Session 24 - Our first visit to the woodland (part one)

Yesterday, our Forest School visited Chevin Forest Park in Otley. We were really lucky to have lovely sunny weather for our trip.

Jet Set Go

On our way to the Forest, we passed through a tunnel under Leeds/Bradford Airport runway. Just as we were approaching the tunnel, a big airplane landed which was very exciting. We could smell the aviation fuel and hear the roar from the jet engines.

We arrived at the Chevin and changed into our wellies and waterproofs and headed up to Surprise View. From here you can see for miles around. The streets below in Otley looked like a little lego town and off in the distance towards Harrogate, we could see the vibrant yellow rapeseed fields.

Bould-ered over by the views

We clambered over the sandstone rocks to find the perfect spot to picnic. SL and SS chose a huge boulder which had a deep bowl worn into the middle where it had been worn away by centuries of rainfall. JA and NK chose a smooth ledge which made a perfect picnic table.

We enjoyed our picnic whilst chatting about what we might see and taking in the spectacular views of the countryside.

After we were all fed and watered we headed off along the steeply winding track to where the pond hid among a copse of pine and broadleaved trees.

Pondering which stones to skim

SL and SS raced around to the jetty and after dangling their wellies in the water, set about finding the perfect stones to skim. The found that the stones just under the water at the edge of the pond were smooth and flat, making them super skimmers. NK used her binoculars to search for animals hiding in the marshy shrubbery. JA was initially worried about stepping on the jetty, but she soon overcame her fears to feed the ducks her leftover chocolate spread sandwiches.

Dog Gone!

SL had found a big stick with which he attempted to catch any fish that may be lurking in the murky depths. However, whilst he was distracted skimming stones, a bouncy dog came bounding down to the pond, took a liking to the stick and carried it away!

After spending some time to absorb the tranquil atmosphere, we headed back towards the car park, collecting pine cones and pebbles along the way.



The time was whizzing by but we had just enough time to hop back into the car and head down to the lower part of the Chevin.

In our next update find out about a dinner table fit for a squirrel, a cracking rope swing and an icy treat.