Shorne Woods Country Park

Sunday is my absolute favourite day of the whole week. There is something about waving off the week just past and the sense of new beginnings in the week ahead. It has its own scent, full of optimism but calm. If Sunday were a scented candle, it would be made up of Rosemary, Peppermint and a little Lavender… and it would be awesome!

Sunday is family day. A day for adventuring, making memories, exploring and feeling free from the chaos of every day life. A day that we are more relaxed with routine and tend to wing it sometimes when it comes to parenting.

On Sunday 4th October, my little bunch and I headed out early, when the sun was shining brightly over our quiet market town. We went for a spot of breakfast. While we were there we pulled a plan together for the day ahead. Matt suggested ‘Shorne Woods Country Park’ which isn’t too far from us. I had never heard of it but considering it was a beautiful Autumn day, I didn’t need much convincing to spend some time roaming around outside.

Matt absolutely got it right. The country park is incredible to walk around and I was sold as soon as I came across the sensory garden. It was quiet and very pretty, even this time of year when natures colours darken to the reds, browns and yellowy greens. It felt like there was still so much life here. And most of it was still covered in a beautiful morning dew. It was just lovely to be a part of it.

It was so lovely to come across some sculptures and art dotted around. It was good to have something unique to look at, marvel at really. I especially liked the spider one, I thought it was pretty amazing and I’m sure I read that it was by a local artist, although…don’t quote me on that! The children enjoyed looking at these too, especially Noah who really enjoys learning about art at school. It’s good to be able to get outside and for him to see something with his own eyes and to identify why it is art, a creation. And he could touch some. He could decide which materials were used and allow himself to be fascinated.

Ellenah enjoyed using these resources as part of her games and they fuelled her imagination to create many stories from our day out exploring.

There was a pretty epic park. Lots of wood and happy faces. The play area was big, not like some parks where you get the standard set of swings and a climbing frame. Here there were children frantically climbing, changing direction , swinging around like monkeys and really laughing. Our two were no exception! Although, they were ready to set off quite quickly once we told them that we were going off of the beaten track and we soon disappeared through t he trees.

Eventually we came across some fishing lakes which looked so calming and peaceful. It was nice to see Dads fishing with their sons and making the most of a lovely day. Our little pickles threw in a few stones to make the water ripple. So, sorry to anyone trying to catch a fish in that moment… our stop there was very brief. Not only to stop them both ruining your fishing experience but I feared that if we didn’t move quickly, they were going to get in the water with them. It looked that lovely.

Little legs grew quite tired then and bellies rumbled as we neared the end of our walk. So we sat on a little wooden bench just past the lakes and had a little rest. It was  a sun trap there so I let the sun beat down on me for five minutes as I watched the world go by. It was also the perfect place to set up a tripod and attempt some family photographs (because I never feel like I have enough!). But, It’s always the way isn’t it, the natural ones are always the best. I love this one below. I can imagine that when Ellenah is older, maybe with a daughter of her own.. .she might whip this picture out from a dusty old memory box and she might say ‘ Ah, this is me and my mama when I was a little girl!’…

And then there’s me and this one. It’s been a hard time of late. Growing up, being adults, being the best parents we can be and trying to stay on the same path has been really hard. It can be exhausting and sometimes painful but you know what they say ‘life’s problems wouldn’t be called hurdles if there wasn’t a way to get over them!’…

And because ‘every cloud has a silver lining’… lately, we have been busy making the most wonderful memories, for us and the children… and somewhere in between, we have been finding our way back to each other…

With Love

-Ria

xoxo