Due to coronavirus restrictions being reduced to tier 3, the thrift shop, located beside the airport, has announced its reopening times.

Abigail Taylor

From 7th April 2021, the shop will be open every Wednesday and Friday 11am-3pm. Donations are accepted by the public, which are sorted and either put up for sale within the shop or packaged and sent to Blythswood Care to be recycled further.

Benbecula Thrift Shop is a charity shop maintained by volunteers from North Uist, Benbecula and South Uist.

Tara Paterson, who works for UCVO (Uist Council of Voluntary Organisations), which manages the Thrift Shop, said: “It’s been wonderful to get the shop open for the community and the volunteers. Our opening has been warmly received on social media by the public, which just shows how important it is to everyone to be back open.”

“It was much easier to get back open this time when compared to last year. We already have all of the required safety precautions taken care of so all we had to do this time was get the volunteers back on board, which wasn’t difficult.

“The donations room is choc-a-bloc and we’ve had customers messaging about when they can come back, it’s brilliant.”

There is a wide range of clothing and shoes for mens, ladies, children and babies alongside a wide variety of books and bric a brac available.

You must keep to a safe distance, make use of the hand sanitising stations and wear a mask when in the shop in order to stick to the COVID guidelines.