Villagers clean up their act

More than 40 volunteers of all ages set to work on Saturday, March 15, to clear up Milton of Campsie’s derelict railway station - which in recent years has become a litter-strewn eyesore.

They managed to collect an incredible two full skiploads of rubbish - close to 60 full binbags of litter, broken bottles and other detritus.

One of the organisers said: “It was an incredible day. We were scheduled to work from 10am-1pm but actually ended up there from 9.30am to 4.45pm and had the first skip filled by 10.30am.

“It was more of an excavation than a clear-up and it was very positive to see young people there.

“It was great to see smiling faces of all ages and people sharing fond memories of such a historic place.

“This really is a blueprint for what communities can do if they put their minds to it and hopefully this will encourage others to do the same kind of thing.”

It was a monumental effort, but it’s hoped that it will be just the first of regular events in the village - with the next one planned for Saturday, April 12, starting at 10am.

It’s billed as a ‘clean-up/improvement day’, and it’s hoped word will spread and more volunteers than ever will turn up.

The clean-up coordinator explained: “Let’s get this beautiful part of Milton Of Campsie brought back to life.

“Rather than it be known as a drinking den we can transform it into a positive place for young and old to relax and enjoy. “The old platforms are transformed, the amazing old station walls are now clear to view and the area now looks like a real location of historical interest packed full of potential.”

Further ambitious plans include improving the platforms further by repairing broken slabs and laying down grass seed.

New plants will be added to cleared and weeded borders, with flower baskets hung from the tunnel leading to the station.

And it’s also hoped that volunteers will pop by the station now and again to carry out improvements between volunteer days.

The man behind the plans said: “It would be great to have people improve it freely when they like rather than having to wait on a clean up day to be arranged - this would mean we would have lots of people doing little improvements regularly along with big clean-ups once a month.”