By: Blonde Two
When family Blonde Two moved to Devon Not-at-all-Blonde was 4 and just starting school. We moved from beautiful but land-locked Malvern to the seaside of Torbay and for the first six months, it felt like we were on a permanent holiday. We explored beaches (Torbay has many variations of beach) and Dartmoor and our children grew relaxed and happy as they embraced the outdoors. All three of them tell us now that they are pleased that we made the move, they were all subsequently Sea Scouts (as was I for a while) and 2 of them now make their living teaching others to enjoy being outside.
We are very lucky living in Devon, the outside is all around us. I can see Dartmoor from my bed and, on most mornings, can smell the sea from the garden. It can be more of a challenge, however, to get your kids outside if you don’t have such bounty on your doorstep.
‘Amazing Family Adventures’ by fellow Ordnance Survey Get Outside Champions Jen & Sim Benson is a book that will help any family to face the Get Outside challenge. It encourages families to explore the whole of the UK and find family-friendly places and adventures all along the way. My favourites include ‘Go on a Bat Walk’, ‘Escape to an Island’ and ‘Explore a Waterfall’ (did I mention that family adventures are also great for those of us whose children are now old enough to start families of their own?)
The thing about adventures, particularly with a young family, is that one adventure inevitably leads to another, less predictable one. Jen and Sim have plenty of experience and their book is a great one to have to hand when you need a bit of inspiration as to what to do outside with your young ones. Take them outside and the rest will almost certainly be up to them!
‘Amazing Family Adventures’ is published by National Trust Books and costs £12.99.
