After a lovely summer, our site at Kiln Lane looked pristine. To those who don’t know, putting a topping of hardcore down might have seemed like Noah building an ark in the middle of the desert… but those of us who’ve been around a few years know that as soon as we have rain, the top surface of the ground turns into a dangerous, slippery, slurry.

So with many thanks to Tillicoultry Quarries for their kind donation, we set to on a glorious October day – everyone mucking in (between rowing) to cover the main pathways and to level up under some of our boat storage areas.

The rains duly came in time for the Ely Head Race, with some 200 visitors taking part. The rain and the crowds soon identified other muddy spots and a group of stalwarts quickly added hardcore to those areas as well. Many thanks to the volunteers and to Tillicoultry for their generous donation!