Community Story: Stinchar Connections

For our latest feature profiling a recent recipient of funding from SP Energy Networks’ Community Benefit programme, we’re in the Stinchar Valley in rural South Ayrshire to find out about a fantastic project from Stinchar Connections. Luke Upton chatted with Development Officer Jen Williams about the community bus service that’s connecting the valley’s villages, and how a new extended timetable is linking residents to trains, hospitals and days out further afield.

Luke Upton (LU): Thanks for your time today, Jen. To start, could you tell us a little about Stinchar Connections and the community you’re part of?

Jen Williams (JW): Stinchar Connections is a charitable organisation serving the Stinchar Valley villages of Ballantrae, Barr, Barrhill, Colmonell, Lendalfoot, Pinmore and Pinwherry in rural South Carrick. Around 1,600 people live across the valley, and about a quarter of them live in Barrhill.

Our aim is to build community cohesion and involvement in the Stinchar Valley through a community transport service. That means providing accessible transport so people can take part in sport and physical activity, get to health services more easily, and connect with each other, with other communities and with the outdoors. All of this helps improve health and wellbeing and reduce social isolation.

There’s very little mainstream public transport in the area, particularly in the late afternoon, in the evening and on Sundays. So, in 2024, Stinchar Connections secured funding to hire a community bus from South Ayrshire Community Transport. The regular Community Bus Service now runs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, helping residents get to health appointments, the pharmacy, shops, activities, after-school clubs and youth clubs, and to socialise. Barr has its own community bus, but representatives from Barr sit on our Board, which helps all the communities stay connected and work together.

LU: What are you currently focusing on, and what are the main priorities for the organisation at the moment?

JW: In 2025, NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s Health Improvement Team carried out an evaluation of the service, and the report was presented in March 2026. It showed that people were using the bus for many different reasons and really valued the opportunities it gave them.

The report recommended more buses, quicker routes and a clearer, easier-to-use timetable. It also recommended sharing more information about where and when the bus goes, and connecting it with trains and other bus services so people can travel further afield, to places like Stranraer and Ayr.

On 1 September 2026, we launched a new timetable with extended routes. The bus now goes to Girvan Hospital and Girvan train station, and to Barrhill train station at times when it can meet arriving and departing trains. We adjusted the times slightly so the routes connect with more transport links, and produced new timetables setting out all the links and services people can reach by bus. We also produced smaller pocket-sized timetables, and the Board made sure every household in the villages received copies. We also worked with a professional graphic designer to create a website, so information about Stinchar Connections and the timetables is easy to find.

Stinchar Connections is a two-tier membership organisation, and we’ve been working on building our membership. This has also helped us build a mailing list to keep residents informed about the service. Our members are consulted on many aspects of the service and have voting rights.

LU: You’ve recently received funding through SP Energy Networks’ Community Benefit programme. Could you tell us more about the Stinchar Connections Timetable Extension, what the funding will support and what you hope to achieve?

JW: The funding has helped us extend our timetable to meet more of the community’s needs and respond to the evaluation’s recommendations.

Previously, getting to Barrhill train station was difficult without a car. It’s a three-mile walk uphill from the village along a winding road with no pavement or streetlights, and no public transport serves the station. We’ve now been able to adjust the timings so the bus takes people to the station for departing trains and meets arriving trains to bring people safely back down to the village.

The new timings also connect with the Girvan to Stranraer bus in Ballantrae, and with onward bus and train journeys from Girvan to Ayr and Kilmarnock. The Thursday service, which used to go only as far as Ballantrae, now carries on to Girvan, giving people an hour there. Many of the services also support local businesses, particularly in and around Barrhill, by making it easier for people to get to them.

The funding has also covered hall hire and marketing costs, which helped us produce and distribute the new timetables, so every resident knew about the service and the changes.

We were also given a budget for 10 trips to help residents connect and explore beyond the valley. So far, we’ve organised trips to Wigtown Market, the Stranraer Oyster Festival, Cumnock Outlet Factory Shop, Wigtown Book Festival and the Gaiety Theatre to see Sister Act. The trips are bookable, with pick-ups throughout the villages, and they’ve been really popular. Friends from across the villages have been able to meet up and enjoy time out together, and others have made new friends on the bus.

The funding has also helped us develop the community bus service further and respond to more of the evaluation feedback than we could otherwise have done. We’ve now introduced a “Family of Services”. Alongside our regular timetable and Connect & Explore trips, we’ve added extra timetabled services and Event Links, and we’re working on a new Village Link. All these services respond to community needs and support community events, helping to tackle rural disadvantage.

We hope these changes and new services will bring even greater benefit to the communities, particularly Barrhill, making sure residents can easily reach services and activities using affordable, reliable and sustainable transport. Increasing social connection through community transport will also help improve people’s mental and physical health.

LU: How important is grant funding like this to Stinchar Connections, and what difference does it make to the work you’re able to deliver in the community?

JW: Grant funding is essential to everything Stinchar Connections provides. Our regular timetabled bus service had already been funded for a year, but this additional six months of funding meant we could respond to the evaluation and make the changes needed to improve the service for residents across our rural communities. We’d like to say an enormous thank you to SP Energy Networks and the wonderful team at Localgiving for their incredible support in making this all possible.

LU: Brilliant. Beyond financial support, what do you think would make the biggest difference to your organisation and the communities you support?

JW: As a small charitable organisation, we rely heavily on grant funding and on the skills and experience of the volunteers on our Board. Beyond that, it would really help to have access to experienced support and advice on governance, such as policies and procedures.

LU: And finally, is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers, such as upcoming projects, events, achievements or other ways people can get involved?

JW: Now that our new timetable has launched and our Family of Services is taking shape, we’re excited to be getting our own nine-seater vehicle soon. It will be based in the villages for use by community groups and will help us develop our Event Link and Village Link services.

We’re looking forward to welcoming more people to get involved with Stinchar Connections as volunteer drivers for the new vehicle. It’s a great way to help keep people connected and support good mental and physical health across the valley.

LU: Brilliant, thanks for the time Jen, we’ll keep up our community up to date with your progress!

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