Wildlife photographer Hamza Yassin campaigns to bring back shop and petrol station to a village he calls home
Residents have had to make lengthy 100-mile trips for essentials since community services closed for good.
It is widely known as the most westerly village on the British mainland.
Kilchoan, home to around 150 residents, sits on the edge of the Ardnamurchan peninsula, where the road ends and the Atlantic begins.
However the village has found itself at the centre of a growing debate about the survival of rural communities after its shop, post office and fuel station closed for good three months ago.
But one local resident and international star, Hamza Yassin, has thrown his support behind a £500,000 community crowdfunder to restore the essential services to the village.
The wildlife cameraman and television presenter, widely known as the 2022 winner of Strictly Come Dancing, and often dubbed “Scotland’s David Attenborough”, said: "The small community of Kilchoan needs help to stop the village declining due to a lack of basic services.
"This proposed new shop and fuel station will not only service the needs of the residents, but also support the tourism industry that is so vital to this community.
"We are committed to making Kilchoan a thriving and sustainable place to live and visit."
The Ferry Stores, which shut permanently on October 30 last year, was not just “the most westerly shop on the British mainland” as it is often referred to as. It was viewed as a lifeline for the village — supplying groceries, fuel and post office services to locals, businesses and visitors. Its loss has left Kilchoan and its inhabitants in a vulnerable position.
Residents now have to make a 100-mile round trip for these essential services — journeys that are costly at the best of times and, during winter, sometimes impossible. Ferry access to Mull is limited and weather-dependent, leaving older residents, families and those without reliable transport particularly exposed.
The absence of fuel has triggered wider concerns, with staff from Kilchoan Primary School, Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team and the West Highland Medical Group warning that the situation presents an increasing risk to public safety and emergency response times.
Despite repeated approaches, community leaders say neither local nor national government has offered meaningful assistance — a situation locals regard as emblematic of a wider disconnect between rhetoric and reality in rural policy.
Rosie Curtis, a crofter who is chairwoman of the West Ardnamurchan Community Council, told West Coast Today: “Ministers talk about repopulating fragile rural areas, but our experience tells a very different story.
“You can’t encourage people to move to rural Scotland while allowing the basic services that make life possible to disappear. A village without fuel, food or a post office isn’t a community — it’s a postcode waiting to be erased.”
The West Ardnamurchan Community Development Company (WACDC) is behind the crowdfunder, which raised more than £30,000 in its first few days.
The money will go towards funding a new, community-owned village shop with a 24-hour fuel station and EV charging point.
The WACDC said plans are already advancing, with a local landowner offering a site opposite the village community centre. A planning application is with Highland Council and work is under way to relocate the Post Office into the community centre as an interim measure. Residents said two packed public meetings over the winter demonstrated overwhelming local support.
Ms Curtis added: “This is not nostalgia — it’s survival.
“Without immediate action, Kilchoan risks slow decline: families leaving, older residents becoming isolated and the local economy collapsing.”
With Mr Yassin’s backing bringing national attention, the community hopes momentum will build to ensure that one of Britain’s most remote villages is not quietly abandoned.
Details of the Crowdfunder can be found at crowdfunder.co.uk/p/kilchoan-shop.
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