By Rachel Meadows, Head of Development, UKMSA
The team at UKMSA have been lucky enough to do some traveling recently, connecting with Sheds and Ambassadors all around the UK.
The first stop on our list was Northern Ireland, where Caroline Ellis and I travelled to in February. Our trip was all about connecting with Sheds and spending some time with some of the wider UKMSA team, Trustee Mark O’Neill and Ambassador Colin Fleet. Colin hosted us at Saintfield Men’s Shed, nestled behind the high street and housing an impressive amount of equipment for a compact space. We enjoyed tea and biscuits with the Shedders and chatted about some of their work, projects and thoughts about men’s health. The Shed was reaching the end of a project making and delivering benches for every care home in the area, complete with attached tables for cups of tea!
We also headed to Rostrevor Men’s Shed, a Shed based in an historic hotel right in the heart of the community. The Shedders run and manage the building, renting out space to other groups and charities and having enough space for two workshops, a storage container and a large polytunnel where they grow fresh produce which is available for community members to take. Rostrevor were deserving finalists in the 2025 UK Men’s Shed Awards in the Special Recognition category, honouring their community involvement and strong collaborative ethos.
The Shedders at Rostrevor were incredibly welcoming and proud to show off some of their skilled members’ handiwork including a traditional four string banjo, bespoke doll’s house and laser cut wooden maps of Ireland. We also saw some of the beautiful commemorative pieces the Shed made to honour those from the area that gave their lives during the First World War. However it’s not all about work; the Shedders take their social activities very seriously, they regularly organise lunches out, have recently started a games night at the Shed and have even gone into international waters, setting sail around the Greek Islands! The Shed has a strong social media presence and boasts followers from around the world, so have a nose and give them a follow!
We were also lucky enough to catch up with Barry Mulholland from Groundwork Men’s Sheds, who works hard to support a network of over 120 Sheds in Northern Ireland and who ran NI’s first ShedFest event last year. Barry arranged for us to visit Colin Area Men’s Shed in West Belfast, established nine years ago and run by Colin Neighbourhood Partnership and their Coordinator, Scap, where we spent time with some of the guys and heard about some of the amazing things they do over their five open days a week. From working in their vast allotment area, baking on a Friday and even running a summer festival for local families, the Shed is well loved by members and community alike and provides access to green space and outdoor activities for those involved.
Many Sheds in Northern Ireland join the Irish Men’s Shed Association (IMSA) as members; IMSA provide support information and resources for Sheds in Ireland, north and south of the border, with Sheds in the republic of Ireland being eligible for specific funding for their Sheds. We are looking forward to learning more about IMSA in the future and are working with them to plan some visits, in both directions!
After our whistlestop tour of Northern Ireland, we had a few weeks back at our computers then it was time to hit the road again, this time venturing north to Scotland!
We met up with long serving UKMSA Ambassador Geoff Allison from Dalbeattie Men’s Shed. Dalbeattie is home of the famous Skeoch – a car built in 1919-1921 and recreated 100 years later by the Shedders and completely drivable (although it’s built with a motorbike engine and features one wheel drive so maybe not advisable!). Dalbeattie Men’s Shed is housed in a huge industrial unit generously shared with them for free by their landlord who makes bespoke commercial bathroom equipment. Again, the Shedders were welcoming and incredibly talented. Highlights of our visit included seeing some of the 125 beautiful hand painted bookends created as decoration for the Polskeoch Bothy situated on the Southern Upland Way,sitting down to homemade lemon cake and cups of tea with the Shedders and checking out their vast space. The main attraction however was a scale model of Dumfries Town, designed and made for the Dumfries People’s Project by six or more Shedders with Stotty and Rolf doing huge amounts of the work. The model, which has taken six+ years and almost 4000 man hours of mapping, crafting and decorating, is incredibly detailed and even features tiny replica statues of Robert the Bruce and a local War Memorial. The model is finally near completion and the Shedders are now enjoying (maybe enjoying is not the word…) the task of hand painting tiny people and cars to bring some life to the 2m x 3m mini Dumfries!
From Dalbeattie we headed north again to Aberdeen to visit Bridge of Don and District Men’s Shed, UKMSA members who are celebrating their tenth year this September. Bridge of Don run out of a former community centre which they have brought back to life, opening their Shed five mornings a week to undertake their many projects and enjoy social time together. The Shed is located next to a primary school where they work with teachers to run sessions for the children in specially made raised beds, growing produce and flowers. The Shed have also worked with older children with additional support needs, and have made nearly 30 mud kitchens for schools and nurseries in the area. The Shed has a number of members who are military veterans including Secretary and Official Shed Chef, Eric Bisset, who also turns his hand to making jams and preserves with fruit and veg grown in their polytunnel. Bridge of Don host a cooked breakfast every Friday morning in their comfortable social space which ensures members that might not be up to physical tasks are still included and able to connect with others.
Our final stop was to Westhill and District Men’s Shed, known to be the first Men’s Shed in Scotland, established in 2013 and winners of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2021. Westhill are housed in a series of mobile buildings having slowly been able to expand their footprint over the years and are supported by the local council. The Shed boasts many skilled members and carry out community projects, electronics, woodworking, and 3D printing amongst other things but they also specialise in lawnmower maintenance and have a clock/watch repair station, host a bridge group, have their own Shed band and even dedicated sessions for a ‘She Shed’! The Shed refurbish donated tools which they resell to raise funds, and when/if they finally get a bit of downtime the Shedders gather in their social area and enjoy each other’s company! While we were there Caroline was able to present Westhill Men’s Shed with a long overdue celebratory plaque to recognise them as one of the first 30 Men’s Community Men’s Sheds established in the UK. The plaques were kindly produced by UKMSA partners Carveco as part of the 2023 UKMSA ten year celebrations. Westhill Men’s Shed is embedded in their community and welcomes over 100 member visits a week, utilising member’s skills and supporting connection and purpose.
For more information about Sheds in Scotland, or the work of the Scottish Men’s Sheds Association who are currently campaigning for a Scottish Men’s Health Strategy, check out their website.
Thank you to all the Sheds that welcomed us on our travels, it was incredibly inspiring (and fun!) to meet you all. If you are a UKMSA Member Shed in Northern Ireland or Scotland and you’d like to get in touch with us we’d love to hear from you. Tell us about your projects, any member benefits you’d like to see or if you’d like to volunteer as part of the UKMSA team.
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