If you're following me on Facebook or Twitter, you would have read already that on Wednesday I got the pleasure of exploring the mountains of Talybont in a Helicopter as part of a project to repair erosion on the local moorland. The task required traffic control, both on the ground and on the mountain, which was surprisingly busy considering we were in the middle of nowhere. 

I was lucky in that I got the upland part of the challenge which meant riding up and down in the Helicopter. I was also lucky enough to be able to bring my camera and phone from which I got just about enough footage to put together a little video for you all to watch. As you can see in the video, the bags being transported were pretty large and full with stone, soil and surprisingly water, which added excess weight that did make it pretty challenging for the Helicopter. 

We managed 38 passes which, given the conditions, was pretty impressive. The ending was a bit sketchy with fog getting too thick for the pilot to find us on the mountain top, he actually had to ditch the last load of rocks further down the mountain to make sure he had the best chance in bringing us back down. Either way, the day was very successful but still lots more bags to go up.

I had a fantastic time, it was my first time in a Helicopter and hopefully not my last. It is a great project and for a great cause, we need to look after our uplands / Moorlands. It's taken hundreds of years to form the way they are and our moorlands are our first defence from flooding.