more on plot access - and beachcombing

Done the resurvey and calculations and we can finally get the track at the required 1 in 7 gradient that the planners insist upon. The new line has a sharper bend and more revetting but uses a lot less aggregate - maybe as little as 75 tonnes, but probably more like 100 tonnes.

Also found another stash of washed up fish boxes - and a Little Tykes kid’s slide amongst the plastic waste we get washed up on the west of Gigha. Every west side beach has a problem with plastic waste and we have regular beach clean ups to keep the Twin beaches at the north end of the island clear. When we get moved down to Ardailly we’ll try to keep the beaches at the ‘bottom of the garden’ cleaned up ourselves. There is a beach artist called Claire McNiven who makes works from stuff she picks up her on Argyll’s beaches. Fascinating sculptures. By the way we’ve got 28 sandy beaches on our wee island - from most of which you can see otters if you’re there at the right time. Last week we even had one watching us watching it - it came out of the water and up to 5m away to take a look at us before going back to crunching crabs.

I was brought up on the Pembrokeshire coast and spent many happy hours beach-combing so it’s in the blood. In the 60s and 70s there were massive problems with oil pollution and tar on Pembrokeshire beaches which culminated in the Sea Empress disaster in the 90s. Thankfully not a problem here anymore. Jayne thinks my age is quite similar to my shoe size so this love of beach-combing for anything useful really is a throw back.

plot access

Typical Gigha - a bright day and then it tips it down just as we were about to go down to the plot and resurvey the access track to see if we can’t find a slightly better route in. It drops 3m from the track into the plot and we have to get the right gradient and radius turn through the rocky outcrops to minimise the aggregate we’ll need. At somewhere between £25-30 a tonne then even if we can save on 50 tonnes that’s up to £1500 off the budget.

beachcombing

Down the plot with Lachlan and Fiona and headed off for a bit of quiet beachcombing while they were checking their rodent traps in the mill cottage. Found eight fishboxes in Port an Duin just round from the jetty below Dun an Trinnses(pictured) in battered but unbroken condition. We live here in a fish box culture. It’s a bit like camels being the indicator of wealth in the Sahara. Here the humble fishbox, washed overboard and washed up just has so many uses from storage to seed bed to salad grower. There are also some great piles of washed up kelp which we will gather up and use as seaweed fertiliser on the croft - the traditional ways were often the best. Seaweed is high in potash - good for spuds, fruit bushes etc., etc.,

Still bothered about getting aggregate into the plot for the driveway and foundations - we might need 300 tonnes for the driveway and 275 tonnes for foundations. Looking for place to tip 20 tonners and then cart in by tractor and trailer.