Drum Willow Thistlecamp March 2008
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The Thistlecamp organized at Drum was my first one in Aberdeenshire and an opportunity to get acquainted with the craft of willow-weaving.
A
trip on the Eurostar to London, Caledonian Sleeper to Glasgow, on to Aberdeen
and then on the bus to Monymusk, where accomodation was provided in the Sir
Arthur Grant Centre. The brand new NTS minibus arrived soon from Edinburgh,
and the eight-strong team of volunteers could get installed in the spacious
accomodation.
The
work site was located at Drum Castle, some 16 miles away. The first day was
filled with general maintenance work including the famous rhodie-bashing
and fire burning. On the second work day, we were surprised by a load of
snow which delayed our departure; further work was performed on restoring
a coldframe, in time to accept plants and seedlings for the extensive Drum
gardens. A visit to the castle was also part of the experience of
course.
The
rest of the work was devoted to the main theme of this Thistlecamp: willow-weaving.
Under the expert leadership of willow specialist Andrew Saunders we were
initiated in the secrets of Salix viminalis and how to transform
it into useful structures. Two particular structures were built: a long willow
hurdle to protect a box hedge, and a willow tunnel in the rose garden. Those
who liked could even make willow plant supports to take home.
Thistlecamps
are also major social events, with people from different background uniting
in a good spirit. The preparation of the communal meals saw some nice surprises
(such as Pauline's tablet, to name one), and nice times were spent at the
fireplace in the upper lounge. On the free day, some preferred to return
to the garden to do some pruning, whileas others took up the walk of Bennachie,
the whole day concluded with a dinner at the Monymusk pub. The week was suitably
concluded with a visit to the Ceilidh at Alford, a nice experience
to get on with some Scottish dancing.
As usual, the week passed by way very fast, and the next Saturday I headed back on the bus to Braemar via Kemnay and Aberdeen, on for another week of remote walking...
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