On Sunday, we returned to Taynish and got involved removing invasive Beech seedlings from an old-growth Oak woodland. We clambered about on some very steep slopes, spying the scattered seedlings by their conspicuous copper-coloured leaves. We ripped and pulled the seedlings, cutting their root systems to prevent them coppicing later on.
Beech trees are considered non-native in Scotland by some and are prolific ecosystem engineers, meaning they can significantly alter their surrounding habitat. Oak woodlands support a rich plethora of understory shrubs and wildflowers due to their relatively open canopy and are highly valued by conservation groups, both for their role as a habitat, and their cultural heritage. If the area was to be colonised by Beech, however, with seeds blown in from nearby plantations, we would expect understory species richness to reduce due to Beech’s dense canopy and extremely recalcitrant leaf litter, which increases soil acidity.
There were some stumbles, a few tumbling boulders (see picture above) and a lot of ticks but we managed to get quite a few of the little blighters. We took one last look at the beautiful scenery (see picture above above), before heading back down to the loch-side for our final lunch in the sunshine. We said farewell to Doug the Ranger, then started our trundle back to Edinburgh.
-Dirties
-Buckets
-Sturdy shoes
-Mud
-Shovels
-Axes
-Saws
-Pickaxes
-Food (lots of it)
-Firewood
-Someone who knows how to start a fire
-Rhododendron that is in the way
-Some posh people shooting pheasants
-Gravel
-Logs
-Lord Glasgow’s estate
Method:
Start off by preparing your ingredients for the day. Wake the dirties up at an ungodly hour (If it’s still dark, it’s ungodly.) The promise of food should draw them out of their sleeping bags and get them ready to work.
Feed the dirties porridge, bread with peanut butter, and popping candy chocolate spread. Most importantly, make sure there is a supply of tea, coffee and hot chocolate.
At 9:00 am, have everyone meet outside and await further instruction from the estate rangers. (It is acceptable for some of the dirties to go exploring and find a swing tied to a tree.)
When the rangers arrive, begin the 30 minute climb up to where the dirties will be working. The climb will be worth it because the estate is beautiful. Split up into two groups so all the work gets done. The first group will work out their guns by hauling buckets of gravel up and down the hill to make paths. The second group will trudge through some mud and make ditches for runoff water. There may also be some tree-climbing involved. Do not forget to take a snack break.
When everyone is hungry and tired, dig through the mud some more. This is because some rich people will be shooting pheasants and you can’t go back down the path until they stop. Plus, if the dirties keep working they’ll appreciate their lunch more.
When the rangers say you can go, walk down the hill and start making dirties-style sandwiches for lunch (hummus, vegetables, relish, cheese, bread). Also have cookies and leftover cake for dessert. Some nice people will also volunteer some potato-leek soup.
At 3:00 pm, start working again. Take 15 minutes to bring some firewood to the pit in preparation for the bonfire you’ll have in the evening. Give everyone some saws and axes and let them expel all their stress by aggressively bringing down some rhododendron.
When it starts getting dark (so 4:00 pm), have everyone stop working and go back inside. At this point one, a small group will begin to make dinner, another will go to the supermarket to get some marshmallows, and the others will go off and do whatever they want.
When dinner is ready (lasagna), serve it to everyone. Afterwards, everyone will slowly start moving to the bonfire which has already been lit.
When everyone is around the fire, start roasting some marshmallows and sausages. Eventually everyone will start singing campfire songs (and Bohemian Rhapsody), because they can.
After a few hours by the fire, it’ll be time to go back inside and wind down before bed. The fire will have warmed everyone up and they’ll fall asleep faster than they did the night before.
When your Saturday is complete, you’ll know because everyone will have a distinctly happy/tired/warm feeling.
First weekend away in cold cold Scotland – complete with sleeping bags and campfires and lots and lots of dirt, and for a girl from an urban city in the tropics (think 30deg weather and insane levels of humidity) used to only camping in the heat, it was a prettyyyy great adventure.
I was lucky enough to be placed in Roy’s car (thank you Roy and Roy’s car for driving us there), with Ellie (the terrifying ghost climbing out from the television and scaring the shit out of me during Halloween) and Miguel (yay fellow first year!).
While hopeful for good traffic conditions, a looooong 3 hour journey was what we received. Crazy traffic through Glasgow was not fun.
What was fun, though, was the conversation in the car. Ellie shared about the many times she’d been to Kelburn Castle, and the incredible 20th bothy party (complete with couples who met in dirties and dirty babies! I think she mentioned dirty pets too), and how there weren’t any proper walls, only a roof and some plastic sheets at the sides attempting (and failing horrendously) to keep the wind and rain out.
Roy told us some stories too, but perhaps what was the most memorable was him and Ellie singing along to this song with lots of references to Scotland culture, and although I couldn’t understand any of the references (no really, not even one), or even make out some words because of the singer’s accent + the fast pace of the song, it was pretty great and entertaining and it was just very enjoyable to be in the car where the mood was just happy and high and everyone was just laughing 🙂
Miguel told us stories from home too, and him and Ellie shared childhood memories about this place (I’m so sorry I can’t remember the name of the town), and it was pretty cool that both of them had bits of their childhood there. Miguel also shared how his family used to go there so often that the shop keepers (the ice cream man, that I remember) would remember his family. It sounds like a lovely town, and I’m pretty sure it is.
I vaguely remember us coming to the topic of food, and I told them about this amazing dish from back home, called Chili Crab. It’s basically sir-fried mud crab served in a semi-thick, sweet and savoury tomato and chilli based sauce, accompanied by deep fried buns called mantous. I’m missing home and all the yummy food from home so badly just thinking about it.
Here’s a picture for you and I hope you guys think it looks as mouth-watering as it really is
We eventually got to Kelburn, and it was dark by then. Roy was just going really quickly in the small little country lanes, and I remember being quite terrified that he’d just crash into a car he didn’t see coming. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a safe and great driver, but dark small windy roads are pretty scary. To me, at least.
Cuz we were the first to get to the pavilion that we would stay in, we started to get dinner ready! Of course, not before a cup of tea and being amazed by how cute (omg fairy lights!) and pretty great (proper toilets! A kitchen! Proper walls!) this bothy was.
Dinner was made under the command of chef Ellie – dinner would’ve been rubbish without her. Roy put his entire head into the oven as we tried to figure out how to operate the gas stove, we eventually got it, but it took quite a bit of experimentation. Anyway, Miguel and I were soon rolling balls of mashed potato for gnocchi, and I have to say, it did kinda feel like we were machines after a while.
The others soon arrived on the minibus, and Rosie came into the kitchen to help us deliver the gnocchis to ultimate drowning death in boiling water. Cooking gnocchi was pretty great, and I particularly enjoying scooping up the cooked potato dumplings as they rose to the surface of the boiling water.
The rest set up their sleeping bags outside, and an apparently pretty intense game of card against humanity (thank you lizzie for the cards) took place.
Cards Against Humanity (Photo credits: Lizzie)
From the kitchen, we suddenly heard a bout of insane laughter, and Rosie (I think) came to report that dear Rudy (Rudy, of all people) had bought a kids sleeping bag.
Here’s Rudy trying and failing to squeeze into the sleeping bag
When the train people arrived, Nina went to get them (thank you Nina for driving the minibus), and dinner was served!!! Happy dirties and happy tummies 🙂
After dinner, we pretty much split up into separate groups. Some people decided to go out to play hide and seek, some chilled out with drinks, others chose to stay in to knit and read. I chose to go out to explore a little with Gyda and Emma, which was wonderful.
We walked around aimlessly around the estate, stopping by to see the castle, attempting to follow a path to a look out / picnic point that we never found, just walking and enjoying the night. The night sky was breathtaking – being in a pretty dark town with little light pollution, and blessed with clear skies, gave for a spectacular view of the stars in the sky. We attempted to point out constellations, but couldn’t do much except for the Big Dipper and Orion’s Belt. Gyda and I were lucky enough to see a shooting star too! It was a great walk.
Then it was back to the pavilion, and again, there were groups of people knitting, reading, drinking. Ale and Lizzie taught Miguel and I to knit, which went quite well I have to say. Also, I’m possibly the only person to have literally stabbed myself with a knitting needle, yes there was (it’s still there!) a hole in the palm of my hand, with the skin being taken out and a little bit of blood. How I managed that, I have no idea.
Look at how hard Miguel was concentrating on his knitting (Photo credits: Lizzie)
People started to get tired, and we all snuggled into our sleeping bags, and it was sleeeep, in preparation of our long day of work ahead.
