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Wildlife Trusts

What we did on the 30 Days Wild Challenge week 4

Looks like we made it! Hooray for us! It wasn’t too hard (okay maybe it was a little towards the end) but I was making extra effort because of this blog and challenge and so choosing to do things that I could write about a bit more. This week we:-

Photographed nature
We all really enjoyed doing something a little creative out in nature rather than just bumbling about (though there is absolutely nothing wrong with just bumbling about either). Our local community orchard is holding a photography competition so we went there one morning and snapped away.

Made a mini nature reserve
A long term investment this one where you create a welcoming home for flora and fauna and then wait…….to see what happens to it. This activity is a little like gardening in that it’s a slow burner but should be rewarding and also keep us on with our nature activities outdoors too.

Made a mini wormery
We made another home today. This time for worms, to learn about what happens to the soil when they are in it. Could we find any worms? Have a read to see!

Explored Newlands Corner
We were busy bees this week and visited a few new places, which was eye opening as I thought we’d sussed out our local area pretty well already. The Wildlife Trusts have a searchable database of all their reserves. Some are better than others for children to visit. Newlands Corner near Guildford is one of them. It’s ticks all teh family friendly boxes and has great views to boot.

Looked around Lullingstone Country Park in Kent
Into Surrey’s neighbouring county to visit Lullingstone Country Park, another brilliant slightly wilder place that is also family friendly. There are marked walks to do here plus a playground and cafe.

Visited Sheepleas
Back to Surrey and to a hidden wildflower meadow and woodland walks. Hidden gem alert!

Went camping at WoWo, Sussex
What a cracker of a weekend to go camping. We had booked WoWo ages ago with F’s school. I’ve heard about it but never been before. We love camping so jumped at the chance to go to this amazing family campsite in Sussex.

Went for a run in the countryside
I took advantage of the extra pairs of hands at the campsite and escaped for a much-needed run through the gorgeous Sussex countryside.

Went river paddling
I’ve been hunting around where we live for some streams to go paddling in, and WoWo has got lots of them, perfect for kids to scramble in, get a bit muddy and generally splash about.

This is what we did on week 3, week 2 and week 1, as well as all the original ideas I had for what we could do at the start of the 30 Days Wild Challenge. I hope these blog posts give you ideas to also get outdoors with your kids to enjoy nature.

Do I feel wilder?

A resounding YES. I feel like I’m much more in tune with the natural world around me. I’m beginning to know a few names of butterflies and bugs, birds and flowers, as well just appreciating where I am a bit more rather than rushing onto the next thing. I also have learnt a lot about different species and habitats and all the small but important things we can do to protect them, from creating a bee water table to joining the Wildlife Trusts.

I now have an army of creative arts and sciencey (or just plain fun) activities I can do with my kids to make being outdoors even more enjoyable and add a focus to where we are going like making wild art on the ground or making prints out of nature with clay.

Most of all I’ve enjoyed finding new wilder places to visit that are suitable for kids like Whitmoor Common and Newlands Corner but also learning to appreciate the places closer to home like taking a closer look at a local tree and enjoying our walk to school.

And now we all need a rest (outdoors of course!)

June 30, 2019 0 comment

Environment Nature Water

30 Days Wild Day 30: River paddling

We’re still at WoWo Campsite on our last day of the 30 Days Wild Challenge so we make the most of the streams around the campsite and go paddling in them. The kids love splashing about in them as well as clambering up and down the steep slopes to get into the stream.

There’s also an area that is situated on clay soil which all the kids were obsessed with (must be something about clay?) so they also spent lots of time digging about for clay to model into different objects and dry in the sun.

I also got my feet wet and enjoyed behaving like a kid immensely 🙂

June 30, 2019 0 comment

Environment Nature Running Sussex

30 Days Wild Day 29: A run in the countryside

We’re staying at WoWo Campsite this weekend and I’ve managed to escape for a hour to go for a run in the countryside by myself. I love running but have not been for ages, and once you get out of the habit it can be quite hard to get back into it. Having a new place to run in always motivates me to want to tie up my running shoelaces and get out there, and with the weather being so perfect right now I set out to explore the fields and lanes around the campsite.

I’m sure there are hundreds of walks around the region. Sussex and the South Downs looks so pretty. I don’t know it well at all, The North Downs are much nearer to me. WoWo does have a list of walks available but I just took the nearest footpath and my phone for orientation and set off.

I had to scramble over an electric fence (wasn’t going to test if it was on or not!) and jog through some fields of sheep including some very curious black lambs who came to say hello to me. Through a small piece of woodland and up a track to a country lane before curving back round up and around onto another footpath back to the campsite.

Running obviously helps with physical fitness but it’s the mental aspect that really helps me. Running in the countryside must give you a double whammy then, as you get the benefits of being outdoors as well as the endorphins from the run itself.

June 30, 2019 1 comment

Activity Adventure Camping Sussex

30 Days Wild Day 28: WoWo Camping

Wow to WoWo Camping, a family-friendly camping set up on a farm in the heart of Sussex. It’s the stuff of dreams. A little bit hippy but not too much, with a shop selling organic produce, wellbeing tents with massage and reflexology, chai and waffle van every Saturday and Sunday morning and loads of classes to try like bushcraft and bug hunts for kids. It’s really rather cool.

The best bit though about WoWo is the location. Fields are flat meadows, with firepits for proper fires, toilets and showers with running water, big teepees for sing songs and small pockets of woodland with streams, bridges and swings for kids to generally muck about in and be kids, free from the watchful eye of mum and dad. It’s like a mini natural adventure playground. There’s no ‘normal’ playground here, loud music is not allowed. It’s proper swallows and amazons type fun. And all the better for it.

We just relaxed all the rules and let the kids stay up till late (not that they slept in any later) and we found it easiest to all sleep in the same bit together, four in a bed. If you don’t want to camp there are also a selection of yurts and shepherd’s huts, but be warned they are located near a very popular stream, so if you stay during holidays or over a weekend you won’t get much peace and quiet.

We had such a great time here. It’s a very laid back, welcoming kind of place. I booked in for a blissful hour of reflexology, went for a run, paddled in the cool streams with the boys, played rounders and generally just hung out. It’s been ages since we did this as a family. I also feel guilty if we’ve not doing something so to just do nothing and enjoy being outside in the glorious summer weather watching my kids lark about doing what kids do was a great reminder that doing nothing really needs to be done more often!

Bridge over one of the streams at WoWo

Wowo camping

June 30, 2019 2 comments

Environment Nature Surrey UK

30 Days Wild Day 27: A visit to Sheepleas, Surrey

Another trip to another spot we’ve never been to before – Sheepleas in Surrey which lies in between Guildford and Leatherhead. Sheepleas is a nice spot for a walk (buggies are doable in the woodland as long as it’s not muddy) as it takes in both chalk grasslands with its flowering meadows plus the forests. There isn’t a cafe here, but there are two car parks to use free of charge.

We only had to wander in a few metres before we started seeing butterflies, bees and pink orchids in bloom. The Surrey Wildlife Trusts say the draw here is because of the stunning wildflower meadows that bloom in spring and summer.

The meadows used to be used for grazing but have now been left for wildlife to recover, leaving a lovely, slightly secret couple of meadows hidden in the woodland. Violets and primroses come in March. You’ll see bluebells and cowslips in April and May brings the orchids. In July wild marjoram, St John’s wort and harebell are in bloom.

Sheepleas in bloom

Sheepleas

June 30, 2019 0 comment

Environment Kent Nature

30 Days Wild Day 26: Exploring Lullingstone Country Park in Kent

I visited Lullingstone Country Park and Lullingstone Roman Villa (English Heritage) with my pre-schooler. Lullingstone is in the Darenth Valley in Kent, only a short train ride from London (Victoria) and just north of Sevenoaks but feels like it could be in the depths of rural Kent. It’s packed full of gorgeous villages like Eynsford, Shoreham, Otford and Farningham (plus other nearby villages with funny names like Pratt’s Bottom and Badger’s Mount), has amazing country walks and proper pubs plus tons of interesting things to do with kids too.

Lullingstone Roman Villa is based up a long country lane, so you really need a car to get there, though it is walkable from Enysford station. It was inundated with school kids when I visited, as it’s a great spot to learn about Roman history. It’s not really appropriate for preschoolers so we didn’t stay long. The highlight for my son was going up and down in the lift, but for older kids it’s worth a trip. It’s not a big place. It’s an indoor attraction set around the Roman Villa. There’s lots of boards to read, and some videos and artefacts plus a few interactive games and books. It’s English Heritage, so is pricey if you just visit once, but obviously great value (free!) if you are a member. There’s a small shop there and tiny area for self-made teas and coffees. Toilets are adjacent to the centre, next to the car park.

Pretty walk through the golf course back to the centre

Lullingstone Country Park was much better suited to us. It was a brilliant find. I’m not sure why we haven’t stumbled across this place before. There’s a small shop and larger cafe with the holy grail – outdoor cafe seating next to a playground. The playground is small but pretty good. There’s a couple of slides for different ages plus some swings and seesaws. Parking costs £1.50 weekdays and £2.50 weekends.

There’s a few different walks to do, or if you aren’t feeling particularly energetic, it’s just a lovely place to bring a picnic and sit in a meadow. The Lullingstone Loop (6.4km) and Horse Route (6.3km) are longer walks, the Lullingstone Loop passing by Lullingstone Castle and its river plus Lullingstone Roman Villa. There’s also a Woodland Walk (3.2km) and the Discovery Trail (2.4km). The Discovery Trail is aimed at families, so off we went.

It passes up through a meadow covered in ox eye daisies and buttercups, with picnicking areas either in the meadow or in woodland. There’s lots of chances to sit down on benches along the way. Then it heads into woodland. All the route is fine for buggies, though the terrain is not flat, so it is a little challenging. The woods has lots of carvings of various mini and mega beasts in it plus a swing and zipwire half way round too, which should give an incentive to reluctant hikers. It then curves back round along a path through a golf course – not so exciting – though my son loved seeing the mini tractors mowing the grass, before heading back down the meadow to the visitor centre.

I’m going to head back to the area as I’ve discovered there is so much more there to explore like the Eagle Heights Wildlife Foundation, Lullingstone Castle, Eynsford Castle and The Hop Farm, which grows lavender and sells local produce, plus the amazing walks – particularly through Otford, with its ford for kids to splash about in.

Wildflower meadow

Lullingstone Country Park

June 30, 2019 0 comment

Environment Nature Surrey Wildlife

30 Days Wild Day 25: Exploring Newlands Corner, Surrey

Though doing smaller nature activities has definitely grown on me during this month, my favourite thing to do with the kids is still to just get out into the fresh air to enjoy somewhere new and to roam around a bit to see what we can find.

Today we visited Newlands Corner, a nature reserve managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust, which sits just east of Guildford. There’s a car park (have to pay), cafe, information centre, toilets and small playground there, which all help when visiting with young kids. There’s also another larger cafe across the road too.

At Newlands Corner there are lots of walks you can do, including a circular one that takes in eerie Silent Pool, but we just chose to admire the view over the Weald towards the South Downs for a while, then descend down and across a lovely meadow into some woodland, before returning the same way.

We say plenty of butterflies including a cabbage white and a ringlet. B is now getting very excited when he spots one, though trying to take a photo is another matter. We also found plenty of lovely wildflowers and grasses in the meadow.

Small playground, Newlands Corner

Large dandelion clock

Meadow grasses, Newlands Corner

Newlands Corner

June 30, 2019 0 comment

Environment Nature Wildlife

30 Days Wild Day 24: Making a mini wormery

Making a mini wormery is very easy to do. It’s finding the worms that’s the hard part – or at least that’s what we found anyway. This looked like a nice activity to do with my kids as who doesn’t like looking for worms?! Plus I thought the boys would enjoy learning about what the worms do, why they are important and how they burrow. Worms are vital for soil to help it breathe and are also an important food source for birds.

To make a mini wormery, you’ll need a plastic container like an old pop bottle. Cut the top off. Fill the bottle with layers of damp mud or compost, leaves and sand.

Find some worms, then add them to the top followed by a few more leaves or garden debris. Wrap up with black card, including the top, as worms don’t like being in the light and check the wormery every day for a week to see what the worms do. Keep the soil damp and don’t let the worms get too cold either. It’s like a mini break for them it seems!

Let your worms go after a week. Their job is done.

We built our wormery no problem and tried searching for worms after a rainy day but found nothing. We looked under stones and pots, in the compost and dug around a bit. There are definitely loads that come out on my eldest son’s school field but we didn’t get the chance to look this week unfortunately. We’ll find some after 30 Days Wild has finished I’m sure.

Looking for worms in the garden

Wormery

June 30, 2019 0 comment

Environment Nature Uncategorized

30 Days Wild Day Day 23: Making a mini nature reserve

A quick after school random act of wildness today. We printed off the Wildlife Trust’s young supporter Wildlife Watch’s mini nature reserve activity and got to work.

We found an old rectangular plant pot, some compost, a couple of rocks, some twigs and small branch and an old yogurt pot. F poured the compost into the pot, then we added all our bits and pieces and poured some water into the yogurt pot.We will now wait and watch to see what magic happens in our mini nature reserve.

This activity is a bit like the gardening. It’s a slow burner, which can be frustrating for kids, but they do love it when a bud breaks through and things start to happen.

The activity originated from Window Box Wildlife blog, a whole blog dedicated to the goings on of a windowbox that began just as ours is doing so now. It’s a fascinating read and really opened my eyes to the fact that nature is just everywhere you look, even down to what looks like a boring old pot with soil in it.

mini nature reserve

June 25, 2019 0 comment

Environment Nature

30 Days Wild Day 22: We photograph nature

There’s a little competition running near where we live to photograph the local community orchard. I thought this would be a lovely thing to do with my two so we got up nice and early to photograph nature there. My eldest son got a kids’ camera from Santa for Christmas so he had a go with that. I also let both of them use my iphone and proper DSLR (brave I know).

There is a nice woodland trail that leads to the orchard. The orchard itself isn’t huge. It’s got about 30 trees plus a large bug hotel and log seats to take a rest on. It’s a good spot to see ladybirds, butterflies and insects. We’ve unfortunately missed the blossom season of spring, and the apples and pears are only beginning to grow, but we had lots of fun exploring the orchard and seeing potential photos that could look good. It was also cloudy (at least no rain) so the light could have been better too, but it didn’t matter. We’ll come back to photograph the community orchard every few months to see the changes.

Back at home I did a bit of reading around ladybirds, as although I see them quite a lot I don’t know a thing about them. There are over 5,000 species of ladybird. The UK has 43 of them residing here. Ladybirds are necessary in the food chain as they eat aphids and other plant eating insects. They are also pretty beautiful. The most famous ladybird is the 7-spot ladybird, but we are now plagued with the invasive Harlequin ladybird, which originates from Asia. The Harlequin tends to out eat the native species food sources, and even eats other ladybirds’ larvae and eggs.

My kids loved doing to photograph nature. Really loved it. I couldn’t drag them away and we were there for over an hour. They especially like finding lots of insects to photograph (much better than me) and finding out all about the different fruits growing on the trees. We saw two species of ladybird (I think one was a harlequin and one was a 7-spot) and F caught a butterfly (update: it’s a Cinnabar moth) on camera too. Plus all the usual under log stumps. A woodlouse spot never fails to excite them. It’s very sweet and I’ll miss this golden period that they are in now when they are loud (er), stompy teens. Or maybe they won’t be. Perhaps I’m installing an innate love of nature now in them that they won’t lose? Here’s hoping.