Growing Spaces

Childhood unplugged at Wriggly Tin with Canopy & Stars

Childhood unplugged at Wriggly Tin with Canopy & Stars

We struck lucky with the weather on the weekend we spent at Wriggly Tin with Canopy & Stars – it was unexpectedly warm and sunny (so unexpected I failed to pack the appropriate clothing!), so it meant we got to really enjoy exploring the site. Wriggly Tin isn’t set up for kids, but for me that’s a huge positive. There’s no playground, swing, playroom or ice creams, but the twins weren’t bored for a second. occupying themselves from the moment they got up until they were tucked up for the night in their bunkbeds. The site is absolutely covered in dandelions, and these…

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A stomp in our favourite woods

A stomp in our favourite woods

These woods, just a five minute drive from our house, were definitely one of our favourite stomping grounds in 2016. Not only are they on our doorstep, but the walk around the lake there is the perfect distance – enough to stretch our legs and give us a much-needed injection of fresh air, but easily achievable for a quick outing. The other things we’ve loved about the woods this year is that there’s a beach for paddling, trees that offer the ideal climbing challenge, loads of fallen trees for balancing, an area that’s full of the most incredible fungi in the autumn (we call…

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While I was walking..

While I was walking..

Charting the weeks through our walks to school We let our walks slip towards the end of last time. I think it was probably inevitable – first-term exhaustion, miserable weather, the dark evenings. But we’re starting the new term armed with good intentions and it was great to get back into the routine of walking the school run rather than driving it. I looked at mud, and lots of it. A long stretch of our walk was pretty much underwater. So it was a good job we were all in wellies – and watching Fonz hitch his trousers up past…

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While I was walking..

While I was walking..

Charting the weeks through our walks on the school run On my walks this week.. I listened to the sound of the world around me because I couldn’t find my earphones until Friday. I hereby vow to make more effort next week and have already downloaded some podcasts in readiness. I looked out for the giant cobwebs that are stretched at face-height across the footpath. They may be beautiful covered in dew first thing in the morning, but I still don’t fancy wearing them. I am now also on hyper-alert for dog poo on the pathways after a couple of…

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While I was walking..

While I was walking..

Charting the weeks through our walks on the school run Actually, I’ve often been trotting rather than walking this week as I race to keep up with Ez on her scooter and Fonz riding his bike to school for the first time (amazing me with his confidence). On my walks this week.. I listened to birdsong and wondered how hard it would be to learn to recognise the different birds’ calls. I downloaded the latest TED talk podcast on ‘Transformation’ and was inspired by how amazing some people’s ability to adapt is. I looked at my breath in the chilly…

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