Wanderings:

I Volunteer.

I volunteer as a conservation worker - it's good to get outdoors after a week in an office and it's good to do something constructive - or in the case of conservation work - destructive, as most of it seems to be.

I volunteer and I get to visit some beautiful places around Scotland. This month it was a weekend project at Culzean Castle on the south west coast of Scotland. It is perched on a cliff with fantastic views over to the Isle of Arran and the Atlantic, with stunning gardens and nature. We were removing some non-native species - golferia and rhodendron and getting to have a bonfire - one of my favourite conservation jobs - slash and burn!! The weather was fantastic and on the second day we even managed to light our fire without any matches - just some of the left over ashes from the previous days fire and some twigs and a good lot of hot air (that was coming from me!)

Results - a path cleared of non-native species, 2 days outdoors working hard which allows me to eat chocolate without feeling guilty and time spent with friends.