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On the trip I blogged about last time, the ferry to Campbeltwon was cancelled two days before we were due to go. Campbeltown is quite a tricky place to get to without taking a car, and I ended up on a convoluted route across Arran, undiginifiedly summiting the Bougillie and putting my bike on the ferry across to Claonaig. By the time I was on my way down through Carradale (NCN route 78), energy was low. Luckily the roadsides there are 'jam'-packed (hoho) with bramble bushes all growing fat bumper brambles. Three stops to cram my face and I made it to my B&B. When I got home, friends invited me to go bramble-picking one Sunday on NCN75 (canal towpath) and the Water of Leith and I've now got 9 jars of bramble & apple jam. Apparently we've been eating brambles forever - pips are often found in human waste at archaeological digs - but in 2007 the word blackberry was dropped from the Oxford Junior Dictionary. "For blackberry, read Blackberry" said Robert Macfarlane, author of The Lost Words (see a few blogs back), referring to the fact it is now defined as a mobile phone rather than a fruit. Sigh. Some work to do here. But in more immediate reference, according to folklore (and, thank you, National Geographic webpage) a giant angel battle between Michael and Lucifer meant that Lucifer was banished from heaven, fell to the floor of hell, becoming the devil and landing on a thorny blackberry bush. He cursed the bush and spat on it, meaning no berries should be picked and eaten after St Michael's or Michaelmas Day which is....today. You have been warned.

P5/6 had a great time exploring and looking for minibeasts on their minibeast safari in Warout Woods. They found lots of different species of minibeast around different trees, plants, deadwood and under rocks. We got up close, identified them and spoke about their food chains and role in the ecosystem. Here's a photo of a beautiful Orange Ladybird an individual found on a Sycamore tree.

P7 were out exploring the local woodland on a minibeast safari recently. They found a whole host of different minibeasts around different trees, plants, deadwood and under rocks. We got up close, identified them and spoke about their food chains and role in the ecosystem. Here's a photo of one of the class with their minibeast finds and a great depiction of them.

This week P6/7 were out looking for minibeasts throughout the local woodland; Warout Woods. They had a great time exploring and seeing what they could find around different trees, plants, around deadwood and under rocks. We got up close, identified them and spoke about their food chains and role in the ecosystem. Here's some of their minibeast finds and logs they were keeping as they found them.

One of the best things about my job is that I get to ride routes all around Scotland. In 2015 and 2016, I joined groups of volunteers to ride Oban-Fort William, and Fort William-Inverness...two legs of the Caledonia Way (NCN78). A solo dash through Glen Lonan last year, and all that was left to complete the route for me was Campbeltown to Taynuilt, and this week I was lucky enough to be invited to join David Reilly for three days to cycle just that, as he started a challenge ride to complete the whole route in 10 days with our Tourism Officer, Mike. David is a journalist who was born with cerebral palsy but is passionate about access to outdoor activities...and great company to boot - funny, interesting and intrepid. The weather was not on our side, but the people of Argyll were, and we were encouraged on our way with hearty breakfasts, Kintyre gin and many supportive tweets, while Storm Ali raged around us and our waterproofs were put to the test. But, as is always the way in Scotland, as well as plenty rain, we also got blue skies and rainbows, and weather doesn't stop the wildlife....bullfinches & goldfinches in the hedgerows, a brave toad & a brave-but-squashed newt on the road, wildflowers & brambles on the verges. And with three pairs of eyes spread out on bikes we made some fantastic sightings - David spotted a young otter head into the water at Loch Caolisport then flop out on a rock with his dinner; I slammed on the brakes when a huge eagle flew over not long after that, straining to see a white tail; and Mike says 20 deer ran in front of us just as we tucked into a downhill run (noone else saw them, but I can vouch for the bottle of gin still being sealed at this point, so we believe him). David is still on his way to Inverness - one day to go. I look forward to reading his writings about the trip....and, as I told him about the John Muir Award, maybe the eRecord blogs too....? :)

We saw lots of different moths that had been caught in a trap for counting. We talked about the differences between moths and butterflies and built a bug hotel. We looked at how different animals deal with Autumn and winter and talked about hibernation, hunting and foraging territories, food sources, etc.

Finding out about how dormice feel their way around at night. We looked for signs of dormice in the woods by checking out nuts that looked like they had been chewed by mice. We also talked about what dormice eat and how they build their nests.