A fairly good morning out round Shielfoot village, an unusual
trip with five explorers and six adults, I can't remember
that happening before. The explorers were Benjamin, Eilish,
Loren, Matthew and Thomas and the adults Ann, Catherine, Chris,
Craig, Pamela and Philippa, with two dogs to keep the wild
animals at bay.
We started with a look at the old sand pit and the Tinker's
well and then had a walk down the steps to the Garrison Pool.
Then we parked near Torwood and started the proper expedition.
It was a fine day and good for running about and there wasn't
much interest in standing listening to history. The climb
up the Torr suited the young participants much better and
they were happy to look at the trees and find bits of vitrification.
Thomas even found a piece of unvitrified wall which I later
realised could be quite significant. The top of the hill was
also a suitable place for eating something and the breeze
kept off most of the midges. While we were up there we saw
three deer below us on the moss.
After we climbed down we walked out towards the end of the
village and came back on the track past the old peat cuttings.
A successful trip with everyone more than ready for something
to eat at the end of it.John Dye
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