This trip took place in overcast conditions, with regular intervals of drizzle, which had little on the participants.

We had fourteen explorers, so many that it took us a little time to round up sufficient adults to start out. The explorers were: Amy, Charlene, Claire, David John, Ellen MacG., Iain, Karen, Kathryn, Laura, Margaret, Maxine, Robbie, Robert and Ryan, plus Fiona and Winkie.

We started at the old Ardtoe Pier where the explorers heard an account of the pier and looked at the old winch which a local man was once reputed to have carried. They also saw the ice house and the old lime kiln before climbing up to see the last of the series of four lookout caves.

Then everyone somehow jammed into two cars for the short trip to Ardtoe beach. The tide was high so there was a short excursion across the dry fish pond and over the hill before we reached the first item of interest on the beach.

John showed them the remains of an old spar which had rested on the beach since the First World War and the expedition then moved on to examine the old Ardtoe Sheep fank and its associated constructions. Pausing to look at an old boat and get an outline of its history, the explorers climbed over another hill to reach the old smuggling bay of Cloiche Baine.

The next stage was another climb in the wet to the area of the Giants' Corrie, said to have been used by two strong smugglers for storing barrels of locally-made whisky.
Once at the corrie, most of the explorers climbed down and into the cave, which was a tight squeeze, and through the cave to the ravine near the sea. Several old objects were found, such as an old aluminium float and a part of an old boat, plus a log which had been attacked by the tropical Teredo worm.

The Pictures
There was great excitement and few pictures were drawn. Many of the group spent time on cleaning up the old float and deciphering the name on it - it seemed to be FONDERIES DE DRAFOI, PARIS'. Kathryn, Ellen and Robert all did drawings of the giants (Robert's trademark owl in a tree was wearing a tartan bonnet in honour of the rugby international that afternoon). Amy had quite a hard walk, she fell over a few times on the stones and got thoroughly wet. She did a picture showing herself in a miserable state and her sister Maxine looking quite cheerful.

John Dye