Author: Becky

 

On Day 4 of 30 Days Wild we visited the beautiful National Trust property Winkworth Arboretum.

Winkworth Arboretum is our closest National Trust property and one of our favourite places to visit.  The stunning collection of trees and shrubs ensures picturesque walks all year round

Despite the unseasonal weather, today was no exception.  Lottie and Ryan enjoyed finding and reading the wildlife information posters dotted along the paths.

We discovered some wild animal homes hidden among the magnolias.

The carved wooden animal benches provided plenty of photo opportunities.

 

Despite being frequent visitors to the arboretum we still marvelled at the huge variety of different trees.

The trees and fallen logs also create the perfect natural playground for climbing, jumping and swinging.

Both children love climbing trees and the benefits to them are obvious.  Tree climbing allows them to be creative in finding routes up and down and to practice their physical skills and strength.

Perhaps most importantly it also allows them to test their own limits and assess risk.

And so I shall continue to allow and encourage them to climb, even if I am occasionally watching from the bottom of the tree with my heart in my mouth!

What did you do on Day4 of 30 Days Wild?

On Day 3 of 30 Days Wild we took a trip to Shere to paddle in the stream and visit the ducks.

Shere is a beautiful English village, full of pretty old houses and little shops and cafes.

The River Tillingbourne passes straight through the village and hungry ducks congregate outside of the local ice cream parlour hoping for wafer crumbs!

We couldn’t pass up the chance to have a delicious ice cream from Shere Delights ourselves.

The children said a quick hello to the ducks and then we headed through the churchyard and out to the wilder part of the stream.

Rosie dived straight in with the sort of enthusiasm for water only a Labrador can muster.

With hopes of spotting any wildlife dashed we left the binoculars and spotters guides in the bag and followed suit.

We spent a pleasant hour exploring the stream, playing Pooh sticks from the bridge and collecting smooth pebbles.

When we arrived home we found an extra bit of Wildness in the form of a dead May Bug (aka the Common Cockchafer) on the doorstep.  Ryan was fascinated by its size and hairy appearance.

How did you spend Day 3 of 30 Days Wild?

On Day 2 of 30 Days Wild we went photographing wildflowers before a farm trip to see the animals.

Our second day of 30 Days Wild started with an early morning dog walk.

We marvelled at the low clouds completely obscuring the hills and splashed in muddy puddles.

Rosie the Labrador even got into the swing of things by ‘recycling’ an abandoned football!

Lottie used this walk to photograph all of the wildflowers she could find. Once we got back home she edited them to make this picture.

We spent the rest of the day at Bocketts Farm – not technically wild but still outdoors and definitely great fun!

Bocketts Farm is a working family farm set in the beautiful Surrey countryside.

It’s one of our favourite places to visit locally, with its combination of animals and play areas.

As a result of our visit today, Ryan (5) wants to be a Llama Farmer. He already wanted to be a rockstar, so his new career choice could make for an interesting combination!

For Day 1 of 30 Days Wild, we had a Wet Woodland Walk.

Today was wet, miserable and cold but with a dog to walk and the first of our 30 Days Wild to complete we set off to explore the local woods.

The rain held off whilst we were out but we were surprised to see how much had been blown down in the winds of the previous day.

We had fun using sticks to measure and compare how deep the puddles were, competing to see who could find the longest stick and balancing on logs.

What did you get up to on Day 1 of 30 Days Wild?