Glen Wyvis whisky offer up Harbour Angel’s Shares to fund Cromarty Harbour repairs
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A SELECT band of ‘angels’ will toast the 200th anniversary of a harbour that has been at heart of its community and played a number of key roles over the past two centuries.
The Friends of Cromarty Harbour charity has laid down a special cask of whisky, bought from the community-led GlenWyvis Distillery in Dingwall.
The charity is making shares of the spirit available for purchase to fund ongoing repairs and renovations to Cromarty Harbour.
Members of the public are now invited to buy a Harbour Angel’s Share from this cask for £60. It will then be bottled in 2034 in time to celebrate Cromarty Harbour’s two hundred and fifty year anniversary.
This will include a generous donation to the charity. At bottling, the Angels will then pay the additional cost of bottling and taxes.
At today’s prices this would be around £30.
The Harbour Angel’s share is available on a first come first served basis with the initial offer restricted to 200 shares, with individuals able to apply for up to six shares.
The cask is a rum-based 200-litre barrel which reflects the role the harbour has played over the last two hundred years in trade, emigration and, significantly, its naval role in both First and Second World Wars.
Arthur Bird, chairman of Friends of Cromarty Harbour, said: “We continue to look for innovative ways to support the essential repairs which are so vital to secure the harbour’s long-term future.
“This exciting offer is our latest and our most ambitious effort to
date.
“I would like to thank the GlenWyvis Distillery for its huge support and help with our funding initiative and I hope as many as possible take up the offer and enjoy the whisky.”
Matthew Farmer, the distillery manager at GlenWyvis Distillery, said: “This is our first venture into a charity cask. We are delighted to support such a well-deserving local cause.
“The water we draw to make our whisky eventually finds its way into the Cromarty Firth and no doubt journeys past Cromarty on its way out to sea. We certainly have a mutual connection which makes our collaboration particularly special.”
The original part of Cromarty Harbour was built in 1784 by the renowned engineer John Smeaton and is the centre point to the historic town of Cromarty.
Although one of the oldest working harbours in this area, for many years the harbour fell into decline. The volunteer team has undertaken an extensive project of restoration over the last six years costing around £800,000 to date, supported by several charitable and public bodies.
The harbour enters the final phase to restore the original inner stone harbour area and specifically to address the failing stonework and tidal damage on the uniquely curved East Pier.
The Friends of Cromarty Harbour charity has been established to support the Cromarty Harbour Trust in their efforts to restore, maintain and re-invigorate the grade A listed harbour.
This effort is achieved by undertaking activities such as fundraising initiatives such as this to support the Trust in its programme of repairs, restoration and maintenance, including organising harbour-related events aimed at promoting its facilities and to engage the local community and wider afield.
In 2021, GlenWyvis Distillery launched Dingwall’s first whisky in almost a century with its inaugural three-year-old GlenWyvis Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky.
