Not any old snail...

...but Roman Snails (also known as Edible Snails), protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act mostly to prevent wild populations being gathered commercially by unscrupulous restaurants. Our day was fully occupied with the first stage of a translocation of this species, licensed by Natural England. The timetable went:

0300h Get up
0345h Set off for Surrey along blissfully quiet roads
0545h Arrive on site in almost pitch darkness and rain, and don protective clothing
0615h Start gathering snails 
1045h Finish snail gathering as sun is beginning to appear through clouds
1115h Start numbering adult snails to enable scientific monitoring of the population
12.00h Start carefully placing snails in their new habitat
1245h Finish translocating snails
1300h Start journey home on much busier roads!
1600h Arrive home, with a very painful knee. Shattered...

Tonight I intend to slump in front of the TV, but feel it will be well deserved. It was a good day, and we successfully moved just under 100 snails. Another two or three visits to go - oh joy!