Volunteering in Kielder

30 Jun 2012

My employer allows me to dedicate 3 days a year to volunteering so I took the opportunity to do some work in Kielder which is very close to my heart.

The task was to help construct a mountain bike trail. I was prepared for the hard work but not the Midges. Those little buggers played total havoc. Luckily we were given Midge nets by the organisers which helped a great deal. In hindsight I should have worn a long sleeved t-shirt as during the morning session I got a few bites on the underside of my forearms despite having sprayed myself with the recommended protection. I switched to a long sleeved fleece in the afternoon but this increased my temperature which wasn’t ideal given the my physical nature of the afternoon activities but it was better than being eaten alive.

I think the team I was with did a massive amount of work and everyone had a great time despite the hard work. In case you were wondering, as I know how concerned you’ll be, the bites had completely vanished the next morning so no itching or scratching. I would have no hesitation in doing it all again.