Operation Blackwaterfoot

The last full day of our residential began with some wacky beach art, in which we covered one of our team members in sand, turning them into a mermaid with wings (its a long story), using various pebbles and seaweed which we found scattered on beach, the out come was something else!

After we had let our creativity flow on the beach, we had to return to our lodge to prepare for the next part of our day, which was a large beach clean, taking place in the small village of Blackwaterfoot on the west coast of the island. We got through the risk assessment over lunch (it's as dull as it sounds!) and then set off on the bus.

As soon as we arrived, we met with a fellow conservationist, who supplied us with litter pickers and large bags to collect the rubbish in. We then began the beach clean. we soon found out there was a huge abundance of plastic and rope all over the place, and it didnt take long until our bags were practically full. We were out on the beach in the scorching sun for 4 hours, and many were susceptible to sunburns and the wrath of the midges. By around 6pm the workforce was laden with the treasures of the sea, ranging from dog toys to For Sale signs. Altogether we managed to remove a wooden pallet and oil drum from the beach and impressively fill 10 large bin bags with debris.

Folowing a well earned trip to the Harbour shop, we started our long and hot journey back to Shore Lodge on a very packed bus for our last dinner of homemade pizzas.  It has been a hard but great few days and an experience that we will all remember.  Thank you Lucy and Dave!

Rhodie Bash

 We set off at 10am on a surprisingly sunny day, heading towards our day of Rhodie Bashing, not completely sure what to expect. We met up with Jack who showed us the area of woodland we were to work on, clearing away a non-native invasive species of plant, the rhododendron. With saws and loppers in hand we set off to destroy every last plant we got our hands on.

The Arran Ranger; Jack, started burning the Rhodies and created a fire in the area, which we embraced a couple hours in to the bashing when we roasted marshmallows; some people even made smores with ginger biscuits and digestives.

Despite all of our efforts, the pesky midgies and wasps and any other little creatures hiding in the moss set out to thwart our tough labour. Despite this, we did not stop our strenuous task in hand and we carried on to clear large amounts of clever Rhodies which had covered most of the ground in which we were working on.

After 6 hours, we called it a day when the mud had gotten into our shoes, all up our legs, and just genually everywhere. Yet that didn't stop us from quickly posing proudly with the Rhodie pile still waiting to be burned.

To end our day Jack surprised us with chocolate bunnies to thank us for our hard work, which didn't last long. Overall, it brought great pleasure as well as awareness regarding the ecosystem on Arran.

It's the climb

We had a very active day considering it was Sunday, starting off with last minute preparations for our evening presentations on the importance of conservation in Scotland. This was followed by a long wait at the bus stop in order to reach the bottom of Goatfell - the highest mountain on the Isle of Arran. After being almost eaten alive by midges whilst waiting at the bus stop, a kind bus driver agreed to drive us, and the journey to the summit of Goatfell began.

The sign at the base of the mountain, implying that the summit was a mere 2.5 miles away gave the group new found optimism, soon to be shattered when we took in the steepness of the mountainside. A while after we started the trek, we stopped for a rest at the gate of an exclosure, funded by the National Trust of Scotland, and were asked to observe how many different species of plant we could see - our answers varied from 12 to 22.

The many different vantage points on the mountain gave the group false hope with regard to the location of the summit, but finally we reached the top, and the view of Arran and the mainland was the perfect reward.

After taking hundreds of photos, we began the trek downhill. This was easier on the leg muscles but the descent also meant we were more likely to slip, so we had to go with caution. Luckily, there were no casualties and we all reached the bottom in one piece, pointing out some interesting silver ferns and pine trees along the way.

Reaching the lodge was a blessing for everyone, and immediately after returning, everyone either collapsed on their beds, made a hot chocolate or stuffed their faces with biscuits - an exhausting, yet fulfilling Sunday!

During our time on Isle of Arran we are aiming to complete the John Muir award, an award that encourages young people to enjoy the outdoors and educate them on conservation efforts in their local surroundings. This award includes four challenges: the discovery of a wild place, its exploration, a project to conserve it and the sharing of our experiences in order to educate other people on conservation.

Our first full day on the island started with a walk up to Brodick Castle, this would be the start of the discovery stage of the John Muir award. The castle's walled garden was full with exotic plants from across the globe including the California Redwood, and while there we started our bird log which will contribute to research into bird numbers on the island.

After enjoying the views from the castle we continued our walk up to Glen Rosa, a stunning valley on the north of Arran. With our bird log now filling up we started an activity to help us appreciate and understand the rarity of the plants that surrounded us in the glen. The Arran White Beam, a tree that only exists of the Isle of Arran, of which there are only a few hundred growing on the island, this illustrates the fragility of ecosystems and highlights the necessity of conservation, a concept which we encouraged to define for ourselves as individuals.

After exploring Glen Rosa we headed towards the beach in order to investigate how the ecosystem changed which was portrayed through the sightings of coastal birds such as:  common gulls, herring gulls, oyster catchers and shags. We also spotted some seals, much to the excitement of the group it was a new experience for many members of the group. 

 After a day of trekking we took some time to relax and then began on our presentations which will further our understanding of the island and the importance of conservation efforts.

A late night beach trip ended the first day of our wee adventure.

Het eerste dag (The First Day)

The journey to the Isle of Arran began with part of the group meeting at Glasgow Central Station. A train ride later the newbies joined the group at the harbour, for a rather choppy trip across to Arran on the ferry. The weather in true Scottish style was rain, rain, rain, rain with a hint of rain, which everyone felt when arriving on the island.

Like all good adventures, along with the disadvantageous weather, there must be an obstacle to overcome. Today this came in the form of a bus - or the absence of one to be more specific. A few panicked phonecalls later, a minibus was commandeered to take us to the Lodge.

After settling in and getting to know one another, the task of dividing up the jobs was undertaken. This, most importantly, meant that the chefs could begin to cook dinner which was molto bene.

There are exceptions to every rule, and the rule of 'no television' was promptly broken by the realisation that the Olympics were on. This brought everyone together in the lounge, as the boys desperately tried to make the television work (and succeeded, thank you very much Sam)

The wee journey begins.... Aye

The Group

Saying farewell

Wednesday was the day we said farewell to our first team of the season and although Rob and I were sad to say goodbye we are thrilled to have enjoyed a fun filled and action packed week. The group achieved a great deal in a short time, from identifying upland plants to getting down and dirty with the bracken bashing. On the final morning they headed to the beach to vent their team creativity one last time.

Day 5: Buses, Birds and Beaches

After a quiet nights sleep we returned to the land of the living to a rather mediocre breakfast by comparison of the previous morning's feast. The typical morning ritual of card games, made us enthusiastic for the day's activities. A short walk led us to the Brodick bus terminal to catch the bus.

Arriving in Lamlash, we met up with the COAST Jennys and were duely supplied with an assortment of litter picking goodies. A short walk to the beach and we were away, kicking off with a cheeky Monster Munch wrapper, more litter would soon follow. Hellbent on finding the most obscure item, groups set off down the beach. Party poppers, dumbell weights and a cassette, the wierd and wacky rolled in, as well as what appeared to be the site of a greek plate smashing. Keeping an eye out for the flora and fauna, the beach hosted oyster catchers, a shag, and countless gulls, as well as several jellyfish.

We convened at the beach end, dragging pipes, car parts and even the back of a boat, before lugging it all to the local high school's bins. Another short bus ride with some interesting characters we disemarked into a Brodick which had transformed into a bustling hub of tourists. Walking back, an eagle eyed Rob spotted a Sparrow Hawk amidst the trees.

Back in the lodge Sue, from Exxpedition, came to talk about the affects of plastic in the sea and its affects on the ecosystems and the human body. We were introduced to a fascinating 40 minute long video about Sue's adventure across the Atlantic. We now realise where Lucy got her thirst for adventure.

Our knowledge was expanded by Sue's expertise, which we reflected on over another fantastic dinner, fajitas cooked by Emma and Izzy.

We would like to thank Lucy and Rob for their expertise and hard work for making the residental special for all of us. We cannot thank them enough!

 Bring on the final night.

Day 4: Goat Fell Trek

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUBIN!!!!!!

Today Andy, Ali and Tom woke at 6:40 and ran into Brodick to buy food for a fried Scottish breakfast and the lads cooked it to perfection! It was a great start to the day before the walk. After breakfast, before we climbed goat fell, we walked down to the nearest bus stop to catch the 11:00am bus to Corrie, the weather perfect at the start with the sun shining bright and no wind at all. The walk to the summit of Goat fell was 4 km and 834 m incline the uphill didnt seem to startle anyone as everyone was able to bolt up. We stopped for lunch, as seen below, at a large rock that was able to fit 16 people on and protect us from the wind, well spotted Lucy!   

Shortly after lunch, we continued to climb towards the summit and we noticed 3 ravens gliding above us.

There were some beautiful sights around us as we were on our walk, we were even able to see mainland scotland! We also saw the Isle of Bute, Inchmarnock and Great and wee Cumbrae.

 

When we reached the summit we were hid in the clouds, but still had a 'Group Summit Photo'. The visibility was very poor and it was extremely windy. Some group members started to feel the cold so we made a group desicion to leave the summit quickly and head back to shore lodge.

On the descent different team members had a chance to navigate through forrests and down rocky pathways.

 In the evening, we had a tuna pasta bake that was expertly cooked by Charlotte, Florence (the machine) and Ola. However, the night ended spectacularly with wonderful birthday celebrations for Subin. Today Subin hit the wonderful landmark of 17 and to celebrate the group surprised him with birthday cake to end the night.

Overall, today has been an eventful day but definately a success! Happy Birthday to Subin and we hope you had a lovely day!

Day 3: Bracken Bashing!

Today we woke up for breakfast at 7:15am and left basecamp promptly at 8:45am to then walk for an 1 hour and a half through Glen Rosa. On our way to the site of Bracken Bashing, we spotted 3 types of heather.

On the edge of the forest Lucy picked our brains on our tracking knowledge with some fir cones, we identified one of the cones being stripped by a finch (most likely Chaffinch) and one of them nibbled by a red squirrel. After nibbling on some Wood Sorrel (which tasted acidic, like grapes. Tasty!) and Wood Sage, we braved the gale force winds and headed towards the conservation site where we met Kate from the Arran Rangers Service. Briefed on our mission and kitted with protective gloves, we entered the regeneration site. Fighting through bracken shoulder high we rescued the poor young trees- Oak, Hazel and Arran Whitebeam (extremely rare). Finishing in record time just before the rain hit us, we said goodbye to Kate. To our delight, she rewarded us with chocolate bunnies which made us all very happy!

We got back to basecamp and tucked into a lovely Thai Green curry cooked incredibly well by the team, however unable to locate the ladle for the sauce we resorted to a mug. After the mystery eyelash in the eye palaver, we gave our presentations. Informative and creative with lots of drama, costume and charades, keeping us all engaged and enetertained the John Muir presentations were complete!
Emma and Izzy :)

Day 2: Exploring

Today we woke up prompt at 6.40am and after battling for shower rights and getting ready, had breakfast and packed our bags for the day. We left the lodge and began our journey to Brodick castle and beach. As the day's bloggers, we recorded the different species of birds we saw (our goal is to spot 25 different species by the end of the week and we recorded 18 today!). On our walk through Brodick we came across a field of highland cows which were very hairy but cute!
After investigating a bronze age house and playing factual/running around games on the beach, we walked back to the lodge and had lunch.

 Once lunch was eaten and everyone had a quick change into comfy clothes, we headed out to see the Highland Games which was a scenic 30 minute walk away. When we arrived we watched the sporting events, inluding caber tossing, boulder and barrel lifting and track races. Aswell as this, we browsed different stalls, watched the scottish dancing competition and ate chips. The bag pipe band was playing throughout and it was impressive as they made it look so easy!

When we got back to the lodge we split into pairs and began brainstorming for our John Muir awards. We chose different subjects and started preparing a presentation on our them whilst Ollie, Javie and Subin made our dinner. They made chile served with rice, nachos and cheese...yum! We will hopefully now watch the Olympics and cheer on team GB!

day 1: Stranded on Arran

Our quest to shore lodge bunkhouse began with the group meeting promptly at Glasgow station of which we departed from via a slow but fairly decent train. Immediately after reaching Ardrossan harbour, we caught the 3.15 ferry to Brodick and we finally had the opportunity to begin to mingle with our fellow team mates. After the ferry docked at Brodick, we wrestled our way onto the local bus and we were dropped off at the bunkhouse.

We reluctantly made our beds and decided on a rota for duties over the following five days.  Thank you to Andrew, Ali and Maddi for cooking a wonderful gourmet spaghetti bolognese on our first night at the lodge.  Your superior cooking skills will be hard to beat!

Whilst many of us will be heading to bed early tonight, some will be watching the Olympic Games opening ceremony which starts at 11.40pm. We are all eagerly awaiting the Brodick Highland Games which we will be attending tomorrow.