My Heart-Shaped Tree

Wednesday morning was wild. WILD. After being kept awake by the stormy weather, I looked outside to see the waves on the Gare Loch and the trees near the centre being blown about wildly in the wind. Unlike the previous three mornings, I decided to forgo my 0630 hot chocolate sitting outside watching the world wake up. When I went downstairs, I was told that they boiler had broken, so we had no heating and no gas for making hot food. At that point, it looked like we might have to head home. Luckily the boiler was fixed pretty quickly although the gale force winds meant that we couldn't go on our planned day-long hillwalk.

During breakfast, we stood watching the wind and with each staff member who arrived we heard more tales of uprooted trees, flying trampolines, closed bridges etc. After breakfast, one of my lovely colleagues went out to get water from her car, only to return to be knocked to the ground by a fire door that was taken off its hinges by a massive gust of wind. Thankfully, she was unhurt. Her uninjured status also meant that we could tease her for the rest of the trip!

After a morning spent playing team-building games in a centre the instructors held a meeting and since the storm had died down, the afternoon activities were given the green light. The group I was with went on a shorter than planned hill walk which offered up some stunning views, a snow shower, a couple of deer and experiences for the children that many had never enjoyed before. It was great.

Not long after we had got off the minibus, and before we were heading up the hill, I noticed this tree. I only wish I had taken an axe with me, because I would have definitely taken a slice!