How do I book?

• Look at dates on the blog to the right
• Email Rachel@playingoutdoors.org or text (07758515092) your preference
• Register your child online (this is the paper work!)
• Read Guidelines and Directions

Who are the explorer days for?
The explorer days are for children from year 1 to year 11.

When are the explorer days?
Through all the holidays we run Explorer days on a variety of days (ranging from all week to a few days), please look at the right hand side of the screen for dates. If you would like us to provide an Explorer Day on an inset day, for a minimum group of 6 children, then please contact us to arrange. The walks are from 10am - 4pm, 6 hours. However there are exceptions, including if it is an Explorer Day during the state school term time as we run after school clubs those days.

Where are the explorer days?
We are based in Upper Swainswick, 2 miles north of Bath. Parents drop off and pick up from our home in Upper Swainswick. The journeys are around Swainswick Valley, Little Solsbury or Charmy Down, all just outside Bath.

What happens on an explorer day?
We take a picnic and snacks for everyone with us. The children play along the way - running, chatting, lost in imaginative play, tumbling down a slope, splashing in streams. Playing outdoors in the countryside offers children a wonderful sense of freedom and wild spaces are playgrounds par excellence. We aim to give the children as much free choice as possible about what they play with and how they play with it.
At some point along the way we find a place to settle down and make a camp. We carry ropes, whittling knives, small hand saws and a hand axe - to use for making a den, cutting poles or whittling sticks or for any other things children might want to do or make. We always have a camp fire which we use to cook food on - toasting sausages, baking bread, making pancakes or soup.

How much are the explorer days?
The cost is £35 for the day, per child, which includes a hearty lunch and healthy snacks. Early drop off and late pick up easily arranged, but does cost an extra £6 per hour.

What happens if it pours with rain?
The children really remember a day in the rain and talk about it for years! Good clothing is important and children should bring waterproofs. There is no such thing as poor weather, only poor clothing! We have extra clothing and we check children are properly dressed before we set out and loan them clothing if not. If it is raining before we set off we shelter, telling stories, playing games and when it subsides we go. If we are caught in a rainstorm whilst walking to and from camp we take shelter under an 'emergency tent' or tarpaulin, watch the rain clouds, have a chocolate biscuit, tell stories... If we have reached our camp in the woods the trees shelter us plus we have tarpaulins at the camp and a campfire so everyone can keep warm and dry if they want to. When it rains the ground is perfect for creating 'mud slides' down a slope. In our experience this makes for a very exciting and memorable day and the children really throw themselves into it. If it has been raining the sense of achievement is even greater at the end of the day because the children are proud of themselves for having overcome the odds and survived! Wednesday 28th May 2008 was a good example of seeing what it was like in the rain. Read the diary.

Children's best bits
"I liked making the den"; "trying to climb up that muddy bank"; "I liked the stories"; "when we made our dens"; "whittling my hazel pole - it's nice and kind of pointy"; "making the fire - getting fuel to make it go in the end"; "camping - food, fire, separate camps, hot chocolate, putting moss on the fire"; "being in charge of the army"

Parent's comments
Sebastian obviously had a fantastic time! I couldn't believe the weight of his trousers and coat with all the mud stuck on it. It was wonderful to see them all come back with a huge smile on their faces and when asked if they would want to go back the answer came without any hesitation (with yet an even bigger smile!): "Yes please". It says it all! Sibylle Clucas Feb 09 (boys, 9)

Thank you for giving Dylan and Joseph such a great day. I look forward toseeing the photos once your blog is up on the sight. Dylan has been inspired by the woodwork he did with you and I am now on amission to find him some basic tools so that he can continue to put hisideas into practice. Julia Harris, Feb 09 (boys 10 and 6)

Definition of Environmental Play
'Environmental Play, now common parlance in children's work, may be defined as: 'opportunities to play freely in wild spaces'. This means outdoor areas with natural elements such as earth, water, plants and animals. Key words, and indeed principles for environmental play are: freely - in that children are engaged in self-motivated and self-directed activity; and wild - incorporating the possibility for children to be wild, to experience freedom from adult-orientated spaces and to encounter wild things (both real and imaginary). Indeed it should be emphasized that wild spaces are playgrounds par excellence - irresistibly engaging, constantly stimulating and endlessly versatile; their appeal and resourcefulness matched only by children's innate drive to play. "Swainswick Explorers is a rural project which facilitates truly adventurous environmental play such as tree-climbing, den-building, splashing in streams and campfire cookery." Martin Maudsley, Play Today, November '04