I've been craving a bit of adventure for a while now, so when the opportunity arose to spend a week in Cornwall working on an organic smallholding I threw myself at the chance.  I'm quite fond of working outdoors and after numerous soakings during field courses and data collection trips, banging together a bridge on a nature reserve, sawing down sycamores on a 45 degree slope and scooping up cow poops during a cattle auction (among other things), provided I'm suitably kitted out, I've lost my aversion to rain, muck and smelly substances, so I was very much looking forward to getting my hands dirty.

I wasn't disappointed either.  On a Friday morning at the beginning of July Ian and I set out on our 'rail trip'.  After a twelve and a half hour train journey (see video here) to get there and an evening to settle into our lovely cabin, our first job the next day was to clean out the chicken shed.  Lots of acrid, dried chicken poop and straw particles caused sneezing fits in the coop, but it was quite satisfying to get it all cleaned out and looking smart.  All through the cleaning process the chickens had been 'locked out' and were sitting outside the door making funny noises, eager to know what we were up to.  Once we had finished, Ian then opened the hatch to let the chickens back in and it was really quite amusing to watch them curiously scratch around as if they'd never seen the place before.

After lunch we were set the task of clearing weeds from the paths around the house.  It was glorious sunshine so Ian pulled off his shirt and paid for it with a rather sore, red and blistered back a few days later.  Since it was such nice weather, after we'd finished weeding we took a walk over the hill to the beach.  We sauntered back up over the hill to the house and joined everyone for dinner before heading for bed.  Our first day in the Cornwall air had made us quite tired.

The next morning started off with a ragwort hunt.  With lots of animals on the farm, ragwort isn't an ideal plant to have around, so off Ian and I went with our spades and forks and pulled up some beasts of plants!  We did get a bit pathetic at one point, wondering whether we should remove the ragworts surrounded by nettles and thistles, but a short 'yes' from our host sent us back into action to tear out the whole lot. 
In the afternoon it was time to clean out the ducks and goslings.  Over the course of the week I developed quite a fondness for all the animals.  The hens have potentially the most hilarious run you are likely to see, the Indian runner ducks are just trouble makers, the muscovy ducklings are cute enough to melt the coldest heart and the goslings are so curious and inquisitive you can't help but laugh every time you see them staring at you.  In fact the goslings were such an amusement to me that I made a little video of them, which you can see here. 

It wasn't all work and no play though.  On Monday we set out on a day trip to Penzance.  We were virtual train experts by then but they hadn't lost their appeal.  The hour trip down the line flew by and before we knew it we were at the bottom of the country.  My main ambition while we were there was to pay a visit to the home of my favourite natural skincare brand, Pure Nuff Stuff.  I'm so glad we stopped by as I got to meet the lovely ladies who run it. 

The afternoon was filled with hippy shopping, during which Ian was very patient.  His sunburn had really begun to set in and his bag was causing him much irritation, but for the most part he managed to control his temper.  I was so delighted when I found a shop selling snowies - those white chocolate sweets covered in sprinkles - YUM.  In fact we were so contented wandering around the town that we decided to catch a later train back to we could stay for some fish and chips, which was well worth it.

Back to the grindstone on Tuesday - starting off with an egg hunt to try and locate where the hens had been laying their eggs.  Unfortunately even after some thrashing around in the thistles and nettles, we didn't get anywhere so instead we retreated back to the garden to continue more of our weeding. 

The afternoon's task was a little more physically demanding than weeding.  The family we were staying with were all fans of mushrooms and had experimented with growing their own on 'mushroom logs' dug half into the ground and implanted with plugs of fungi spores.  Of course in order for the logs to fit into the ground, someone has to dig the holes - and that was our job.  Armed with a gorilla bar and the 'duck bill' we all trudged up the lane and ferociously took turns (when Tale would release the bar) to pound through the solid ground.  We did quite well, powering through over half a dozen holes and having a good laugh in the process, not least when Ian happened to step backwards and get his foot wedged in one of the holes.  Poor guy - as if having hiccups for most of the afternoon wasn't enough embarrassment.

We could hardly go all the way to Cornwall and not pay a visit to the famous Eden Project, so that's where we headed on Wednesday.  The first part involved a walk around examples of the different types of flora found in Cornwall.  I potentially found this part the most interesting as I'm a bit of a wildflower geek.  The size of the biomes completely caught us by surprise - they were absolutely enormous, but also much hotter than we expected.  So much so in fact that we had to do the circuit in two trips, stopping in between for air.  There was a food court located conveniently outside the biomes so that's where we stopped for lunch before heading out to explore the rest of the areas.  And what did we have for lunch?  A Cornish pasty of course!

As we arrived at the Eden Project quite early in the morning we were finished looking round everything by mid-afternoon, but the weather was so lovely it seemed a shame to just sit around at the farm for the rest of it.

So, upon recommendation, I packed my back-pack and headed off along the coast to a neighbouring village called Polkerris.  It was a gorgeous walk and I took great pleasure in taking time to stop and admire the various wildflowers that grew along the path.  I'd taken my wildflower identification book with me so I knew all the pictures I'd taken were going to provide great entertainment later.  Once I reached Polkerris it was still so gloriously sunny and warm that I was quite content just to sit and relax while watching the goings on in the harbour, before heading home a couple of hours later feeling very peaceful.

Part of the routine on the farm is having to put the animals to bed, which would usually be done after dinner.  We didn't do this very much so that night I decided I'd go out and help.  I had a sneaky suspicion that we'd discover we were one Marran chick short after seeing an escapee merrily plodding around in the duck enclosure earlier in the day.  I'd been reassured that this happened quite often and that usually they'd find their way back through.

Unfortunately tonight it seemed we weren't so lucky - there was definitely one chick missing.  Feeling somewhat responsible I volunteered to stay out and help look for it.  We ducked in and out of the willows, banged on all the dense patches of vegetation, called out in chicken but nothing was forthcoming.  Apparently when it gets dark, chickens are very good at finding hiding places and just staying there, so it was unlikely that we were going to find it.  Thus we had to give up and headed back indoors for an evening of wine, beer and whiskey fuelled merriment made all the more hilarious by strange lights appearing in the sky.

The next day, our last, was spent on the farm doing odd jobs.  Ian and I finally got our weeding around the house finished, we dug up weeds in the vegetable patches by the  polytunnel, I harvested a whopper crop of courgettes and tasted tomatoes from the vine for the first time and then seeing how it was such a nice night we sat outside and enjoyed a delicious vegetable lasagne for dinner while watching swallows flitting about and sparrows trying to find homes in the roof of the house.  Could it get any better?  I think not.

It barely seemed like we'd been there a week, but it was time to get packed and ready for the return train ride. 
I was quite sad to leave having had such a wonderful week among lovely people, learnt so much, been inspired to learn more and most importantly - despite the hard work, thoroughly enjoyed myself.  It was probably the most contented I've been in a while and an experience that won't leave me in a hurry x