Grantown YMCA Community Centre are extremely grateful to the Berry Burn Community Fund for their quick and generous response to our emergency situation. In addition to financial support, the advice that they have given has proved to be invaluable and has helped us move forward to a more effective system of procedures and supervision.

1^st Grantown-on-Spey Guides, Young Leaders and Leaders had a super weekend away at Girlguiding’s flagship camp Wellies and Wristbands at Waddow Hall. By day, girls took part in taster sporting sessions such as fencing, raced on giant inflatables and experienced fun festival activities. In the evening, dancing away at the festival main stage and dressed in festival costume themes, the girls took part in “meet and greets” with future pop-stars and made new Guiding friends from all over the UK. Attending a camp with 1,800 girls was a memorable way for the Guides to develop their skills in camping and improve their confidence.

Grantown Remakery have commissioned the final stage of Project Warm Footprint, the switch on of their Air Source Heating System in the week commencing 16 October 2023.

The Remakery have spent the last year investing in Heat Retention and Carbon Reduction measures for their building. The whole building has been fully insulated and a new ‘Wet Radiator’ Air Source Heating System fitted. The project started with the building insulation completed by Kishorn Insulations in November 2022 and was completed in October 2023 by Greenflame completing the heating installation.

Grantown Remakery are very grateful to Berry Burn Community Fund for their financial support.

Grantown on Spey has new public toilets to be proud of after five years of being closed. Burnfield Toilets, located just off The Square, have been completely refurbished and modernised to provide warm and clean men’s, women’s and disabled toilets for residents and visitors. There are also facilities for motorhome waste discharging, to improve the amenities that Grantown can offer. The project, undertaken by a group of volunteers from the Grantown Initiative, has been challenging but very worthwhile, and we are very grateful to all our funders. We hope that the new toilets are a facility that the town can be proud of.

The Fiddler of Strathspey Festival 2023 provided opportunities for the whole wider community to come together to celebrate some of the rich traditions of Grantown and Strathspey. Local musicians of all ages and stages played together, improved their skills, demonstrated their abilities and enjoyed taking part. Children and adults who don’t usually sing or play an instrument were able to join in workshops; novice and more experienced players and singers were able to take advantage of professional tuition and open sessions. The concert, ceilidh, tour-guide-led heritage walks with musical entertainment were available to absolutely everybody. An exciting and all-inclusive celebration of Strathspey’s heritage.

Thanks to the support of the Berry Burn Community Fund, the beautiful beach at Findhorn has seven new sets of beach steps providing safe access to the beach over the sea defences. The steps have been rebuilt using existing wood, where possible, and locally sourced wood from a local timber mill. Since the end of July 2023, residents and visitors have been able to enjoy the steps which provide access for two and four legged walkers as well as for many other beach and water based activities. The Findhorn Village Conservation Company is very grateful for the support the Berry Burn Community Fund has provided to enable them to complete the beach steps.

My son Leo Tulloch was selected to be one of the 18 players for Aberdeen U11s Elite Team. This commitment means traveling four hours three times a week to training at Cormack Park and playing competitive Club Academy Scotland fixtures at the weekend with the country’s elite squads. 

Having played in 23 matches this season to date, Leo has scored 45 goals and will compete to get a place in the 2024 International Aberdeen Squad against Europe’s best academies. The Berry Burn Community Fund has massively supported Leo’s traveling demands; we can’t thank the Fund Members enough for choosing to support his dream.

We are extremely grateful to the Berry Burn Community Fund for the generous grant that has allowed us to complete the refurbishment of our main hall, the largest in the town. Formerly a large, dingy, cold hall used only for very active sporting activities, the hall is now a bright, warm welcoming space which can be used throughout the year for a full range of activities. We now host activities ranging from yoga to indoor football. We are looking forward to hosting a book festival this month (October 2023) which will see an audience seated in the hall for the first time in many, many years.

We thank the Berry Burn Community Fund for their generous funding to allow us to continue the valuable service we provide within the Moray and Nairn area.

Our attractive new terrace provides a safe, level area for people of all abilities to
access and enjoy, making external events available to everyone, including
those who remain nervous of Covid 19.

The hall’s beautiful grounds can be safely enjoyed without having to negotiate the
uneven, sloping ground and the levelled path from the car park makes front door
access easier for those whose mobility or eyesight previously rendered this a
challenge.

The terrace will be fully utilised and enjoyed by our community at our regular
coffee mornings and events, and it also makes the hall more attractive for hire.