3 NOVEMBER 2026

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Michelle Macleod suffered a cardiac arrest in 2019. She had been taking part in a marathon relay. The mother of two young children, the recovery was long and difficult.

Now, Michelle wants that to change for others. As part of a research project with the charity Lucky2Bhere, she’s spoken to 15 people who have an experience of cardiac arrest; be it something which has happened to them personally, or as a first responder.

The report’s conclusion is clear. There needs to be much more done to ease the return to normal life.

Michelle says she found the process after the incident incredibly difficult. Her ‘down time’ meant she dealt with memory loss.

She said:

“The medical care I received was extraordinary, and I will always be grateful to everyone who helped save my life. But there is a huge difference between surviving a cardiac arrest and recovering from one.

“Through this project, I wanted to give people the opportunity to speak openly about their experiences and find out whether others were facing similar challenges. These are often invisible difficulties. Someone can look perfectly well on the outside while struggling with things that used to come naturally.”

Lucky2Bhere was founded by Ross Cowie who passed away in October 2024. The charity is hosting the Colonel’s Cèilidh at the Skye Gathering Hall on the 6th of November.

You can listen to the full interview with Michelle below.

Fifty-year-old woman in serious condition after Elgol fall

A 50-year-old woman is in a serious condition after falling from a cliff in the Elgol area.

Police Scotland told Radio Skye that it received a report around 3.35pm on Thursday afternoon that a woman had fallen from a cliff in the Elgol area.

The Skye Mountain Rescue Team and coastguard rescue teams from Portree and Dunvegan, the Scottish Ambulance Service, Helimed were also involved in the multi-agency agency operation.

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said that the 50-year-old was taken by air ambulance to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, where she remains in a serious condition.

Coca Cola tops brand products pollution across Scotland

Environmental charity Surfers Against Sewage has published a new report highlighting the top 12 companies whose product comprise 70 per cent of plastic pollution in Scotland.

Collected by citizen scientists, the brand audit report found that Coca Cola’s plastic products topped the pollution list, with McDonald’s and Nestle taking second and third place.

The report which based on 39 audits conducted in Scotland, with 3,457 polluting items found.

Emily Johns, (pictured below) lives in south Skye and is part of the Skye Beach Cleans group.

Speaking to Radio Skye today about the survey, she said that Coca Cola has taken steps to tackle pollution by changing its bottles so the caps are attached to the bottles.

Surfers Against Sewage is urging the government to introduce an ‘all-in’ deposit return scheme (DRS) for drinks containers of all sizes and materials, including glass as soon as possible.

The government has delayed plans for a Deposit Return Scheme until 2025.

The survey comes ahead of a joint project between Skye Beach Cleans and Loughborough University comparing present-day litter across the island’s beach with a pioneering study carried in 1972.

The project begins on Elgol beach this Sunday (23rd July).

Former Rangers defender to star in Skye charity football match

Former Ranger star Marvin Andrews is set to return to Skye next weekend to feature in a special charity match in aid of Maggies.

Marvin Andrews made 53 appearances for Rangers helping them to win the Scottish Premier League title and the Scottish League Cup, he also represent Trinidad and Tobago in their debut World Cup Finals in 2006.

The defender will play in a the June McCaherty Memorial Shield.

The match will be contested between Portree Juniors and a Juniors Legends side at Portree High School Astro Turf at 2pm on Saturday 29th July.

The match is in memory of the June McCaherty, the late wife of the former Portree Juniors manager Phil McCaherty.

Marvin Andrews pictured with Radio Skye’s studio manager Suzy Lee and chairman of the station Heckie Cormack during a visit to the island in May 2023.

Lucky2BHere’s work recognised with People Postcode Lottery award.

The People’s Postcode Lottery have chosen Skye-based charity Lucky2BHere to receive an award in recognition of the outstanding work it is delivering across the country.

Lucky2BHere founder Ross Cowie said he was delighted to receive a cheque of £2,000, which will support the charity’s work in saving lives, improving lives, and in education.

Ross Cowie (pictured below) quipped that he was only in the photo because of his good looks and went on praise the efforts of the many people who have made Lucky2BHere a success.

Shiel to take on Kingussie amid Skye call-off drama

Kinlochshiel are set to face Kingussie on Saturday in the Mowi Premiership this weekend in what will be the reigning champions first match since they were penalised for a call-off against Skye.

On Wednesday evening, the Camanachd Association informed the reigning Kingussie that they would be deducted two points for the call-off.

The grand slam winners are contesting the decision by appeal.

Kinlochshiel finished as runners-up to Kingussie in the Premiership last season.

Duncan MacLeod (pictured) and co will be aiming to add Kingussie’s woes with a win over the champions.

You can listen to the latest local news for Skye and Lochalsh live at the times below by clicking on the banner. 

Elgol fisherman blames holiday homes for local exodus

An Elgol fisherman who is leaving his home village to move to the Western Isles has blamed an increase in holiday homes for an exodus of  young people from the area.

Craig Wilson, who is originally from Durinish has worked as fisherman in Elgol for 15 years and live in the area for more than a decade.

Despite loving the area and running his own fishing boat for the last five years, Craig told Radio Skye he was left with little choice but to move because of the soaring house prices impacted by an increase in holiday homes.

Exhibition celebrates 100 years of Minginish

The Minginish Centenary Project team.

An exhibition and series of events is underway at Minginish Community Hall to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the resettlement of people to the Skye.

100 years ago families from Harris, Lewis and some areas of Skye began arriving as part of he planned repopulation of the Minginish peninsula – an area largely ‘cleared’ during the 1800s. These families took possession of crofting tenancies on 68 new holdings created through the Land Resettlement Act (Scotland) 1919.

Speaking to Radio Skye, project coordinator, Elizabeth Morrison gave a lowdown of some the events taking place to mark the centenary.

Portree Primary School show support for life-saving charity

Portree Primary School held a fundraiser today to raise money and awareness for Skye-based charity Lucky2BHere.

The pupils organised a community café which include home baking, while the youngster served tea and coffee after honing their service skills thanks to Tongadale.

The funds will go towards Lucky2BHere which was set up by islander Ross Cowie and has placed more than 700 defibrillators across Scotland and beyond.

Speaking to Radio Skye, Richard Hillies from Lucky2BHere praised the work of the pupils.

“Anything that can highlight the likes of Lucky2BHere and promote health in Skye or anywhere else is a good thing it really is, he said.

“An awful lot of what we do is, especially with the children, is instilling the sense of looking out for danger and any problems to keep yourself save.

“We have been going into the schools doing the training for years now. In fact, Portree Primary was school in Britain to do the CPR training with a defibrillator.

“It is important that we keeping it going, though. The whole ethos of Lucky2BHere is that it’s for long haul.

“The longer it goes on, the more lives we will save. Not everyone will be saved, but at least the families will have the reassurance that something was done.

“We say to the kids if the least you do is run and get an adult, then good on you.”

You can listen to the latest local news for Skye and Lochalsh at the times below by clicking on the banner. 

Skye school takes on 500-mile defib challenge

Pupils from Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig Phort Rìgh and Sgoil Araich have today taken part in a 500-mile walking challenge to raise money for a community defibrillator.

The school pupils were joined by parents and staff as they undertook the challenge from the Skye Camanachd club house in Portree.

Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig Phort Rìgh aim is to raise £2,000 for a defibrillator through the Skye-based charity Lucky2Bhere, which has place more than 700 life-saving devices across Scotland.

Radio Skye went along to the Skye Camanachd clubhouse this morning for the start of the challenge.

Here is Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig Phort Rìgh head teacher Flora Guidi talking about the school’s fundraising enterprise.

To find out more or donate to you can visit the fundraising page here.

NHS Highland “sorry” over departure of key Skye health care worker

NHS Highland has today praised the work of a long-serving occupational therapist on Skye who left her job after she claims she was denied full-time hours.

Anne Marie Ferguson worked as an occupational therapist on Skye for a decade helping patients discharged from both Broadford and Portree Hospital.

On Tuesday she told Radio Skye that she left her job after her her request to increase hours from 25 to 37 a week to meet the demands of her job and managed increased cost of living were rejected.

The former healthcare worker said that while she had no choice but to leave the NHS, she feels she has let her former colleagues down.

A statement sent to Radio Skye today, a spokesperson for NHS said: “We are sorry that Anne Marie has moved from her post as occupational therapist as she was a valued member of the team locally.

“Over the past few years, we have increased the local team’s capacity by 25 per cent to meet clinical need.

“Although we currently do not have vacancies in the occupational therapy team on Skye we are working with local teams to consider where we can use peoples’ skills and expertise in wider roles across clinical areas.

“I am sorry that this was not yet an option for Anne Marie at the time she left the Board.”

Police appeal for information on fatal Strathcarron crash

Police are appealing for information following a fatal road crash in Strathcarron on Tuesday night.

Police received a report of a Volkswagen Polo colliding with a bridge on the A890 at Strathcarron at 9.05 on Tuesday night

Emergency services attended and the 79-year-old male driver of the car was pronounced dead at the scene.

The road was closed for several hours as crash scene investigators conducted enquiries at the scene.

Sergeant Alasdair MacKay said: “Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of the crash and I would appeal to anyone who may have been in the area around the time of the incident to contact us.”

Sergeant McKay asked for those with dash cam equipment to check their footage as it could hold images which would assist with the police’s enquiries.

Anyone with information is asked to call Police Scotland via 101, quoting incident number 3769 of 23 May 2023.

Highland public toilet map shows lack of baby changing and disabled provisions

The Highland Council has today published a map detailing public conveniences across the local authority region.

The number of Comfort Scheme providers -providing public convenience facilities is set to increase by more than 30 per cent from 42 to 55 with new 3-year agreements in place.

However, of the 12 public toilets located across Skye, only two, in Glendale and at the Old Man of Storr, provide both baby changing and disabled facilities, while in Lochalsh, Glenelg is the only convenience stop to offer both provisions.

The results of a survey conducted by the Highland Council found that 14 per cent of the current comfort schemes are located in Skye and Lochalsh, while 27 per cent of all the comfort scheme operators were on the NC500.

You can listen to the latest local news for Skye and Lochalsh at the times below by clicking on the banner. 

Pupils from Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig Phort Rìgh are taking on a 500-mile walking challenge to raise funds for a defibrillator outside the school.

Five pupils from Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig Phort Rìgh spoke to Radio Skye about the venture, which take places this Wednesday (25th May).

The defibrillator will be acquired through Skye-based charity Lucky2BHere.

Speaking to Radio Skye, pupils from P3/P4 Sgoil Araich chatted about the fundraiser.

Sandy MacDonald said: “We are trying to get a defibrillator, because there are 3,000 cases of cardiac arrest every year, and easily one of those people could be one of the people in our school.

“The defibrillator will be placed out of our school, where our school can use it and anyone else that needs it.”

Fellow pupil, Edith MacDonald said: “The walk will be up at shinty clubhouse, and we are going to walk 500 miles. We are going to walk around the clubhouse and the school.”

Ruby Latton, who is also in P3/P4 added: “We are having a coffee morning in the school, on the 16th June at 11 am.”
Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig Phort Rìgh is aiming to raise £2,000.

For more information and to donate click below on the social media post.

Deadline for Kilt Rock car park project extended

Work to redevelop the car park at the Kilt Rock visitor attraction on Skye is to be extended due to emergency road repairs.

The facilities at the beauty spot were scheduled to reopen at the end of May, but in an update today the Highland Council said the works would be extended due to local emergency road repairs and resources the works will now be extended.

Skye and Raasay Councillor John Finlayson said the works at Kilt Rock were progressing well, but added that the weather would be a factor and a specific end date was difficult to give.

“The very welcome development works at Kilt Rock are progressing well and are now at the phase that puts works very much at the mercy of the weather,” he said

“This being the case, it is difficult to give a specific date for opening but we remain hopeful that subject to weather the tarring and line painting works can be completed as soon as possible, and the new facilities will be open very soon and certainly in time for peak demand.”

Skye artist part of Highland Memory Space pandemic project

A Skye sound artist and musician is leading a special project to commemorate the pandemic called Highland Memory Space.

Hector MacInnes from Skye is working in collaboration with Cat Meighan from Inverness and Sinéad Hargan Caithness on the Scottish Government initiative which will involve open workshops, drop-ins and sessions targeting specific communities,

Speaking to Radio Skye today, Hector MacInnes explained the project.

“It is part of a bigger project – over the last year – called Remembering Together which has been rolling out across Scotland.

“It is basically giving communities the chance to come together and talk about how they might want to create some way of remembering or commemorating the pandemic.

“At the heart of that are the people that want to remember the loved ones that they have lost. We recognised that is at the centre of the project.

He went on to say: “There are also host of other extremely diverse experiences and memories – there are funerals, weddings, and births that have been missed.

“The loss of livelihoods, the way of life, and then also all the different ways some people might have found a new role for themselves or a new relationship with their communities. And of course, the ways people are experiencing the pandemic are ongoing right now.

“These are things that might be appropriate to mark somehow or pause and reflect on together.”

For more information, you can visit the website here.

Some of the events upcoming as part of the project

Change afoot for Skye and Lochalsh constituency?

The Scottish Parliament constituency covering Skye and Lochalsh could be set to change if a new proposal goes ahead.

A month-long consultation by Boundaries Scotland is seeking views on proposals.

At present the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency currently covers an area of more than 12,000 square kilometres, with an electorate of 63,500.

Under the proposal the electorate would increase by 6.1 per cent, while the new boundary would also include part of the Inverness south ward.

The consultation runs until 17th June and you can take part by visiting the website.

News by Adam Gordon.

You can listen to the latest local news for Skye and Lochalsh at the times below by clicking on the banner.