itself year-on-year. We may sadly have lost our turntable, signal box, platform on the harbour, and covered glass and wrought iron canopy, but, despite that, our railway still survives and thrives. Eighth in Europe can't be bad; I'll drink a pint of tea to that!
Whilst we are welcoming the railway visitors, I still and always will say wouldn't it be nice to be "The Port of Mallaig" where we stay. The Mallaig Harbour Authority works hard behind the scenes to ensure our community spirit. It does still exist.

Now comes the wish list that ScotRail, along with Network Rail, could help us with. Reinstate the turntable at Mallaig and reinstate a passing loop at Lochailort station (its remains are still there) which would allow more trains to pass each other. Then build a glass covered canopy over the lengthened platforms that we need so badly to accommodate more carriages on trains. Of course, we need better trains, with improved heating, air conditioning and catering onboard facilities. Both Network Rail and ScotRail are budgeted by our Government, as is the Caledonian Sleeper from Fort William. If I had my wish list granted it would provide a sleeper train from Mallaig to the continent every night. Now there's a thought! Why not, I say.

And finally, whilst I am in ranting mode, but you know it makes sense:
A working group of Transport Scotland, Scottish Rail Holdings and Caledonian Sleeper is to conduct a feasibility study into the potential of direct Caledonian Sleeper services to continental Europe. The aborted Channel Tunnel "Nightstar" sleeper train service would have served Scotland had they been introduced, but the project was dropped and the completed coaches were exported to Canada!
Expected to report its findings to ministers later this year, the working group's project is part of the Scottish Government's manifesto commitment to commission a feasibility study into options for a Caledonian Sleeper service to Continental Europe. The working group will be looking at issues including passport control, traction, rolling stock requirements, routes, destinations, etc. I will be following this with interest, and will report further.
See you on the train or the platform - which is soon to be deep cleaned! Watch this space!
Sonia Cameron

Birdwatch August 2026 by Stephen MacDonald

Wader passage dominated the reports during August with sightings from Loch Ailort, Loch nan Geall, Back of Keppoch, Traigh, Camusdarroch and the Morar Estuary.
Ringer Plover, Redshank, Curlew and Oystercatcher were widely reported. Sanderling were seen on the Morar Estuary, Camusdarroch and at Traigh.
Whimbrel were at Loch Ailort, Traigh and Camusdarroch.
Dunlin and Turnstone were seen at Traigh on numerous occassions, with fourty plus Turnstone there on the 8th. Turnstone were also seen at West Bay, Mallaig, where Purple Sandpipers were also reported.
Black-tailed Godwits were seen at Loch Ailort and Traigh. Two Bar-tailed Godwits were at Silver Sands, Traigh on the 30th.
Greenshank were seen on the Morar Estuary and also at Loch Ailort, where six were present on the 9th.
Two Snipe were at Loch Ailort on the 8th and a single juvenile Ruff at Traigh on the 30th was the first report of the year.
Two female Red-breasted Mergansers with twelve young were at Camusdarroch on the 2nd and another brood with five ducklings was on Loch Morar, near Rhubana on the 18th.
The Whooper Swan summering on Loch nan Eala was still present on the 20th, but looked to be in poor condition. On the 9th a family group of seven Shelduck were resting at the head of Loch Ailort.
Red-throated Divers were reported from the mouth of the Morar Estuary, Camusdarroch and Loch nan Geall accompanied by newly fledged young. A single Black-throated Diver was offshore from Traigh on the 8th and a post breeding group of six birds were seen on Loch Morar on the 28th.
Still plenty of seabirds feeding in the Sound of Sleat. Some huge rafts of Manx Shearwater reported on several occassions. Common Guillemots, Razorbills, Kittiwakes and Gannets also present.
Both Great and Arctic Skuas reported throughout the month plus several sightings of Storm Petrels.
Several reports of Kingfisher from the Morar River, upstream of the hydro dam and also in the tidal part around the main road bridge. There was also a sighting on the small burn by Camusdarroch car park on the 12th.
Family groups of Jays were reported from both Morar and Arisaig.