Forest School Adventure (part 11)

 St. Agnes:

The fourth of five inhabited islands that make up the Scilly Isles, its small enough to wander its entire coast in just a few hours. Sandy bays, rugged rocks, ruined buildings, lighthouse, cafe... pub!


If nothing else it's reminding me what 20000+ steps a day feels like!

Sea spray. Drizzle. Light fog. Overcast clouds hung low...

Warm wind, calm water, afternoon tea, coastal path...

There is such a swing from white sandy beaches to towering rocks set into springy soil with scattered grass that the wildlife adapts to both. 

Seagulls above and legions of squabbling sparrows in every shrub aiming for every crumb on a tourist's table!

There are signs everywhere asking people NOT to feed the birds!

Butterflies flit around, the occasional bug scurries past, stray feathers are found along paths. 

All this nature entices us deeper along the tracks, into the coves, up on the rocks. The 'country trail' solutions lead to laddered stiles and overgrown passages through bushes. Each hiding its next view from eyeline until the reveal...

This is what the children love to do in Forest School, wander through long grass, find a hole in a hedge, create a new way around...

I'm glad that as adults, we haven't lost the curiosity to investigate the next bay, that we still want to toss crumbs to the birds, that a quick paddle at the beach, and choosing the track that looks like more of an adventure is something intrinsic that we follow, and not an impulse we ignore!

I love that complete strangers all see an elephant in this rock and feel the need to point it out as you pass by! It starts conversation and smiles, it unites everyone on that path, and proves we have something in common with someone we've never met before.

There is so much to explore if we just take ourselves outside. So much to discover. 

Which is why taking children outside is important. They need to connect to the environment around them, especially the one close to home. 

It doesn't mean we can't enhance it, or entice them to explore it.

But we need to appreciate what we are trying to communicate to them, and we have to feel that connection ourselves.



Location: United Kingdom

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