St. Maelrubha's Scottish Episcopal Church, Poolewe

1st Wester Ross Air Scouts

The Scout Troop in Gairloch was started on the 5th May 2011. The original idea, was to offer an exciting and adventurous club to the younger people of the area. It was set up by Belinda & Guy Dreisbach-Pollington, the Reverend Heather Widdows, Conor Brown and Neil Brady. The first six months were difficult, as we did not have any funds or equipment but with support from Bruce Hudson of the Air Training corps, we were able to meet each Thursday in their HQ. We were also able to secure a £1000 set up grant and then a £10,000 lottery grant for equipment which our Chairman of the Executive Committee Dennis Keogh applied for.

We now meet in the Annex of the Gairloch Community Hall each Thursday during term time 1830 - 2030 hrs. We have a very vibrant and active troop, with camps and trips away most months of the year. We have also had two  ski trips to the French Alps, one descent of the Ardeche River in France and a two week camp to Holland  & the Black Forest of Germany.

In September 2011, with the support of the Scout Leaders, the Cub Pack was established by Mark Cooper (Mark sadly died suddenly in 2013) the Cubs are now run by Joanne Lindley. In 2013 in memory of Mark,  the Bishop Mark Strange dedicated a Scout Standard at St Maelrubha's and it is displayed at the front of the Church and carried by the Senior Scout on Church Parades. Also, the Beaver Colony was established by Belinda & Guy and now run by Graham Steele.

The Scouts that started with us in 2011 are now members of the Explorers 'An Tallach' run by Conor Brown and Lorna Nelson.

There are now about 50 young people involved with the Scouting movement in Gairloch. We have a really strong team of Leaders, many who are connected to St Maelrubha's. We were sorry to lose  Phillip James, who has moved to Newcastle and now works as a Youth worker but, we have gained Jenny Wiseman our newest Leader. The Reverend Heather Widdows has been very supportive over the last six years as has been our relationship with St Maelrubha's - our Church.