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!
July 2020 Update
Due to the current situation with regard to Covid-19, the necessary physical distancing measures and other Government restrictions, and in order to help keep our volunteers and community safe, Wester Loch Ewe Trust has reluctantly decided not to open the Old School this season.
Everyone involved would like to thank our community and all our regular summer visitors for their support. We do hope to welcome you all again when circumstances permit, perhaps later in the year.
Pop-up Tearoom - Thanks to All
Thanks to all who came along to support our pop-up Tearoom at the Old School, Inverasdale on Friday 21st February. You are much appreciated! Thanks to all who took part in our competitions: Isaac Stephen won the llama and Cath O’Hara won the puffin. We raised £301 for our funds and had a lovely afternoon. Thanks to all involved, especially our talented knitter, Lil, who donated the llama and puffin.
February 2020 Update
We were planning to hold a soup lunch on Wednesday 18th March, but this was cancelled due to the current coronavirus emergency. We hope that the Tearoom will be open as usual on Wednesdays and Fridays beginning Friday 1st May. The season ends on Friday 30th October.
We had our AGM in late November – see gallery pictures here .... Our long-serving Vice Chair, Mary Rogers, stood down for family reasons and we welcomed Jackie Stephen onto the WLET Board.
The annual Hogmanay Gathering was a very enjoyable and successful occasion bringing together local people of all ages. We may manage another this year.
As always, we welcome anyone who would wish to volunteer help in any way. You don’t have to have a lot of time – an hour can make a difference.
Thank You!
Our special Christmas afternoon in the Old Schoolhouse Tearoom on Friday 6th December was very successful – over 60 people attended and we raised over £260 for our funds! Many thanks to all who came along – we do appreciate your support. We would like to say a special thank you to Santa’s Elf for helping to make the opening so enjoyable for everyone, especially our younger visitors.
NEW SERVICE AT INVERASDALE SCHOOL
Bridget Williams of Wester Ross Physiotherapy is holding a clinic by appointment in The Old School, usually on a Thursday afternoon. Contact Bridget on 07548 833555 or
Another Successful Season Ends
Here at the Old School, Inverasdale we’ve had a lovely 2019 summer season with another substantial increase in footfall and income against the previous year’s. We extend thanks to everyone who
has helped to make such a success - particularly those who bake, help out in the Tearoom and in the Exhibition Rooms, along with all those individuals and organisations who have contributed in any way.
The jigsaw donated by Gairloch Heritage Museum has proved a big hit with everyone who visits the School Exhibition – both children and adults!
This rearranged schoolroom area has been a great hit with our younger visitors as you can see from the photograph of a young visitor working hard at her desk!
The ‘Land Fit for Heroes’ exhibition kindly loaned by Gairloch Heritage Museum has been much enjoyed by visitors who spent time studying the information together with that in the ‘Gairloch Role of Honour’ in our display cabinets and booklets documenting the Poolewe Burial Ground.
WLET has been invited to Round 2 of the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund for match funding towards the proposed new kitchen extension and porch, funding having already been secured through the National Lottery Community Fund and the Prince’s Countryside Fund. We will hear the outcome of the RCGF application in January 2020, at the earliest.
Thank you to:
• Steelite for the wonderful teapots, cups and plates
• All those who recently donated crockery
• to Julie (Cornerstone) for the donation of a wrapping paper display stand
• Gairloch Museum
• Everyone who has helped us in any way this year!
We are already looking forward to planning for the 2020 season!
Gallery
COMMUNITY LAND FESTIVAL OCTOBER 2025
SEASON 2024
GAMS VISIT SEPTEMBER
HOGMANY 2023
SEASON 2023
COMMUNITY PIZZA EVENING FEBRUARY
SEASON 2022
HOGMANY 2022
Community Lunch No 1 27/10/22
AGM November 2019
SEASON 2019
Tearoom
Classroom Exhibition
Local Exhibition
Local Crafts
June 2019 Update
The summer season at the Old School, Inverasdale has had a tremendous start. In May we welcomed three times as many people to the Old Schoolhouse Tearoom and exhibitions as against the same period last year!
“A Land Fit for Heroes” has proved interesting, enjoyable and moving for so many of our visitors. One visitor said “We came and had excellent tea and cake at the School last week, and spent some time enjoying your exhibitions. I think you've done a grand job of displaying the Museum posters in the context of your own stories.”
The ‘School Exhibition’ continues to attract interest, not just from those who have connections. A visitor who spent quite some time in the school exhibition recently, particularly admired the gallery of photographs and the story told by these and the School Registers.
If you’re visiting the area come along and have tea, coffee and home-baking on a Wednesday or Friday afternoon from 2.00 pm until 4.30 pm, enjoy our exhibitions and browse the local arts and crafts on display.
About Us
We are a registered charity in a remote rural community with a group of volunteers who have worked hard since 2015 to bring the old Inverasdale Primary School into community ownership as a Community Centre. Wester Loch Ewe Trust was set up in March 2015 to be the legal body for asset transfer and at the end of November 2018 we achieved ownership of the School.
Wester Loch Ewe Trust is developing the Old School to create a Community Centre serving the series of scattered crofting settlements which stretch for 9 miles along the isolated west coast of Loch Ewe. Our location is very disadvantaged, having no local services and no public transport. The nearest shop is 9 miles away from Cove, the furthest settlement, and it is a 100-mile round trip to the nearest supermarket. The Old School is the only building for this community, where isolation is a common issue facing residents of the settlements along this coast of Loch Ewe.
We aim to sustain community spirit and good health amongst local residents in our remote location. We offer opportunities to make friends, learn new skills and improve wellbeing for all who come here.
WHAT WE DO is run a variety of activities with the aim of reducing isolation, improving wellbeing and offering learning opportunities in our local community. Our activities include a weekly “drop-in” session where local residents can socialize; there are volunteering opportunities in our tearoom; we provide meeting spaces for local community groups and hold functions in honour of specific events (for example, a Remembrance Day lunch). The Old School is also a central resource hub in case of local emergencies, with a defibrillator and many volunteers trained in skills such as first aid.
OUR HOPES FOR THE FUTURE are to grow and thrive, supporting local volunteering as a way of bringing people together. We aim to link up with external stakeholders to provide activities at the centre, with everything from arts and crafts groups to advice services and groups offering mobility support services for our older local residents. We would also like to establish a fortnightly lunch club for older people, introduce themed meals in winter, and run other regular social activities. We also wish to become an established delivery point for online supermarket shopping as a service to our local residents.
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