The joy of growing your own food

In operation for the past decade, Blackthorn is run by volunteers as a registered charity.

The 34 plots are divided between large and small sizes and members pay an annual fee for their space.

Walking me through the site Mr Griffin explained the story of each plot, all of which show a different personality.

One large plot is filled with colourful flowers, and has a shed and small sign. Its owner uses the flowers grown there for posies which are sold at the entrance to passers-by, with the funds going to Highland Hospice.

A little further along, another plot shows the island heritage of its occupant who, rather than using raised beds in his plot instead grows his veg like they do where he is originally from, digging straight into the ground with the plot split into different sections.

“There are a lot of strong characters here, it’s quite a good social community,” Mr Griffin said, adding how he is often on site for an hour before he gets to his allotment because of all the stopping to chat on his way.

Some plots are shared between couples or friends – Mr Griffin, who came to gardening in his 30s, took on his plot with a friend after “both our wives said we can’t turn the gardens into an allotment!”

The retired RAF officer started by growing potatoes and tomatoes in buckets in his back garden and, when that proved successful, he found himself wondering “what else can I do?”

The allotment is eco-friendly with a ban on the use of chemical weed killers and a rainwater collector in place to work as the water system.

Although most of the plot holders are older people, the youngest is around 30 and two teenagers also had a presence some time ago to help with their Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Some plot holders bring their grandchildren to the site as well and the community feel is bolstered by different events and competitions as well as barbecue get-togethers.

Many of the plot holders chip in on collective efforts such as shed or fence building while the Tesco at Holm regularly provides food for barbecues and other businesses have donated equipment or helped fund different projects.

Although keeping an allotment can sometimes feel like “you are pushing water uphill” Mr Griffin said.

He explained how there is just something about the process and seeing how much work goes into that which keeps him coming back using the example of raspberries and how you have to pick them individually by hand due to them being too soft for machinery.