We wrapped up as warmly as we could and headed out to Staffhurst Woods, one of Surrey Wildlife Trust’s loveliest reserves, for an eggbox scavenger hunt. If you come earlier in April and May, you’ll witness a carpet of bluebells. We try to come every year as it’s a truly beautiful place in Spring for a picnic. It’s also lovely any time of year, even this damp and gloomy day in June!
Where’s summery June gone? We’re struggling a bit in this damp weather. That said, I’m in the middle of reading Simon Barnes’ brilliant book ‘Rewild Yourself’ and one of the chapters talks about ‘magic trousers’. Basically, if you arm yourself with a pair of waterproof trousers as well as a rain jacket, you’re set to get out there into the UK’s predictable weather. Such a simple tip but so true. My kids have got waterproof trousers, but I haven’t so I’ve ordered a pair in case this downpour continues on throughout June.
B painted an eggbox before we came (outdoors!). We let it dry before sticking on some ideas for what to look for on our eggbox scavenger hunt. There are tons of ideas out there for scavenger hunts depending on the time of year and environment you are in, but today we went for a woodland-inspired scavenger hunt collection from The Woodland Trust.
Then we hunted around for bits and pieces in Staffhurst Woods, before having a quick snack on our picnic rug. We looked for:-
Something yellow (couldn’t find much but found a yellowy/green leaf)
A nibbled leaf (bramble leaf)
Something bendy (leftove of a bluebell stalk)
Something weighless (fern leaf)
Something rough (bark, complete with woodlice)
Something delicate (moss)
B enjoyed poking around close to the ground but also just clambering over fallen logs and jumping about being silly. Must be something about the fresh woodland air! The heavens opened before lunch so we admitted defeat and headed home and back to buy those waterproof trousers.
Enjoying the woods’ natural playground
B looks for items to go in his eggbox
