Bushcraft at Forest Hills and Tigh Mor

We have started to do Bushcraft & Survival walks at both Forest Hills and Tigh Mor.  At Forest Hills we offer session for all ages on a Monday, Tigh Mor is just for the adults and older kids on a Thursday outside of school holidays (Arthur will continue to offer kids bushcraft during the holidays at Tigh Mor) . 

We were joined by a lovely couple at Forest Hills braving the rain (which died off thankfully) on Monday who seemed quite impressed at all the wild foods that are out already. Lots even on the roadside and along country lanes. I think they are looking forward to showing their nephew what they had learned as he is bushcraft mad apparently!
Thursday we were joined by five lovely eager to learn adults and young Brendan with his Batman figure for added enjoyment at Tigh Mor.

Will over ran a bit again, sorry, I can't stop his passion for this session whilst he is in full flow!

Daisy, or the Day's Eye. Edible and good used as an astringent.

Pignut, not Daisy the dog (although she is a bit like a hairy piglet), but something to look out for as it is just starting to come out up here in the Trossachs.  Dig down following the stem and at a 90 degree angle you will find a nut, edible and really scrummy.  Nothing to bark at really so get grubbing for nuts!!

Bank Holiday Weekend at Cobleland

The weather wasn't too bad for a bank holiday thank goodness! Not as busy as Easter, but lots of fun and a couple of new sessions launched.

First up, Anna chose a bright pink cat for me to paint on her face, matching her top of course.

Three lovely wands, Cameron chose Silver Birch, Grace and Cara Hazel. Then the next day young Rhona was bored so she popped over to the tent to see if we could help.  She ended up making this lovely Hazel wand complete with gems and a gorgeous pendant.

Rhona's hazel wand - her birthday tree is Hazel and her sister is called Hazel too!

We launched the Chocolate Quest this week, attracting eleven hungry chocolate hunters. Sixteen tickets were hidden around the site, when one was found you had to come back to the Ranger's Tent to pick a task from the pot.  My favourites were; 'Do ten press ups' (impressed with Harris's one legged version!) and 'Hug a Tree'.  No-one found all the tickets by the end of the hour, but bonus prizes were given for a task completed successfully. Of course they had earnt their big choccy bars after all that exercise!
This game will change periodically with updated tasks all the time.  We should have made it a Star Wars themed game - May the 4th be with you and all, snort!!

Our first Dusk Walk of the year was fun having not done that version there for a few years.  Just a bit of rain, but lots of folklore to talk about with all the lovely plants coming up and we saw bats towards the end! Bat walks will be making a return soon now that they are starting to wake from their long winter sleep.

 

Primrose; said to be used to see into the faery realms, traditionally used on the graves of children in Victorian times :-(, and thirteen flowers were brought into the house at Easter to ensure a good clutch of eggs on the farm. 

 

OK, the Wacky Forth Races made a nail biting return this year- literally as Darah (the winner in pink) watches the close finish of the rafts nails in mouth!  We very nearly lost the rafts over the rope at the end as the river is still a bit high, but after getting a wet bum myself, we saved them all.  I need some waders this year! Apparently Orla's Mum has a picture of this ;-z.

 

 From bottom: Stringy thing by Lewis, Rhona snd Steele, Darah's winning raft Ninkinpoop (with the willow pentagram star), Jasmine's Rossetta, Emma's Flower, James and Evan's Diet Coke, Daniel's Dday Yday Raft, Kiana's Daisy Chain, Orla's Tansylee and Anny and Niamh's Vintage.

 Rafts pictured bottom to top

 

It's a close one - well done Darah!





Magick Wands & Spells

As promised, here is a copy of how to make spells for those that make magick wands with us. There are two versions depending on your age and experience :-). Feel free to ask any questions by leaving a comment or contacting us via our Facebook page or email nix@nixinnature.co.uk - Nikki Skittlethorpe.

For older and more experienced magick makers

For the younger ones





Easter at Tigh Mor

Great fun at Tigh Mor decorating eggs, then getting out to enjoy the glorious weather.  Starting with egg rolling (and body rolling for some), which finished really quick with only one egg casualty!  This was a bit more tricky as the rules state you have to roll the eggs with your nose :-).

Next up were the egg and spoon races, separated by ages with everyone winning an egg - it's the taking part that counts eh Dad's!

Next the hunt itself.  Everyone had to find hidden clues around the site grounds, collect a magic symbol to later crack the code for the password to the chocolate egg - great fun! Interestingly the hardest clue seemed to be "Now it's time to meet the Queen"?

 

First back with all the clues was Miryam and her friend in about 18 minutes!

Next it was off upstairs to the family room again for face painting :-)

 



 

 

 

 

Happy Easter Cobleland Campsite

Wonderful weather here in the Trossachs!  Perfect for our Easter Activities which kicked off on Saturday with wand making - look at these magnificent magickal tools!  Mostly Hazel wands chose their new owners, followed by a few Silver Birch and one Holly for Mum Joyce :-).

16 wands sparkling with magick



 



 



Easter Sunday was of course the egg and spoon races, then the hunt itself - a bit more tricky this year in that the kids had to follow a number of clues around the site before cracking the code (not the egg) to find the password for the chocolate egg.

Go Mum's!

The Dad's race was a thundering one, the 'nearly' winner dropping his egg at the last minute and drop kicking it over the line - bad luck old chum!

First back cracking the code was Orla and Natasha in just 14 minutes! It didn't take long for the other 31 egg hunters to get back :-).

Next it was off to The Lodge in Aberfoyle for more wands and face painting!

Bushcraft at Tigh Mor

Great to see all the lovely free foods starting to come out at Tigh Mor.  Just as things were starting to get chilly, out came the space blankets to see what these lovely families could come up with. Good effort we say, especially on their scavenger techniques!

Slight rip for Thomas and his Dad, but duck tap to the rescue!

Magick Wands at Tigh Mor

Fifteen lovely new magick makers joined us today at Tigh Mor for magick wands. :-)

Mostly wands from either hazel or ash chose their new owners, with a couple of oaks and one silver birch finding new homes too.  This must mean lots of creativity, wisdom, strength and one new beginning then! 

Here's a selection of most of them (the youngest new magick makers couldn't wait any longer to be let loose with their new magick making tool).  I wore my new witches cape, but with all that magickal energy in the room it was too hot and I had to take it off!