Kintail Mountain Rescue Team SCIO is launching a £1million fundraising drive as the charity reveals it has now submitted an outline planning application for a new rescue base.

If approved, the team’s new west coast home would provide the growing volunteer rescue team with more modern facilities and space for the team’s vehicles and specialist equipment.

Kintail MRT has around 30 full team members ready to respond to emergency calls from the mountains and other remote areas 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

The team covers a vast area taking in Kintail and part of Glen Affric, as well as Inverinate, Killilan and Monar, encompassing 39 munros and many other significant mountains. The Forcan Ridge on The Saddle and the Falls of Glomach are two popular areas for hill walkers and visitors.

Last year, Kintail MRT had its busiest year ever, supporting 40 casualties across 34 rescue callouts, mirroring trends for increasing demands among Scottish Mountain Rescue teams nationally.

With a growing, professional team and an increase in demand for its services, Kintail MRT has been in discussions with the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) over a possible new site for the last few years.
In April 2026, NTS approved the sale of land to Kintail MRT at Eilean nan Gall, on the shores of Loch Duich.

The existing base at Morvich has been made available to the team by NTS since the early 1980s. Although some basic improvements have been made, the building is essentially an agricultural barn and is not fit for purpose for a modern mountain rescue team.

Subject to gaining planning permission from Highland Council, the new dedicated and purpose-built rescue base will be located at Invershiel, on the old shore road close to the Kintail Lodge Hotel.

Kintail MRT team leader Lara Hinde said: “This new base will transform how we train, respond and care for both casualties and our team to continue safe and effective rescue, increase our response and rescue capacity, and provide long-term resilience and sustainability within our service.

“Our existing base at Morvich has served us well as a team, but we are now delighted to be making progress towards our next chapter with a modern mountain rescue base that we hope will serve us well into the future.

“Over the last few years, we have worked with NTS to find a suitable site on which we can develop improved mountain rescue facilities to serve the area and are delighted to now be at the stage where we can submit our plans.”

Initial development plans for the new base include modern briefing rooms, a dedicated office space, kit store and storage for the team’s ambulance and 4x4 vehicles.

The team is now in the process of selecting a design team to develop detailed designs for the new rescue base ahead of preparing a full planning application.

The team and its supporters will also be aiming to raise £1million towards the design and build of the base, as well as adding more state-of-the-art rescue equipment to aid their mountain rescue capabilities.

The fundraising will begin with a ceilidh at Dornie Community Hall on Saturday, July 11th, with more details available on the team’s Facebook page.

Alan Barrow, the National Trust for Scotland's Estate Surveyor, said: "We have been working with Kintail MRT for a few years to find a suitable site and we are pleased to be able to support them as they develop improved facilities in the area."

Anybody wishing to support the team or get involved in helping to raise funds for the new base is invited to contact the team on newbase@kintailmrt.org.uk