Supporters’ Open Day 2025 – Everyone welcome
We are looking forward to seeing a good turnout for our 2025 Supporters Open Day on Saturday 23rd August at Farr Community Hall, Near Inverness. IV2 6AX. Entrance is free for 2025 supporters, otherwise by donation. It will follow the same pattern as last year’s event with activities in the morning and an opportunity to hear and meet grant recipients and supporters in the afternoon, and learn more about the Trust, what it does, and how it helps – not only giving the recipients the chance to go on training courses or expeditions that they might not otherwise be able to afford, but also the impact that it has had on some of them. After plenty of chance to chat to recipients and supporters the day will conclude with an early evening barberque.
Morning Activities: from 10.15am. All times approximate at this stage. Please email the form at end of this newsletter to let us know which you would like to do. We will update you with further instructions, confirmed times or any changes. Numbers may be limited. Bring your own lunch. Tea, coffee and juice will be provided.
All children to be accompanied by an adult
Paddleboarding: No instruction, bring your own paddleboard if you have one, wetsuit if you need it and buoyancy aid (there will be one or two spare)! Meet at the hall at 10.30am.
Climbing/bouldering: Meet at the hall at 10.40am. Bring suitable shoes and a bouldering mat if you have one.
Guided walk: Meet at the hall at 10.50am. Wear sturdy shoes and bring waterproofs.
Children’s activities: Meet at the cabin in School Woods at 11.30am. Yoga followed by scavenger hunt in the woods & Stonoga (caterpillar) walk to the hall and picnic.
Afternoon, from 2pm – Open for everyone of all ages! Meet, greet, refreshments and talks. Bouncy castle, Sales table, Raffle tickets, etc. Bring cash if you can.
Helpers: Please let us know if you can help with any of the activities, or with teas & coffees, baking, sales table, raffle, etc. Your help will be much appreciated.
NEWS:
Closing date for expedition grants for winter 2025/6 is 23rd August. Applications for small expedition grants (up to £200) and Skills Training Grants will be considered at any time. Let us know what you would like to do and, if appropriate, we will send you an application form. Allow plenty of time – it can take up 6 -8 weeks to follow through the application process at this time of year!
Fundraising & donations: Thanks to Grants of Dalveyfor their recent very generous donation.
Ceilidh: Come & join us for our St Andrew’s Eve ceilidh, on 29th November at Farr Hall IV2 6AX to celebrate 10 years of the Trust. Tickets from Eventbrite (QR code): We will be looking for helpers – so let us know if you are coming and what you can do to help. Prize Draw to be drawn at the Ceilidh. We have some amazing prizes including 3 nights for 16 people at Farr House, near Inverness, Jacobite Cruise voucher, Cairngorm Reindeer family pass, whole salmon, whisky, champagne etc. Books of tickets available – please help us to sell them all, by taking a book or two to sell to your friends, family and colleagues.
If you would like to do some fundraising of your own, for us, let us know and we will help to publicise your event.
Grant reports
Kara received a grant for the Snowcamp Excel course. “The funding I received for the excel course has been life changing for me, before I started the course I had low confidence. I felt overwhelmed by personal issues in my life and this affected my self esteem too. Throughout the course this began to change for me……… Going to Andorra opened my eyes on how large the Snowsports community is ………………………………. Not only has this funding help support me with personal challenges I have faced, it also helped me find a career path that I am more than happy with pursuing. With the snowcamp apprenticeship I’m happy to say that I have found a genuine purpose for myself and what I’m doing. It’s helped me majorly and I appreciate the support I’ve received along the way.” Full report: https://www.theneilmackenzietrust.com/kara/
Two groups of students from the School of Adventure Studies at University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) received grants for their summer expeditions.
In May Glen Dickson and Beinn Wright (left) walked the Cape Wrath Trail and Siobhan Lamb, Holly Wilson, Katie Maxfield and Abby Teague went to Italy to paddle part of the Tagliamento river.
Beinn and Glen said of their walk, “Overall, we covered about 230km of the Cape Wrath Trail in 9 days averaging about 25km a day, although one day was a shorter rest day at Glen Douchary and one day was an epic 40km day at Glen Oykel. The whole trail is about 400km depending on if you go all the way into Knoydart and out again, with about 10,000 metres of ascent and descent across it. We were incredibly lucky with the weather, mostly no midge, less boggy, low river levels but I pulled at least 10-15 ticks out me across the 9 days. Wearing the wrong size boots, getting sore feet and having too heavy a bag made the walk harder, but I still enjoyed it. Scotland is a beautiful country and a magical place. Maybe I will come back one year in the future and walk it south to north to see what it’s like!” Full report https://www.theneilmackenzietrust.com/cape-wrath-trail-expediti/
Katie, in their report, said, “As part of our 3rd year ‘Expeditionary Skills in a Changing World’ module myself, Siobhan, Holly, Abby and Jess (instructor for safety) planned and paddled 132km of this stunning braided river system in May 2025. Our aim was to Packraft from Tolmezzo to the Lignanon Riviera, where the river meets the Adriatic Sea in 4 days. On top of this adventure, we ditched air travel and got to Tolmezzo, Italy from Fort William, Scotland and back again via Public Transport and our own two feet. Our goal for doing this was to prove that meaningful adventure doesn’t have to come at the expense of the planet. We hoped to inspire others in the adventure, outdoors and education world to rethink how they travel, making eco-conscious choices a natural part of exploration.”
Full report: https://www.theneilmackenzietrust.com/tagliamento
Supporters day booking form 2025
All activities are free for 2025 Supporters and otherwise available to anyone for a donation.
All children must be accompanied by an adult
All attendees/parents will be required to fill in a disclaimer form for bouldering, climbing and paddleboarding.
Some activities will be dependent on weather and/or availability of leaders/instructors, and numbers may be limited.
Confirmation of times and further information will be sent out, about the activities, in advance.
Please fill in, sign and return to theneilmackenzietrust@dr.com :
I/We would like to attend the Supporters Day activities on the morning of 23rd August.
(Confirmed times and meeting places will be sent nearer the time.)
Options for older children (7+) and Adults: Bouldering, Climbing, Guided wildlife walk, Paddleboarding
Please select 2 -3 options in case your first choice in not available
Name: First choice Second choice Third choice
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
If you have put the walk as one of your options please indicate your fitness level (low/average/superfit) and distance you would prefer to walk (2 -5km, 5k – 7km or 7+km)
Activities for younger children (any age!) will start in School Wood, Farr at 11,30 (to be confirmed) and include yoga, a scavenger hunt and a stonoga (caterpillar walk) to the hall, followed by a picnic.
The Neil Mackenzie Trust cannot be held responsible for any loss or injury as a result of activities in the woods.
Names of children participating:
Signed:
Email:
Telephone No:
Please bring your own lunch. Tea, coffee, squash and light refreshments will be available at the hall.
The Neil Mackenzie Trust 