Very satisfying day today, the time was finally right to collect all that rubbish piled up on the beaches of Burg and Iona!  Earlier in the year hardworking Thistle Campers (www.nts.org.uk/thistlecamps) had cleared the coastline, taking out what they could carry and leaving behind the heavy stuff, including 2 lorry tyres and lots of broken creels.  I’ve been waiting for the right weather to take it all away and thanks to some very cheery helpers and sunny calm conditions, today was the day!  We did give the beautiful B.Marie a temporary alternative makeover as a rubbish barge, but she’s none the worse for the ordeal, and our haul is now piled as neatly as possible on Fionnphort pier ready for the bin lorry to take it away.  Many thanks to Mark, Stuart, David and Sophie for all their efforts and our contribution to making some of our coastline and seas a little bit cleaner.

You’ve probably seen some of the shocking photos of the effects of marine litter on wildlife, and even entire islands made up of floating plastic…but this week I came across a hopeful twist, a company which is processing plastic taken from the sea into threads to weave fabric, and make it into clothes to sell – how’s that for creative recycling?!

If this has inspired you, more beachcleaning opportunities after our Scoor Cave walk on 3rd September.