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After a quiet time during the early summer holidays, we were
back to normal for this trip. This was the first time we had
been to Camuschoirce for almost two years and I was taking
a chance that we could cover all the ground. We almost did.
The midges were getting pretty fierce while we waited at the
cars but a combination of high speed and various patent cures
got rid of most of them. We had nine explorers on this trip:
Caitlin, Calum, Fern, Josephine, Kerry, Melissa, Nicole, Rowan
and Serena with Gary, Heather, Joanne, Mairi, Philippa and
Sharon as helpers and Ellie and Roo as honorary footballers
(wait for the explanation).
My intention was to take the expedition along the old road
and through the gate to the place where you can see four different
roads. It's very impressive if you can get there, but unfortunately
the way was now blocked by jungle and we had to turn back.
Nothing daunted, we walked down to the shore and along the
beach to look at the old laburnum tree. There was a football
at the high tide mark, which Ellie kept for the rest of the
walk, with Roo trying all sorts of tackles to get it off her.
Then we pushed on to the old charcoal storage area, where
Sharon found a nice big bit of charcoal, and then to the old
wharf where we assembled for a picture and Calum found a bit
of limestone.
Returning to the beach we looked at several odd piles of stones
and then had to return all the way to the cars again because
the river was too high to get across. We crossed the big new
bridge and then, one at a time and very carefully, we crossed
the old wooden bridge, which led us to the old croft. We had
a look at some old buildings, jumped across a ditch and climbed
a gate and reached an old house which might have been the
Kirsops'.
Then it was a short climb through the bracken to a small wood
where we found a small ruined building with a cauldron in
it, which was where the pig used to be kept. We had a quick
look at the beach and saw a load of little fishes splashing
on the water surface. Going back we walked to the old fank
and then back onto the fields again and stopped to look at
the ancient bog oak on the ground.
Then it was a short climb to the top of the hill where several
of the explorers got onto the big 'lookout' boulder for another
picture.
This was really the end of the tour of the croft but on the
way back we did a short detour into the woods to see the site
of the old Forestry Hut and the small mica mine. As we crossed
the 'Parliamentary' bridge everyone had a look at the curved
parapets. Then it was quickly back to the pantry for a well
deserved lunch. I should point out that Josephine and Serena,
who completed this expedition with no trouble at all, were
two-year-olds wearing wellies which looked about size 0.1.
There never used to be little kids like that when I was young.
Everyone had a go at a picture, including Josephine and Serena,
whose pictures seemed to show a lot of twigs and branches,
not surprising for people only half the height of the bracken.
John
Dye
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