A COMMUNITY is on track to take over mainland Britain’s “remotest pub” after it was awarded more than £500,000 in funding.
The Old Forge in Inverie, which lies on the Knoydart Peninsula in Lochaber, is only accessible by an 18-mile (29km) hike over Munros or a seven-mile (11km) journey by boat.
The pub, listed in the Guinness World Records as mainland UK’s most remote pub, went up for sale earlier this year for offers over £425,000.
The Old Forge Community Benefit Society, a group of Knoydart residents fundraising to bring the pub under community ownership, had raised £256,035 to buy the property.
But now the group has won a £508,000 cash injection through the Scottish Land Fund (SLF) to support its community buyout.
READ MORE: 10 community land projects defy coronavirus odds to stay on track
The move was welcomed by local MSP Kate Forbes after she visited the community while touring her Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency.
She said: "As part of my constituency tour, I visited Knoydart. Speaking to members of the community about their plans to buy out Old Forge Inn at Knoydart.
"This visit came at the perfect time as they have just been awarded £508,000 through the Scottish Land Fund. It is great to see communities work together to overcome issues in our most rural areas."
SLF provides more than £1 million to eight local community groups in Scotland to help them take ownership of land and buildings that matter to them.
The funding was announced by the Scottish Government’s land reform minister, Mairi McAllan, during Community Land Week.
READ MORE: Community projects benefit from latest Scottish Land Fund grants
She said: “All across Scotland, communities are taking ownership of the land and buildings that matter to them with the support of the Scottish Land Fund.
“I know how hard people will have worked to develop their projects and to achieve this success, and I look forward to seeing the benefits for their communities.”
Other projects awarded funding included Port Bannatyne in Argyll and Bute, Canna in the Scottish Highlands, Easter Breich in West Lothian, Carloway Estate Trust in the Western Isles, Bigton Collective Ltd in Shetland, Balquhidder, Lochearnhead and Strathyre Community Trust in Stirling and Inchinnan Development Trust in Renfrewshire.
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