October 2022 Update - Our First Community Lunch!
We previously said that we hoped to run some regular events for the community and we were delighted to host the first of these on Thursday 27th October. Tony and Jackie Dee who will be well-known to many in the community as professional chef and cook, volunteered to make a lunch for some of our older members in The Old Schoolhouse Tearoom.
As you can see from the photograph, those attending enjoyed the delicious cock-a-leekie soup, crumble with custard and home bakes with tea or coffee in our cosy surroundings. Attendance was by invitation due to the limitation on numbers in the Tearoom. Thanks to those who volunteered to set up the tearoom, serve and clear up afterwards and to those who baked.
Tony and Jackie were just so helpful and said they enjoyed working in our fabulous kitchen. We cannot thank them enough for being so accommodating. If anyone with the appropriate skills and the time available would like to help WLET with the next community meal, and try out our wonderful kitchen, please get in touch by email -
Time for a chat after lunch
August 2022 Update
We are now opening regularly on Wednesday afternoon and we are delighted to see so many visitors and locals popping in. We haven't mentioned it before but we welcome well-behaved dogs in the tearoom. These two well-behaved dogs are Lisa and Ava and are visiting all the way from Germany! They are having a great holiday and are spending a lot of time on Firemore beach but were good enough to spare some time to have their picture taken in the tearoom.
Lisa and Ava say 'schöne Ferien' (happy holidays)
June 2022 Pop-Up Tearoom
We 'popped-up' on Wednesday 29th June and we had a great turn-out from visitors and locals. It's wonderful to see our new facilities in use at last and we hope to run more pop-ups soon, so keep a look out for more news on that. Don't forget, you can use our facilities for a private function if you are planning one - just use the contact page to get in touch.
Back in business at the Old Schoolhouse!
April 2022 Update - Completion at Last!
We are delighted to announce the completion of Phase 1 of the planned renovation of The Old School, Inverasdale. Thank you to all the funders involved!
WLET would like to thank our community and those further afield who have supported the Trust through the years since its formation in 2015 as well as all those volunteers who worked so hard to make this possible.
We plan to hold an opening event during April or May with special guests. Look out for that date!
This year’s Annual General Meeting takes place on Friday 29th April 2022 in The Old Schoolhouse Tearoom, beginning at 7.30 pm. We hope you are able to attend.
Wester Loch Ewe Trust’s Articles of Association and the Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2021 can be found by clicking the links on the right.
February 2022 Update - Almost There!
Wester Loch Ewe Trust is so excited to have our newly renovated and extended Schoolhouse almost ready to be handed over to us by Simpson Builders Ltd who have done a sterling job on Phase 1 of our regeneration project.
This project was made possible by the support of several funders. The first to confirm support was The National Lottery through the Community Fund. We are indebted to the National Lottery for believing in us and understanding the difficulties we faced when Covid came along.
The Old Schoolhouse Tearoom
As you can see the Old Schoolhouse Tearoom has been renovated and upgraded as has the entire ground floor area of the schoolhouse and former library. There is underfloor heating throughout as well as a wood-burning stove thanks to The Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) and to the Highland Coastal Communities Fund. We anticipate many cosy hours of usage by the community and visitors alike. Can you see the doors to the brand new toilets on the right of the picture?
Brand-new Kitchen!
If you have passed by recently you will have noticed the new large kitchen extension at the rear of the schoolhouse. This is accessed directly from the tearoom and it has also got a serving hatch which opens into the west exhibition room.
The new kitchen is equipped with commercial grade stainless steel fittings throughout and has wipe-down walls for ease of cleaning. This kitchen fit-out was made possible by a generous donation from The Prince’s Countryside Fund (PCF). The PCF’s support and forbearance throughout the long road to completion has been most kind.
We are so pleased with our kitchen and look forward to hosting many of you in the not-too-distant future but there is much work to do before we will be ready to serve you!
The Old Library
We are sure you will agree that the Old Library has been transformed!
The renovation and extension of the building was largely made possible by the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) from the Scottish Government which is administered by The Highland Council.
When we had to seek more funding to finish the project we were fortunate to gain the support of the Robertson Trust, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise without whom the finishing touches would not have been possible.
Wester Loch Ewe Trust thanks all the funders most sincerely for their support. It has made such a huge difference to our facilities!
The funders' logos can be seen at the foot of this page.
November 2021 Update - Work Continues
Work continues and is scheduled to be complete by the end of the year. We have reached the major milestone of the completion of the new floors with underfloor heating in the tearoom, the old library, and the new kitchen. Also, the new front porch is almost complete and our beautiful new windows in the tearoom have been installed; they are going to make such a difference to the atmosphere in the building. We are really looking forward to inviting you to our opening - look out for further news!
Now that we can see real progress being made, it's a good opportunity to once again acknowledge the support of the various funders who are making this possible: The Scottish Government through the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund; The National Lottery Community Fund; Highlands and Islands Enterprise; The Prince's Countryside Fund; The Robertson Trust; The Highland Council; and many more. Thank you!
And of course we must thank our on-site Simpson Builders team who are doing a grand job in spite of the less than helpful weather. Keep up the good work!
September 2021 Update
After several years of planning and fundraising, work to refurbish The Old School, Inverasdale has started. We appointed Simpson Builders who started work in August to construct a new large kitchen, improve the insulation, install new windows and doors and provide modern, efficient heating in the southern half of the building which includes the much-loved tearoom. There will also be a new entrance porch to the tearoom providing disabled access.
Repairs are being made to the outside of the building as well as inside
The ground floor of schoolhouse with walls stripped and new cement floor
July 2021 Update (2)
Wester Loch Ewe Trust has been successful in reaching its minimum target funding and we look forward to building work at The Old School starting in August
thanks to additional funding of £33,000 from Adapt & Thrive. There is some "delayed work" still to be funded. The work on our new kitchen and upgrades to the schoolhouse is scheduled to complete by late November.
It is great to have the tea room open again, although only on Wednesday afternoons from 2.00 - 4.00 pm. You can enjoy your hot drinks and home baking in our
grounds, in our new shelter, or take them away with you.
We would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to everyone who has come along on Wednesday afternoons to support us. This service has proved very popular
and we are very pleased to say that we've seen several of our regular holiday visitors as well as many locals.
July 2021 Update
On Wednesday afternoons from 7th July, the much-loved Old Schoolhouse Tearoom, will offer coffee, teas and home-baking as a take-away service from 2.00 – 4.00 pm. Place your orders at the school door and they will be delivered to you when ready.
Scottish Government regulations mean that we must collect your details for Track & Trace or you have the option of scanning a code with your mobile phone to give the details.
The Shelter will be available for use but strictly first come, first seated and if it’s full, you may wish to take your goodies to your car. There’s always the option of taking in our wonderful scenery.
June 2021 Update
Our recent community consultation on the use of The Old School this summer found the majority of respondents did not wish to use the building until Covid and our planned building works are over. A sizeable majority of respondents did not wish us to site a marquee on the football pitch but wished a robust form of outdoor shelter to be provided for carry-out tea and cakes, etc. This has now been provided in the form of a very solid container which is furnished with tables and chairs and is fully Covid-compliant.
The shelter being sited on an overcast June day.
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