I’m sitting on a moss covered log, under a canopy of leaves, their delicate skeletons illuminated by the sunshine. My dog is by my feet and a friend by my side. Giggles from the den carry across the wood, followed by the sound of branches snapping and leaves scrunching as our kids run across the clearing to tell us their plan.
Another day of family adventures in the woods, this time at one of our favourite National Trust places, Calke Abbey, which I was also pleased to discover is one of the 900 woods listed by The Woodland Trust in their guide to woodlands.
The Woodland Trust are a wonderful charity who help preserve our woodlands for future generations, as a parent that’s something I feel really strongly about. Leaving a legacy of woodland and kids who believe it is important to protect the woods and all those who inhabit them.
We also went to Ilam this week and gave another favourite tree a hug. It needed it, but it’s given us so much fun over the last few years.
The Woodland Trust have just launched a membership scheme for children and families, an excellent way to get young people excited about woods, as well as raising money for the trust.
There’s a new adventure playground for the summer at Calke, made out of trees. Although we didn’t spend much time in there, as they had already spent lots of time making their own adventures in the woods.
To accompany the amazing idea on The Woodland Trust site for things to do in the woods, I thought I would share 5 family adventures we’ve shared in the woods recently:
Make a movie
Woods are the setting for so many amazing narratives, from fairy stories to horror films, kids naturally know how to recreate them.
We made a movie at Calke, which my friend kindly edited for them, I filmed and edited this film on my IPhone about our other fabourite wood. Click on the link for even more movie making tips, with my ex media studies teacher hat on.
This is the scene where the lost kids sleep in the woods after escaping the wolf.
Make a den
So many woods we have visited recently have dens, whether they are organised den making areas or remnants left behind by other visitors, there is nearly always something to work with. If there aren’t enough big sticks, make a den for a teddy, a fairy, a mouse or another woodland creature.
Stumble on a rope swing
Both woods we have visited during the Nature Detectives campaign have rope swings. The one at Calke is really inpressive. You can’t beat screaming ‘I’m a wrecking ball!’ as you whizz round on a rope swing.
Geo Cache
We stumbled on a geocache at the base of a tree, without looking for it at Calke, searching for geo caches is the perfect way to get kids to walk further.
Collect leaves/sticks/flowers/seeds
I went on a brilliant walk with my son’s class where the children had to collect as many different leaves as possible in a bag. They identified them at school and used them for art work.
On our wood walk with Becky from Baby Budgeting, she collected feathers to paint. Another lovely idea.
The ranger at Sherwood Pines introduced me to Forest pictures, a strip of sticky back plastic on a card that you stick bits and pieces you find on the forest floor too.
There are loads more ideas for fun in the woods over at The Woodland Trust, membership will ensure you and your kids get seasonal inspiration through the letter box too.
I will leave you with a little more of our trip to Calke. Our kids had made their own fun by the time they reached the adventure playground, and probably need another visit to make the most of it. I normally go to the woods to escape other people and organised adventure. But it really is a magical space, and only there for a limited period, come September it will close again.
Gorgeous isn’t it?
We also fitted in a butterlfy hunt for Butterfly Awareness week.
Find your nearest wood
Search here to find great ideas for woods close to home or wherever you find yourself if the UK, you can’t go wrong with a wood to explore!
Join The Woodland Trust as a family
Create your own little legacy in the world, protect woodlands for future generations and immerse your family in nature.
Here’s what you get…
Children
- Membership to Nature Detectives.
- A Nature Detectives welcome folder and activity booklet, plus bookmark, nature passport and stickers.
- New seasonal activity pack four times a year posted to each Nature Detective, and weekly Facebook challenges.
- Different packs for different ages.
Grown-ups
- A tree dedicated to you in your nearest Woodland Trust wood.
- A unique guide to native British trees.
- Directory of Woodland Trust woods to discover.
- Two copies of our Broadleaf and The Woods Today magazines each year.
- Emails with details of activities, events and lots more.
Join the Woodland Trust with your family today - membership starts from just £5 a month for one child and £6 a month for two children.
Visiting Calke Abbey
Check out our favourite trees at Calke here, there are some amazing ones to play in.
Entry is £3.20 per person, or free to National trust members. Family membership to The National Trust is another great option.
Giveaway
To celebrate the launch of the nature detectives and family membership schemes, I have one gift set from The Woodland Trust to giveaway - a bag, notebook, jigsaw, mug and tree identification swatch book. Just leave a comment, telling me about your favourite wood or woodland family activities and complete the rafflecopter and I will choose one person at random on the 1st September 2015.
UK competitions at ThePrizeFinder - See more at: http://www.theprizefinder.com/content/wood-land-trust-goody-bag#sthash.OoC1B0D4.dpuf
I love the sculptures! This wood looks amazing. I love finding new places.
Author
Such a cool adventure 🙂
Hide & Seek 🙂
Heartwood Forest. A fairly new forest very close to where I live. Some fabulous walks.
Love looking out for unusual wildlife and the tranquility.
My favourite woodland activity is playing hide and seek
birdwatching and animal spotting
Looking out for animals and birds and collecting sticks
We’ve not visited Calke Abbey yet this year, but it looks like great fun - I think we’ll pack a picnic and head up there tomorrow! Its such a gorgeous place 🙂
Author
Never tire of it! Have fun Andrea 🙂
Looking out for animals and collecting leaves for collages
Hide & Seek Whilst Mommy & Daddy Pop Open The Wine
Author
He he!
Bird spotting 🙂
Rambling, nothing better on a sunny day
Exploring and seeing what we can find hidden in the woods
We love exploring the woodland of Cannock Chase
just walking in the peace and quiet x
Looking out for all kinds of wild life
We walk around our local Malvern Hills quite often, parts of them are quite bare but some have woods. We love exploring them and admiring the views from the top.
i used to love making dens
My favourite woods are those that lie above, about and around Alderley Edge and I love those crisp, bright days when you can kick up the fallen leaves, or perhaps even the fallen snow, with the kids in tow and no-one else around.
Author
Grew up in Macc, love Alderley Edge, miss it!
There are a number of woods around me, kings wood, sherwood forest, wickersley wood, clumber park. Just love walking the dogs, watching the birds and having fun
Author
Some of my favourites there!
Den building is enjoyable for the whole family and takes you back to the challenges and benefits of nature.
Great photos as always and rope-swings are one of my favourite things. Really enjoyed this post.
Author
Thanks Annie! Taken on my phone while dog was on a lead, so glad you like!
We love riding bikes in the forest.
hide & seek
we enjoy searching for bugs xx
Climbing Trees
ashdown forest is lovely and my favourite activity is just walking in the shade of the trees
photographing unusual shaped trees
We live on the edge of woodland and love to just stroll, watching the birds and trying to see the deer, wild boar and other elusive wildlife.
I love geocaching & we do it as a family (in woods and out!) regularly!
Collecting sticks, leaves and anything else is my little girls favourite woodland activity so I enjoy doing that as it makes her happy! 🙂
We like taking the dog for long walks in the wood, she loves it.
We’ve been going on a bug hunt and drawing them when we get home.
We love walking through the woods and looking for bugs under logs!
Bird watching
Play hide and seek
Taking photos of Bluebells.
We love wandering Grizedale in late summer/early autumn when the leaves are changing colour - we collect some and make a collage every year 🙂
The nature trail in a park near where we live
The Pine woods surrounding Holkham Beach in North Norfolk where my Husband and I often stop for a picnic.
looking for birds and animals
Finding mushrooms
Huntin out the wildlife.
To just observe…
We love to collect different leaves and do leaf rubbings and name the leaves
I just love walking in the forests and feeling at one with nature.(and I am abit too old to climb trees now) Love Clumber Park as it is so gorgeous and we have spent many a happy family moment there.
We have loads of woods near us and they are our favourite place to walk. No traffic, no pollution and the kids love to run through them!
Cranham Woods. Hide and Seek
We like building dens!
Animal spotting
Sketching
Listening to the birds and looking out for wildlife
A bike ride around the wyre forest 🙂
Love to bijke around the woodland trails
Love to bike around the woodland trails
Building dens and climbing trees
For us, it’s good old fashioned hide and seek!!! I’d like to say that it’s geo caching but I get very annoyed when I can’t find what I am looking for !!!!
Whippendale Woods Watford
Making dens, all time fave x
We love going to our local woodlands to pick blackberries to make jam
I love Gillifield Wood in Sheffield, It is gorgeous when the bluebells come out
We love Leigh Woods in Bristol - absolutely beautiful!
I love bird-watching with my mum. She’s great at identifying them.
I love to go for a stroll and smell that lovely woodland smell
We love playing hide-and-seek!
just walking & enjoying the sounds * scents
We enjoy the wildlife trails where there are rubbing plaques, we daughter loves looking for them and using crayons to get the pictures
I love combing the forest for interesting things like pinecones, acorn cups, seedheads or beautiful leaves to press. Great to take home and display on a nature table - plus it’s fun to encourage the kids to sit and sketch them!
my boys love moors valley and building dens
Going to loggerheads in mold north Wales!
Treasure hunts - has been a feature since childhood with the tradition still going strong
pond dipping 🙂
Tree Climbing
We love Calke Abbey too. We were there at the weekend and the kids had a wonderful time - particularly on the rope bridge.
We pretend we are looking for a gruffalo!
Walking and enjoying the woodland sounds
exploring and looking out for red squirrels in parkhurst forest 😀
We love looking for Geocaches in the woods
Going bike riding!
climbing trees
I love shelter building
finding things to create other things
I love to walk in the woods and try to identify the plants and trees!
Den building 🙂 last time we went with friends the kids made a ‘cafe’ den, with leaf receipts and leaf carpet 😛 x
Looking out for animals and birds.
It’s wildlife spotting for us, whether that be squirrels, deer, slow worms or anthills. It’s great when you spot something. Foraging for berries is also great fun. I like mushroom foraging but that’s something you really have to take time with to know what you are doing with so I wouldn’t recommend it for kids!
we love Haldon forest - especially as there’s a gruffalo hiding in there!
Dunnet Forest in Caithness. We love collecting fallen pine cones to make our own Christmas wreaths.
Collecting chestnuts or conkers.
Climing tress and playing hide and seek
We just enjoy walking looking at the trees
archery x
we love naming the different types of trees, picking up the different leaves and playing hide and seek! xx
insect hunting
We love to build dens
We love building dens in the woods!
I love the woods around our local mere
Building a den was my favourite as a kid. Now I love sketching plants and photographing wildlife!
I really enjoy woodworking and would love to have the chance to practice it more.
we like to collect leaves and pine cones to make garlands to decorate our garden with
We love looking for chestnuts and hazelnuts in our local woods in the Autumn
We love den building and wildlife spotting. x
Making dens
Watching the natural home of wildlife
Love macclesfield forest
Love grey fields wood
We always love building dens !
I love Tehidy Woods, which is local to me. Its always full of wildlife with beautiful ponds. Lots of ducks! xx
nature walking spotting interesting things around us with my kids
My favourite activity is simply walking through them, appreciating the beauty and flora and fauna 🙂
We love Alice Holt - especially whilst they had the Gruffalo Trail 🙂
Looking for different types of bugs!
Culloden woods in inverness, the gruffalo walk. My grandson loves it
Going on a lovely long woodland walk and spotting all the nature on the way 🙂
I love taking my grandchildren and my three dogs for long walks through the woods,the dogs run off in all directions,sniffing as they go and my grandchildren collect acorns or pine cones x
Exploring new places
I love looking at the blue sky and listening to bird song.
looking for creatures and trewe climbing xx
I love hunting for pinecones
Bluebell Woods. Looking and listening - fab.
just exploring 🙂
Bourne Woods - fresh air and great for exploring undiscovered paths
Bird Spotting, I love all our gorgeous birds & love to hear the dawn chorus
Looking for animals and collecting leaves
Making animals out of woodland materials - true woodland art!