A group of enthusiastic coach drivers have completed two days of hard graft at a historic Skye location.
Rabbies’s staff parked up their vehicles and instead picked up the tools as they worked on badly needed footpath repairs and cutting back overgrown vegetation at Lealt Falls in Staffin.
The 11 staff, most of whom live in Edinburgh and Glasgow, all volunteered for the community works. Rabbies’ distinctive white coaches are a regular sight on the Skye roads, as their passengers relish visiting popular Staffin locations like the Quiraing, Kilt Rock and An Corran.
It is the ninth year of Staffin Community Trust and Rabbies working together successfully. Community projects have included painting Staffin Hall, cutting back trees and tiding up the Staffin War Memorial area and shoring up the harbour armour coastal defence.
Lealt is an important stop on SCT’s Skye Ecomuseum and includes Skye’s only viewing platform. Lealt has a rich industrial past in providing employment for local people. A salmon fishing station was located in Lealt and up to 1960 a lot of men worked digging and drying out a material called diatomite which was sold for a range of uses including matches, cosmetics and toothpaste. Lealt quarry, which was recently opened up by SCT to extract rock for the Staffin Harbour development, was also a busy operational hub and source of jobs.
The main path at Lealt was targeted for restoration as the number of walkers and wet weather had badly eroded the surface.
Experienced local path contractor Donald Ross supervised the works with the Rabbies crew, assisted by his men Duncan MacKenzie and Stewart MacPherson, and he was struck by how upbeat they all were.
“Their enthusiasm for work in difficult weather conditions and positivity was off the scale,” said Donald. “They worked hard spreading gravel and addressing drainage problems at the Lealt Falls path, doing an excellent job to contribute to the local footpath network. They were a great bunch of people and good workers.”
Craig Morris, Rabbies’ Scotland operations manager, said: “Our driver-guides are proud to volunteer their time at Lealt Falls, a beauty spot cherished by both visitors and locals. Giving back to the communities we work in is something they genuinely enjoy, and helping to restore the paths is a small way of showing our appreciation for this remarkable place. Rabbie’s has a long-standing relationship with the Staffin Community Trust, and we look forward to continuing that partnership for many years to come as we work together to support and protect the Isle of Skye.”
SCT and Rabbies are indebted to the SGRPID factor Ewen MacPherson for providing aggregate for the path upgrade.
The Rabbies’ team rounded of their two days of work with a relaxing visit to the Staffin Sea Sauna.
