Yesterday we helped out the National Trust by assisting a couple of their ranger types manage the carnage after this year’s Summer Solstice. To my delight the day started off on the right foot with a mug of tea (in a Stonehenge mug!) and the paper in their Stonehenge offices.

Once fully fueled and paired with one of the wardens we set about the task in hand and although my role mainly involved opening the many gates to let the landrover through, it wasn’t long before we encountered the odd hippy sleeping in the hedge. As well as moving these roadside residents on their merry way we were also tasked with the job of putting out their fires which is all for the good of the area but one couldn’t help feeling like you had just trashed a kid’s sand castle at the beach as the crusties sat and watched with a some what sad look on their faces as I went about my extinguishing duties.

We covered quite a bit of distance in the landrover but did get the opportunity every now and then to patrol on foot. I really enjoyed the brief stop to climb some of the barrows and got a history lesson in the process. Most of all though, it was really interesting to gain an insight into the way the surrounding area around where I live is managed. It reminded me of my old uni days when we would set about writing management plans for local areas of moorland.

Had the weather been slightly better this weekend I’m pretty sure it would have been a great deal busier but it was still fun at the end of the day and nice to volunteer for something a little more relaxing compared to last year’s hecticness.