Kilchoan Fank

The Diary went down the road yesterday to admire the new fank which Kilchoan Township has recently constructed. It's a very neat piece of work and should give many years service - and it's always good to see new developments in the village.

For those of you who, like The Diary, struggle with terms like 'fank', a fank is a series of interconnected pens where sheep and cattle are gathered. Since it's owned communally, through the Township, all the crofters in Kilchoan are expected to contribute towards the cost of its building.

However, Kilchoan Township has a problem with some of the land around the fank, which is on the left just past the Nurses' Cottage. For many years it has been acceptable for people to drop off scrap metal there, which was later picked up by a scrap metal merchant. This service is now stopping, although the scrap man has said he will pick up metal directly from people's properties. Some metal currently has high values, copper and lead in particular, so he will, if pressed, pay for it. One thing he doesn't want is galvanised wire as it gets stuck in the machine that mashes up the scrap - and there's a whole lot of wire lying around at the fank.

So Kilchoan Township is clearing the area for the last time, and has asked that people stop using the fank as a dump (see the West Ardnamurchan News and Information). Most of the sort of rubbish which is left there can go out through the Highland Council recycling plant on the Sonachan road, open Wednesdays from 12 midday to 1.00pm.