Easy to forget

At this time of year, as our opening date approaches I tend to find myself very critical of our campsite and feel slightly disheartened by how much still needs to be done to fulfil my visualisation of what we could achieve. It is easy to forget how much we have already done to reclaim the site from ivy and blackthorn (which I do like in symbiotic quanitities) and which the pigs have loved to eat.

The voice of reason is usually my other half, Graham, who reminds me just how overgrown the area was and how many trips to the dump and how many bonfires we have had!

It helps to look at some of the before and after pictures - although, why is it one never remembers to take the before pictures, until half-way through or until one has already reached the "after" stage! 

So, as I sit having a coffee in the cottage, on a particularly precipitous morning, I thought I would share some 'before', 'in-between' and 'after' pictures on the blog.

Tiny piglets installed for clearing the blackthorn and hawthorn and brambles in the campsite paddock.

Job done, although we did have to use a digger to get the roots out - there is a limit to what pigs can eat and shift - but we hand raked and seeded the reclaimed land and look what the cornish rain and sun produced......

a lovely new camping area with a view!

When we first started clearing in the reservoir garden, you couldn't even see from one end to the other. We now have a clear view, a lot of green and a tree fern, a date palm and a copper beach planted with light filtering through to help them grow.

The pigs helped clear the entrance side of the old reservoir garden, down towards the campsite facilites, but then the area all looked a little barren and brown, as this is halfway through picture shows.

Again, light, sunshine, rain and some garden furniture, brings out a whole new colour scheme.

There were piles and piles of 'tipped' garden and building debris from local cottage renovations and goodness knows what, just dumped on the land,

 but slowly we have dug and pinchbarred, raked and shifted the rubble, recycled the slate

and cut back hedging to stop walls falling down and tried to bring out what we think nature intended.

New hedges still need planting and weeds controlling and apologies that these photos are not all the exact same angles, but I think they portray what I am trying to get across.

I must not forget.

And finally another winter is over and we have had our first family tentover....albeit a little colder overnight than I usually like (mental note to self we are only May and I need duvets and warmer nightclothes next time) and had our first campfire and toasted marshmallows, celebrated with a glass of prosecco for me, which goes rather well with the marshmallows I have discovered!

Perhaps the message is this, that although it is easy to forget, it is also easy to remember.  And for the moment we are just waiting for opening day on the 23rd May and for the campers to arrive, to share the adventure with us.