RNLI – Radio Skye

Local News – 5th of February 2026

MartyM — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 17:38:00 +0000

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PORTREE LINK ROAD

Scottish Water has said work will start in the coming weeks to divert a water main ahead of the Portree Link Road construction.
The £1.9million project will connect the A87 and A855, easing the volume of traffic going through the centre of Portree.
Highland Council has told Radio Skye the road is expected to be completed by the Autumn.

CROFTING

Changes to the new Crofting and Scottish Land Court Bill have been welcomed by the Scottish Crofting Federation.

The body says a number of key improvements have been made to the legislation, including stronger rules on environmental use, tighter compliance for owner occupiers, and new measures to prevent the unauthorised splitting of grazing shares.

But concerns remain over changes affecting common grazing. The Federation is warning against landowners being given more scope to object, potentially weakening the position of working crofters.

SCF Chief Executive, Donna Smith, said:
“Whilst we very much welcome the general path this Bill is taking, we will be urging the government to consider making significant changes to the Bill at stage 3 with respect to crofter led environmental initiatives on common grazings to ensure that any benefits derived from these belong to active crofters.
“The concern is that without this, there is a real risk that “green” lairds will take advantage of the situation and will try to force crofters into unfair agreements over carbon credits. We look forward to continuing constructive dialogue with both the Government and cross party MSPs over the coming weeks on these matters.”

The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.

FALASGAIR

Scottish Fire and Rescue has reminded crofters and land managers on Skye, Raasay and Lochalsh to take care around controlled burning.
The service is urging anyone planning a burn to notify the fire control room in advance, have a clear burn plan in place, and make sure enough people are available to manage the fire safely.
They’re also advising land managers to check weather conditions, ensure proper fire breaks are in place, and never leave a fire unattended until it’s fully extinguished.
Scottish Fire and Rescue has said anyone whose burn gets out of control should call 999 immediately.

RNLI

Volunteers at Portree RNLI have been involved in rescuing a person who fell in a remote sea cave on the Trotternish coast, once used as a hiding place by Bonnie Prince Charlie.
The Crew of the Stanley Watson Barker worked alongside the Scottish Ambulance Service and a Coastguard helicopter to bring the casualty to safety.
It comes after a busy week for the lifeboat, which was also launched on Tuesday in response to reports of flares near Dunvegan Head that turned out to be a false alarm.

MÒD

Entries are open for this year’s Royal National Mòd which is to be held in Glasgow in October. It’s the 12th time the city has hosted the event. Organisers are asking competitors – young and old – to come forward.
Iain Cormack, a former Mòd Gold Medal winner and newly installed conductor of the Portree Gaelic Choir said:
“On a personal level I’m very much looking forward to the National Mòd. I’m looking forward to being back in Glasgow for it. Obivoulsy a new challenge for me on a personal level conducting the Portree Gaelic Choir for the first time but we’ve made a pretty good start. We’re making good progress with our puirt à beul and also our own choice for the Margrat Duncan Memorial Trophy and we’re looking forward to starting on the prescribed piece in the coming weeks.”

LOCAL NEWS JULY 30

MartyM — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 14:10:44 +0000

Police appeal for information after Glen Shiel crash

Police Scotland are appealing for information and dash cam footage after a crash on the A87 on Monday evening.

Officers attended the scene just before 8pm after reports of a two vehicle collision at the Five Sisters of Kintail carpark.

A 59-year-old male driver of a red Fiat 500 was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. Occupants of a blue Ford S-Max – a 42-year-old man, 38-year-old woman, two boys aged 17 and 8, and a 9-year-old girl – were taken to Raigmore Hospital.

Sergeant Doug Scott said:

“Our enquiries are ongoing and we are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the crash to contact us.

“We also ask anyone driving in the area at the time with dash-cam footage to come forward.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 quoting incident 3550 of Monday, 29 July 2024.

RNLI Portree launch to yacht fire in Loch Torridon

The volunteer crew of RNLI Portree were paged on Monday afternoon following reports of a yacht on fire in Loch Torridon.

Portree lifeboat, Stanley Watson Barker, was launched at 1531 hrs and arrived on scene within 55 minutes.

The crew onboard the yacht had managed to put out the small engine fire before the lifeboat arrived, but the yacht was dragging on its anchor in strengthening winds. The decision was made for the lifeboat to tow the yacht to pontoons at Shieldaig where repairs could be carried out.

RNLB Stanley Watson Barker returned to Portree and after refuelling was made ready for service again at 1840 hrs.

Broadford Hospital remains closed to non-essential visitors

NHS Highland is continuing to ask members of the public to only visit Broadford Hospital if absolutely necessary following a number of cases of Covid 19 inside the hospital.

The health board made the announcement on Sunday evening, describing it as a decision that has not been made lightly.

Essential visitors should contact the relevant ward in advance to discuss arrangements through the hospital phone number: 01471 822 491

Sport

Portree will take on Kyleakin this evening in the William Wilson West Highland football league.

Kick off is at 1930 in Kyleakin. The match had been due to be played at the King George V playing field in Portree but has been changed due to the pitch conditions.

You can listen to the latest local news for Skye and Lochalsh live on the hour Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm, and at 8.30am and 5.30pm, by clicking on the banner below.

LOCAL NEWS JULY 29

MartyM — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 09:33:06 +0000

Restrictions at Broadford Hospital following confirmed COVID-19 cases

NHS Highland is asking members of the public to only visit Broadford Hospital if absolutely necessary following a number of cases of Covid 19 inside the hospital.

The health board made the announcement on Sunday evening, describing it as a decision that has not been made lightly.

The statement added that: “(the health board) recognise this could cause a great deal of concern for patients and their loved ones during this time.”

Essential visitors should contact the relevant ward in advance to discuss arrangements through the hospital phone number: 01471 822 491

Public toilets in Kyle remain closed

The public toilet and shower facilities in Kyle of Lochalsh will remain closed until late August following damage caused by a burst pipe.

The public convenience building, operated by Kyle of Lochalsh Community Trust, had to close its doors on 6^th July.

Repairs are underway following claim insurance approval but are expected to take 4 weeks to be completed.

The nearest alterative public toilets are in Kyleakin, Broadford and Dornie, with users of the launderette facing a 45 minute drive to use other facilities in Portree.

Cancelled ferry sailings between Mallaig and Armadale

There’s disruption on the Mallaig to Armadale ferry route today due to MV Loch Bhrusda being redeployed to serve the island of Eigg.

The usual Small Isles vessel, MV Loch Nevis, was withdrawn from service on Sunday after picking up a foreign object in one of the propellers.

To help clear the backlog of traffic, MV Loch Bhrusda will operate an additional sailing to Eigg, meaning that some sailings are cancelled across the Sound of Sleat.

Visit calmac.co.uk to check if your sailing is affected.

RNLI Welly Walk challenge success

Portree RNLI has thanked people across Skye, Raasay and beyond for helping to raise around £3,000 for the life-saving charity.

On Saturday, the Portree volunteer lifeboat crew – which provides a 24-hour on call service for both islands – held its annual welly walk fundraising challenge.

The volunteers started their endeavour from the Raasay Distillery and walked down to ferry, sailed back to Skye, then continued their trek from Sconser all the way back to the lifeboat station in the island capital.

The fundraiser has so far generated around £3,000 for service, which is entirely reliant on donations to operate.

The crew thanked everyone who contributed along the way, describing the generosity shown as absolutely amazing. The Just Giving page will remain open for a further week where donations can still be made.

Photo credit: RNLI Portree

Sport

Sleat and Strath narrowly missed a win away against Mallaig on Saturday, with a 4 – 3 defeat at full time.

The Lochaber side were leading 1 – nil at half time after taking the first goal of the game at 15 minutes in, before the Skye team bounced back to 1 all with a goal by Ruairidh Spod Macleod at 48 minutes. Two further goals for Sleat and Strath were scored by Ben Yoxon and Robin Harvey.

Meanwhile, goals by Chris MacNab, Jordan Murchison and Alex MacDonald helped secure a 3 – 2 win for North West Skye against Fort William in Uig on Saturday, putting them second on the William Wilson League table.

You can listen to the latest local news for Skye and Lochalsh live on the hour Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm, and at 8.30am and 5.30pm, by clicking on the banner below.