A walk of discovery

One of the things I love most about getting out and about exploring is discovering new places on my doorstep. One day last month Sophie and I went for a walk down a little lane near our house. We’ve walked down it once before with Jessica but only for a short distance before Jessica got tired and wanted to turn back. This time we had a full day ahead of us and I was determined to explore the lane further, especially as I’d discovered there were a few geocaches to find along the way!

Sophie exploring a little lane near home and going on "A walk of discovery"

It was a beautiful warm sunny day; one last lingering moment of summer before Autumn finally took over. Sophie had put on her fairy wings and brought her fairy wand and was ready to find magic in the woods.

Sophie with her "fairy wand" ready to make magic in the woods

We found our first conkers and filled a pot ready to take back home and put in the corners of the bathroom to keep the spiders at bay. For the last couple of years I’d tried and failed to find a horse chestnut tree locally so was very happy to discover this one!  We also found our first geocache nearby.

Sophie finding conkers

As we walked along the footpath through the long grass we could hear crickets chirping although couldn’t quite spot them. Eventually we managed to see one sitting on a blade of grass although Sophie was more interested in hunting for sticks and leaves!

A cricket sitting in the long grass

The walk then took us into the woods where we came across a “witch’s cottage” – a disused and derelict house in the middle of the woods. Places like this always make me wonder about the history behind them – who lived there, why did they leave and why was the house left to fall into decay. We managed to get close enough to peek through the windows and see the fireplace and the inside of the house.

Sophie looking at "the witch's cottage" - a derelict cottage in the woods

The inside of the derelict cottage

The walk through the wood eventually lead to a lane which joined the main road leading back home again, where we managed to find a second geocache, having failed to find several others along the route.  I’m sure most of the ones we missed were there, I just didn’t manage to find them before Sophie made it clear she wanted to move on!

Finding a geocache!

It was quite a long walk for little legs and I have to say I was very impressed that Sophie coped so well with it. It’s probably a little too far for Jessica though and the path is definitely not buggy-friendly so will definitely need hubby to come with us if we ever try it again with Jessica – that way she can ride on Daddy’s shoulders if she gets tired!

 

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

29 thoughts on “A walk of discovery

  1. Wow geocaches look pretty interesting! I have lots of friends that are really into it, I hear it is great fun. Maybe we should try it sometime too 🙂 Looks like a lovely day out (and me too – I’m always very curious about abandoned houses… the mystery!). #countrykids

  2. What a lovey walk. Fun to find a derelict house too. Love how nature is claiming it back. Trees in front of the fireplace makes me smile. Good for Sophie walking so far, although I’m sure the fairy wings must have helped. #CountryKids

    1. Thank you – yes, I think having the fairy wings and making it a bit of an adventure helped a lot! 🙂

  3. It’s so nice to discover new places in our local area. I recently discovered a bit of woodland near our home and I can’t wait until all the children can cycle so we can explore some more. That house looks intriguing. Have you thought of doing a bit of research to find out why it’s been abandoned? x

    1. I have tried a quick search online to see if I could find out more about the house but nothing’s come up. Maybe I should try asking in some local facebook groups to see if someone knows more about it x

  4. What a great adventure for you and Sophie, I bet she loved having special mummy-daughter time along the walk. Geocaching always looks fun so I bet you were super excited you managed to find some so close to home! That witches cottage looks fab, I bet it felt really spooky seeing it up close I always wonder what the history behind cottages like that one is. I hope you manage to explore this walk with Jessica one day too, I’m sure she’ll love it.

    Thanks for linking up with me on #CountryKids.

    1. Thank you Fiona – it’s definitely a walk I’d like to do again with hubby and Jessica there too 🙂

  5. Such a lovely walk! I have that problem with geocaching too – if we don’t find it in the first couple of minutes of looking the children get very bored and no longer care so we end up either giving up or leaving daddy hunting by himself (I want them to continue loving it and not get bored)! I love that house too – I am the same, I always want to know the history behind houses like that. And your cricket picture is amazing! #CountryKids

    1. Thank you – yes I think it is important to try and get that balance of spending time looking for the geocache but not too much that the children start to lose interest in it. I’m hoping as I get more experience, finding them might become a little easier! 🙂

  6. What a beautiful fairy! I love the ‘witches cottage’. Places like that would probably creep my children out but I’m fascinated by derelict and abandoned buildings and the story behind them.

    #countrykids

    1. Thank you Heidi – the cottage was a little spooky but fascinating too. I’m not sure I’d want to venture there on a gloomy afternoon but on a sunny day, it was fine! 🙂

    1. Thanks Caroline – it’s intriguing isn’t it? I’ve not managed to find anything more about the history of it.

    1. Can’t beat a ride on daddy’s shoulders! Definitely going to try and do it again sometime with hubby and Jessica.

  7. What a wonderful walk and the outdoors is such fantastic place for natural learning about life cycles and getting kids interested in wildlife and looking closer for the small animals and creatures that live around us.
    Just popping over from #CountryKids

    Laura x

  8. I’ve never tried geocaching but lots of people say how great it is – I really must try! Sounds like a lovely walk #CountryKids

  9. Oh gosh. Sophie has grown and a proper outdoor girl she is. That looks like a fun walk and I love her fairy wings.:) x #countrykids

  10. Oh what a fun way to spend the day. I find houses like that fascinating too, such a shame it’s been left to go derelict. My sister did a project on decay and photographed lots of places like this, it was really interesting.
    Nat.x

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