From ancient woodlands to picturesque landscapes, the UK offers a diverse range of forest getaways, perfect for your next break. Forest retreats UK not only brings a wealth of mental and physical health benefits, but they also provide adventures and experiences, unlike any other type of getaway.
Here are seven must-do activities to make the most of your UK forest holiday:
1. Explore ancient woodlands
One of the unique charms of a UK forest holiday is the chance to explore ancient woodlands. Places like the New Forest in Hampshire and Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire are perfect examples of forests that blend adventure with history. Take leisurely walks, breathe in the crisp air, and immerse yourself in the history that permeates these age-old woods.
2. Adventure into the treetops
Take your forest holiday to new heights by exploring the trees from a new perspective. Many forest destinations in the UK offer thrilling tree-top adventures and canopy walks. From treetop adventures to high rope courses and zip lines – the UK offers some of the most exciting forest adventures.
3. Wildlife watching
The UK's forests are filled with diverse wildlife, making them an ideal destination for nature lovers. Pack a pair of binoculars and keep your eyes peeled for the likes of deer, red squirrels, and a variety of bird species. Some forests are known for their exceptional wildlife habitats, such as those in the Isle of Wight, renowned for sightings of the endangered red squirrels.
Why not join guided tours or wander quietly through the woods to increase your chances of spotting these unique creatures?
It's my girls birthday next week and for quite some time they've been wanting to do the Go Ape Treetop Challenge. They've both completed the Treetop Adventure a few times and enjoyed it but as tall girls, they were ready for a new challenge. I have to admit, that I have never fancied going up into the treetops myself and had put off going as I assumed they needed an adult up there with them, what I now know is that if the child is under 13, they have to have an adult participating with them, but if they are 13 or over the adult can supervise from the ground. Perfect, I suspect we'll be going more often now I know that!
There used to be a minimum age for participation on the Treetop Challenge but now with new safety technology it is just a minimum height and any child can have a go (along with their supervising adult) as long as they are 1.4M (4FT 7”) or more.
The cost to do the Treetop Challenge is £25 for an under 18-year-old and £33 for 18 years plus. It's advised that the course will probably take around 2-3 hours. We arrived for a safety briefing at 9.45am, but it didn't start until closer to 10am by the time all participants had arrived and it probably went on until about 10.30am, because of the need to keep a distance from others. We finished the course at 12.25pm, so that was just under two hours up in the air. It's great that there is no time limit and you can enjoy the course at a leisurely pace if you so wish.
Look at those beauties! I must admit that when my daughter chose these roller boots from Skates.co.uk I was quite surprised. This is the girl who has been an inline skater for the last few years and all of a sudden she fancies quad wheels.
She tells me she used them at skate club a bit and became familiar with them there, and seeing as we have the same size feet, I'm quite happy for her to get them as it means I'll be able to have a go as I used to skate with similar boots when I was (much) younger!
What she chose are the Rookie Classic II White quad wheel skates, which are also available in black. They retail for £79.95 (UK sizes 3 -5) or if you have big feet like us the cost rises to £89.95 (UK sizes 6 - 7).
Regular readers will know that my boy loves to be out and about in the great outdoors. For years he was a Beaver, then Cub and then Scout. He then joined the Police cadets last year and more recently an Adventure in Creation programme at the large conference centre where we live. These clubs mean that he gets involved with all sorts of amazing and exciting activities such as kayaking, hiking, orienteering, bouldering, wood carving, paint balling and camping out.
He's also waiting to find out when the next Duke of Edinburgh course will start and if he's been accepted on to it. We're hoping he will be, due to his varied experience, both outdoors, and through paid and voluntary work. Of course when you're spending a lot of time outdoors, especially in the Autumn and Winter months you need to have very good clothing and footwear to ensure you stay warm and dry.
JJ was super lucky that Simply Hike wanted to send him a couple of items to help him get kitted out for this year. As that's the problem with teens, they just keep on growing, but I'm now hoping at a size eleven feet and XL jacket that he may just stop there and he can enjoy these items for some years to come.
If you have school aged children and I say to you 'back to school', I bet you start thinking about shopping and getting the kids kitted out with all their new uniform and essential supplies. The obvious places to shop are the supermarkets (for cheap and cheerful tops and socks) or the high street department stores for the slightly more expensive pieces that you want to last a while, but have you thought about shopping at an outdoor retailer like Blacks?
As well as the actual uniform I expect you need a waterproof or winter coat, trainers, school bag, gym bag and water bottle. Blacks have all these things and because they are a retailer of items for outdoor activities, we are talking really high quality items. They cater for both children at primary school and also bigger kids like mine that have moved into adult sizes and are heading to secondary school, or even college.
My 11 year old twin girls move up to secondary school this year and that means I have a massive task ahead getting them kitted out. Their uniform will include a blazer and therefore any coat I get needs to be a bit larger to go over it and as they have about a mile walk to the bus and back each day they will need a good waterproof to keep them looking smart and feeling comfortable.
Miss E already has a waterproof jacket, as being a size smaller than her twin she gets the hand-me-downs but Miss M was definitely in need. So we had a browse of the women’s waterproof jackets on the Blacks site and I kept pointing her to nice jackets that were perhaps plain black or navy to go with her uniform, but no I totally forgot who I was dealing with. This is my vivacious and vibrant daughter, who likes to be colourful and to express herself, so here is what she choose, a beautiful coat by Joules. How can it be that my 11 year old has a piece of Joules clothing before I do?
Isn't it good to break out from the norm sometimes? During half-term we grabbed my husband out of work early on the Friday afternoon and dropped JJ off so he could go away for an adventure weekend with our church. Then the rest of us headed down to my favourite local seaside town, Bexhill-on-Sea for some fresh air and exercise.
These amazing rocks were painted by the super talented Helen at The Crafty Norman, our local craft shop
In the middle of last year, I read a post over on The Holy Mess about Kindness Rocks. I loved the idea and saved the link, thinking that at some point I'd write a post about it and maybe do something similar where we live and then I forgot all about it, until last week when I saw a friend post on her FB timeline that her daughter had been rock hunting in our home town, here in East Sussex.
It turns out that Kindness Rocks and rock hunting, in general, have become big news over the last year. It looks like the initiative started in the USA but I could also find early evidence in Australia too. But no matter where it started, it is wonderful fun and a really positive initiative that I wanted to be involved with.
Basically, it is a pay it forward project where you paint a rock with a positive picture or phrase, such as breath, be kind, you matter, be brave, laugh often etc and then you hide it in your local area for others to find. When they find the rock there's a message on the back asking them to share a picture on the local FB page so others can see what has been found and so the creator can enjoy the joy of it being found.
These are all rocks we have found in our local town Battle
They can then either re-hide the rock for someone else to enjoy or take it home and ideally put one into the project themselves, paying the kindness forward.
"One message at just the right time can change your entire day... outlook... life!" Megan Murphy, founder of The Kindness Rocks Project
If you put #Kindnessrocks or #TheKindnessRocksProject into Instagram or a search engine you'll find loads of information and so many amazing pictures and tutorials for painting stones. But it is super simple to be honest.
Making your own Kindness Rock
1. Find a good rock to use. If you don't have any in your local area then please buy some from a home store or on Amazon. Don't take from another persons garden or such.
2. Ensure your rock is clean and dry.
3. Paint on it or draw with something like sharpies. There needs to be a good strong colour, so it will last.
4. Put a message on the back so that the finder knows what to do with the rock. You can write on the rock but as I don't have great handwriting, I have printed out small labels to stick on the back. (They say - This is a #Battlerock, please take a photo and share it in the Battle Rocks FB group, then re-hid this stone, thanks.)
5. Varnish the rock on both sides so it is weatherproof. I use DecoArt DuraClear varnish and a small tub goes a very long way.
Search on FB for the name of your town and then Rocks, so my group is Battle Rocks and if there is one there, great you can join and get straight on and hide your rock. If not you might have to be the pioneer and start the group and drop a few rocks and see if it will catch on in your area and people will join in.
You need to be respectful as to where you put your rock as they should not be a nuisance.
Don't put in the grass as they will damage lawnmowers
Don't put one too far into a large flower bed as you don't want people to have to tread on the bed to get it
Make sure it is not a trip hazard wherever you leave it
Make sure they are just in public areas, you don't want to encourage people onto private property
Now go rock hunting! We hope you enjoy it. Our best day has seen 14 rocks found so far and we took one home as my daughter loved it and we re-hid all the others for more people to enjoy. We are currently making some new rocks to put out so we can pass on the kindness too.
Originally launched in 2012 the National Trust's
bucket list of 50 things to do before you're 11 3/4 is an amazing and
successful attempt to get the nations tech-centric kids off the sofa and out
into the great outdoors to experience nature as I did as a child 30-40 years
ago.
The shocking findings of the National Trusts Natural Childhood Report in 2012 were the catalyst for the National Trust to
take a pioneering role in helping families to get back to enjoying the great
outdoors together. Over the last few decades, children's relationships with the
natural world have been declining to the point that by the time the National
Trusts report was published a third of children had never climbed a tree and one
in ten cannot ride a bike.
After a long morning at church followed by a meeting we were all ready to head out for some fresh air and family time. My favourite sleepy seaside town of Bexhill-on-Sea was the destination and the girls had chosen to take a scooter each. JJ hadn't and I think totally regretted it, he often forgets he is just 13 and not thirty, so he had to join my husband and I for a walk along the prom whilst the girls raced around and JJ bagged a scooter at intervals when the girls wanted to walk on the beach.
No winner was declared but they both had lots of fun and of course got in some great exercise. Even when it is overcast and a little rainy it is still important to get outdoors and enjoy family time.
During half-term we fancied out a day out at a National Trust site, our son was staying with his grandparents, so it was just the girls and us and we wanted to visit somewhere new to explore. About an hour away from us in West Sussex, just five miles outside Crawley is Nymans, which the National Trust describes as a garden lovers' home for all seasons, with an extensive yet intimate garden set around a romantic house and ruins.
It is a busy enough site that they have regular trails and activities for all the family and we felt sure there would be something to keep us all interested. We weren't wrong, have a look at these ten reasons why we would recommend a family visit to Nymans -
Just over three years ago our family took the brave decision to sell our house and move away from the area we had lived in for fifteen years. My husband and I both changed jobs, the kids changed schools and we swapped a town and being close to London for the countryside and being close to the beach. It was the best thing we have ever done!
At the time we moved the children were 6, 6 and 10 years and becoming increasingly accustomed to indoor play, multi-media activities and days out to theme parks, swimming and the like. Yes we took them to the play park and we would sometimes walk around a local lake but there was no-where near enough time spent outside just enjoying being kids, breathing in the fresh air and running free.
When you live on a main road and children are not allowed out to play it really does restrict their freedom and imaginative play. Here in Sussex we live in 220 acres of land and the kids have friends who live in the same community and they go and collect conkers, play make believe in the church yard, skate on the private roads or organise mini sports days on the west lawn. The world is their oyster and they have so much freedom to play here.
"For a new generation, nature is more abstraction than reality.
Increasingly, nature is something to watch, to consume,
to wear – to ignore." Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods.
My little girls love to be outdoors, it is a real challenge to keep them in. As many of you will know we live in an amazing place with 220 acres of land including three lakes, so we have an abundance of space but sadly we don't have a private garden by our house. So no trampoline or garden equipment for the girls but they make the most of the beautiful courtyard that is outside our door and having a shared space means they can always play with our little neighbours.
As the girls get bigger they want to go further afield and escape the courtyard, so often their older brother or my husband and I will head out with them to explore the wider landscape. Both girls have been sent some Superfit GORE-TEX trainers to trial out and have fun in and you'll see from these pictures, they are certainly having fun and putting the shoes through their paces. I'm pleased to report that they are doing really well, the girls say the shoes are comfy, easy to put on and they keep their feet dry and sweet free.
We are a very lucky family as we get to live in 220 acres of amazing East Sussex countryside. Once or twice a year the estate becomes the home to a Christian festival and just a couple of weeks ago we had around 1200 people camping and staying on site. It is quite strange for your home to become a festival but great all the same as we get to enjoy all the amazing activities but also have a real bed to sleep in and a hot shower too!
Just as the festival was about to start we received our package of Superfit GORE-TEX® shoes and as the weather was predictably British we thought this would be the perfect time to try them out. Sadly my 12 year old sons feet seem to be growing at an astounding rate so his shoes were too small but luckily the Superfit trainers we had been sent fitted me and of course navy is a universal colour, so I am enjoying wearing them.
A couple of months ago when we were on holiday in Shropshire we took a visit to Attingham Park. As we are members of the National Trust we always try to visit at least one of their properties wherever we are and our membership has paid for itself dozens of times over. I do love the freedom membership gives us as it means we are happy to go to an NT site for just a few hours, rather than having to take a whole day.
We arrived at Attingham Park about 2pm after a morning in Shrewsbury and we weren't quite sure what the weather would do so we headed straight off to explore the grounds and find the playfield that we had heard was fabulous. After a meander through the glorious walled kitchen garden, past the bothy, through a conservatory and across a small orchard we came to the playfield and no, we were not disappointed.
For quite some time now my girls have been going on at me about the new style scooters, the ones that have split foot boards and you can ride them without putting your feet on the floor. Miss M has been the one, on and on she has badgered, can she have one and I said yes, if she paid for it. They both have perfectly good regular scooters and I didn't want to be spending money out where I didn't need to.
It was for this reason that when I saw the Yvolution Y Flicker Air A3 Scooter available for review I applied straight away. When all three kids arrived home from school and saw the scooter box there was whoops of joy and both the 8 and 12 year olds were equally as happy and could not wait to try it out. I have to say I thought it would be Miss M that rode it most and would not be willing to give it up to the other two but actually it has been her twin Miss E who is besotted with her scooter. She has been ready at 7.30am each morning before school so she can have at least 1/2 hours play before school. I can not moan at that!
At least once a year we travel to Poole/ Bournemouth to take a holiday or mini-break, I love this part of the country and having spent a few years living there whilst I was at University it feels like a second home to me.
The coastal journey from East Sussex to Dorset is pretty long and there can be some horrendous delays along the way so by the time we reach Ringwood we are desperate to lett he kids get out of the car and to run some energy off. The Avon Heath Country Park is located on Birch Drive just off the A31 an it has everything we need (and more) when we make a stop-off.
Just lately my husband and I seem to be letting our hair down a bit more, by that I mean we are getting more adventurous in our fun and days out with the kids. Prior to moving to the countryside you could probably count on one hand the amount of times we went to the park and actually got on the play equipment, we were more likely to be found on the bench having a chat and smiling at the kids as they charged about.
Now you can find us playing basketball with the kids, taking them to a barn dance and dancing the night away, cycling as a family, going on the fitness equipment at the park and even going on the park equipment, which in reality is probably only meant for the kids, but sometimes dh and I like to be big kids.
Take last week in the Easter holidays, we headed out to do some shopping for dh's work which was not the most thrilling of times and the kids behaved well that we went to find a new park and what a fabulous place it was. So fabulous that there was no way dh and I wanted to miss out on the fun, so all five of us had a ball and got adventurous together.
I think it is really important for families to get out and about together and I have written about it quite a lot since moving here and having more free time.
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"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song."
Psalm 28:7
I'm linking up this post to Fiona's Country Kids - click on the badge to head over and see what others have got up to in their Country Kids exploits.
If you like what you have read and want to stay up-to-date then subscribe by email for free and receive blog posts directly to your in-box - just click the link Subscribe to Mummy From The Heart... by Emailor perhaps you like to keep all your blog reading in one place, if that is the case you can follow me on BlogLovin too!
This is a post purely for me, as I'd like somewhere to visually record all the wonderful fungi I have found in East Sussex this late summer/ Autumn. It baffles me that I have fallen so in love with nature this year but God speaks through creation and it was obviously time that I opened my eyes and started to rejoice in this awesome earth that He created.
I have no idea what is edible and what is poisonous and to be honest I think it is too much of a gamble to pick mushrooms anyway, so I'll just continue to admire them from afar and love all the different species that I have been finding. If you do know what some of them are then by all means leave me a comment and I'll become more educated alongside enjoying their beauty.
So I think this is the Chicken of the woods and I was amazed at fast it grows!
These appear to be the poisonous Fly Agaric -
No idea about this tan coloured one -
My favourite by a long shot, have you ever seen a fungi look like this? A shaggy ink cap maybe? I believe the one on the left is the same as the other and that is morphs and decomposes pretty quickly.
This could be a Birch Polypore?
I think this next one is such an elegant fungi but again no idea what it is -
All four of these found in a wet area near the lake, all in close proximity but I think they are all different -
And am I right in thinking this is the same mushroom, but just at different stages of its life?
And at the risk of boring anyone looking at this, this is the last one I'll add (although I have tons more, mushrooms really have gripped me this year!)
So there we go, fungi fetish over for a while. I go photograph some clouds instead and now I have my new camera I can get much better photos in the future.
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I've been off radar with my Country Kids posts of late, not because we haven't been out and about enjoying the great outdoors but because I've been trying to have a rest and not be so tied to blogging. And its worked, I've actually still blogged a fair amount but a lot of it was meeting commitments I had made and now I feel fresh and ready to take on Christmas.
Last weekend we headed to Eastbourne, to Beachy Head to be precise and the kids were all 'do we have to?', 'It's too cold?', 'Who wants to walk on a cliff?' etc etc and then just as dh and I predicted they had a whale of a time and want to go back again, I don't think it was anything to do with the ice cream sundae we finished the afternoon off with either!
Beachy Head really is a beautiful spot and I fully advocate taking your children there and exploring, the views are amazing and you can go on both the beach and cliff areas. We saved the beach for next time...
I'm linking up this post to Fiona's Country Kids - click on the badge to head over and see what others have got up to in their Country Kids exploits.
If you like what you have read and want to stay up-to-date then subscribe by email for free and receive blog posts directly to your in-box - just click the link Subscribe to Mummy From The Heart... by Emailor perhaps you like to keep all your blog reading in one place, if that is the case you can follow me on BlogLovin too!
