Hello wonderful friendly local people,
Rich in history and abundant in flora and fauna, the unique rock of Rubha Phoil is currently undergoing a dramatic transformation and we’d like you, the local community, to all be a part of it.
For almost seven years, we have observed our ecosystem deeply. From the outset, it was very clear that not enough space was given to wildlife. Therefore, we made the decision to close down the Rock to mass tourism and dogs. Already we are witnessing positive changes - with increased birds, growing diversity of indigenous trees, and a healthy coastal line.
We are now back in a position where we can share the beauty of Rubha Phoil with all of you. Therefore, we have launched a new, special local membership level, known as “Access to the Rock for local friends of Rubha Phoil” The cost is just £7.5. We are happy to offer a discount code if that is helpful. Please just ask.
This membership level is for local people who would like to access our walk and share the beauty of Rubha Phoil with as much care and love as we do. Please understand that you will only have access to certain parts of the Rock.
On your first visit, we extend a compulsory, complimentary introduction to Rubha Phoil. This will guarantee that you get the most out of your visits to the Rock. Please contact us before planning your first visit to make an appointment. After this initial visit, we are happy to allow you free access.
You will no doubt see signs asking you to respect our privacy and signs that make it clear that some areas are for ‘staff only’. Polytunnels, buildings, showers and residential areas cannot be entered. Similarly, membership does not give you permission to harvest our food, firewood, or our fruits. We also ask that you please respect the privacy of other visitors too.
One membership payment is valid for access for the rest of your life, for anyone who lives at the same address or for your immediate family, as long as the person who is registered is part of the group who is visiting and takes responsibility for the behaviour of the others.
Just a final point - to be clear, this process is NOT us charging for access to the land that is normally available under the right-to-roam legislation. This is specially-granted access to our actual gardens, in the midst of our residential buildings, not covered under the right-to-roam legislation. Please know that there is no core path on our land.
Membership also provides access to the Virtual Village and all its offers and benefits. There are lots of exciting projects underway as we head into Autumn and Winter 2023.
The terms and conditions below are additional to the Terms and Conditions of the website.
It is forbidden to charge other people money to be a guide for them. Local membership does not give you rights to use our Rock for money-making purposes. There are many opportunities to work with us and we would be delighted to talk through them with you.
Membership is a one-time payment for life. This merely covers administration costs. (We are paying people to do this admin stuff for us, as we don't like to do it.)
We reserve the right to refund you, end this membership and close the woodland walk again if it doesn't work for us. Temporary closure may also be necessary if we are organising activities that require a quiet Rock such as wildlife surveys, weddings, or group visits from vulnerable children
Every member will receive emails from us that are relevant to the woodland walk. This enables us to communicate important information that may affect your intended visit.
Please accept that we cannot welcome dogs unless it is a registered guide dog. We explain here why we feel the need to do this.
Payment below is done via STRIPE. We do NOT have access to your card details or store any card details on our servers. It does give us access to your billing address and identity on our stripe account so that this payment can count legally as a valid signature to an agreement.
If you do not have a plastic card, we are able to verify your identity in person too. Let us know.
A discount code is available for people with little money. £1 only for lifetime membership. Please just ask.
Membership needs to be approved by an admin, please be patient, check your spam box and whitelist us.
Finally, we politely request that all local members send an SMS, to 073 93 83 04 03, when you enter and leave the Rock. This is an essential part of our daily safety check and guarantees every visitor's safety. But, we will remind you of this when we meet on your first visit.
We are delighted that we are now in the position where we can open the Rock to the local community. But, please be patient with us as this is a young and growing project.
If you wish to be involved, beyond walking access, please feel free to chat with us.
We look forward to receiving your membership application and welcoming you to this very special Rock here in Armadale.
