The Oversiders

'The area south of Gairloch village, on the road through Badachro to Red Point, is known locally as ‘The Overside’. As residents of this area and of Gairloch village, the dominant feature connecting our sewing group was most definitely the beautiful Wester Ross coastline. It seemed a natural choice therefore when choosing how to fill our dauntingly blank tapestry canvas, that we decided on a coastal theme.

Andrew kindly drew up the panel centre, depicting a sail fishing boat. The design of the surrounding stones evolved as our group met up for coffee and cake. They reflect the heritage and history of our area plus personal interests.

Featured are our coastal rowing skiff Longa, with a Rowan leaf as tribute to the wood used for its tiller, made from a fallen branch found by Rob Adam on the Tor above Badachro. The panel includes a view across Gairloch bay with kayaks, the sailing club and, a depiction of Rua Reidh lighthouse at Melvaig. Historically, the Arctic Convoy stone recognises the importance of the area to the WW2 Arctic convoy missions. The fishing industry is featured as the shoal of herring, nets and buoys, the lobster, the anchors from the abandoned fishing station at Red Point, and the Gairloch museum fish symbol. Finally, the wealth of wildlife is celebrated with a curlew, heron, gull, seal, gannets, oystercatchers, shells, starfish and seaweed.'

The Oversiders stitched personal stories into their panel to illustrate what is special about their area.

Their coastal home is represented throughout the panel alongside stories of local history, wildlife and industry including the WW2 Arctic Convoy missions.