Walk in the woods - family adventure

Walk in the woods - family adventure

Written by David Herbert December 29, 2018

We took a stroll through the deep, dark wood... well, actually, we walked through the park, racing from one corner to the bottom gate to reach the road. Daddy started off last, with Tyler and Tegan in the lead. Suddenly, Daddy sprinted ahead, taking first place, which gave Tyler that last bit of motivation. Pushing his hardest, he took the lead and touched the gate first, with Daddy second and Tegan third. Mummy made sure the kids weren’t last.

Summer fields

We took a walk down the road and up into the field, dodging past the fresh cow pats from that morning's moo-ing visitors. We searched for blackberries and sloe berries—Tegan will really eat anything, lol. We found a newly built den, much better than anything I ever built as a kid. We had fun checking it out, with Tegan gagging on sloe berries even though we asked her to stop eating them!

The London to Exeter train rushed past so close, you could almost touch it—the closest we’ve ever seen a train outside of a station. We headed to the far gate, with Tegan climbing over and the rest of us walking through the kissing gate.

Family enjoying the woods

We all lined up to kiss Mummy as she walked through the gate. Then we walked down the rocky road and crossed the main road into Yeovil Junction. We talked about Station Pool, how Daddy and his friends used to swim in that part of the river. "Can we go in there?" "Not now, Tyler" (it's cold). On the right, there used to be a goat that lived on the hill.

We reminisced about how we used to climb up that tree, and how I accidentally set it on fire once! (A friend and I were setting some leaves on fire, but they wouldn’t catch, so we walked away. As we were heading back, my school dinner lady asked, "Was that you two who set the tree on fire?" What? No! Oops... yes, it was. Sorry!)

I thought about climbing the tree again but decided against it, as the branches were older, weaker, and I am now much heavier than when I was 12. Too many stinging nettles to risk falling! Tyler and Daddy had a wee together—almost a picture moment if they hadn’t been weeing.

We explored the old farm buildings, which haven't changed at all. They were old and broken before, but now there are maybe a few more broken bottles. "Welcome to our new Airbnb, kids," lol. We showed them where we used to play tag along the walls and rooftops. "Just because Daddy did these things as a kid, doesn’t mean it’s safe for you to do now!" "Yes, Mummy."

Tyler and Tegan charged up the hill, and I realised, "Looks like we're going up there, Mummy!" OMG, I was feeling the burn on the back of my legs. "Mummy, I fell into a hole!" "I'm okay—awesome!" At the top, the sheep made the kids jump as they scattered when startled. We were still only halfway.

Path by lake

At the top, we held hands as we walked along the edge of the hill. "Can you see the old carriages the trains used to pull?" "Oh yeah, the red and brown ones—that’s the station we came in on."

We walked down past a section where we used to go grass sledging in the summer. Grass sledging is simply one summer sledge and a super steep hill to get momentum. It was always risky, as it was only 20 feet away from the river when we reached the bottom.

These fields were used as a motocross track 30 years ago. I showed the kids where I fell off a little 80cc motocross bike, going up a steep bank and tipping backwards—me on my back with the bike on top of me.

We headed towards a dark tunnel, a tunnel that goes under the whole railway line, at least eight tracks. I remember it being pitch black as it curved around a corner. At the end, there was a stack of logs where we sat and had lunch—bananas, oranges, peanut butter sandwiches, and chocolate cereal. Tyler and Tegan tried grass and peanut butter sandwiches—first time, not so bad; second time, a mouthful of grass followed by sandwich—choking, spitting, gagging. "Yuck!" Tyler opted for banana instead, while Tegan loved it.

We headed to the entrance of the dark tunnel, but there were too many stinging nettles, so we decided to embark on a different adventure. We walked down to Rivers Meet, where three rivers converge. On the left were concrete slabs to play on, and on the right was the spot where I first went camping. We had used petrol to start the fire and drank river water purified with tablets.

After a toilet break (one downside of drinking plenty of water!), Tyler ended up with a wet foot from getting too close to the river. We carried on, exploring fields and looking for bridges to cross the river safely. We headed to Rivers Meet, about a 10-minute walk through open fields along the riverbank, very picturesque and quiet. The kids went ahead, climbing through the branches, trying to cross a natural dam where a branch had fallen into the river, catching all the debris that had floated down over the years. Not knowing how safe it was, we decided to head back to the riverbank and look for a bridge to cross to the other side.

I found a perfect crossing place: a tree had fallen from one side to the other. It wasn’t touching the opposite bank, so a small jump from the tree to the bank would be needed. I wasn’t sure how far it was until we got there.

Shimmy on a rope in the woods

Tyler and I went first, climbing along the tree and under the overhanging branch, manoeuvring around and over a large branch. It was a bit tricky but manageable. I had to let go of Tyler’s hand to show him where to hold on, reassuring him that if we fell, we’d just get wet and would have to climb out up the bank.

Once I was around, I sat down to guide him. As Tyler climbed over the branch, he stood on the lower branch, but slipped and dangled over the river. I grabbed his hand, pulling with all my strength. When he got back up, we held each other tightly, both laughing in relief.

I reassured him that everything was alright, and we looked back at Mummy, who was definitely not impressed.

"Can you come back now, boys?"

"We’re almost there, it’s fine, Mummy."

We took turns moving across the tree, Tyler holding on to the branch while I went a little further. Then I held out my hand for him to catch up. As we reached the end, I made sure he was holding on tight before I jumped off, so he wouldn’t be bounced up and fall.

He jumped into my arms, and we both shouted, "We made it! Yes! Awesome! Best day ever!"

"Your turn, Mummy," we called.

"No way," she replied. "Did you see that? He was dangling over the river!"

"I’m not doing that," she said, so we agreed. "Alright, you walk along the river that way, and we’ll walk this way." The river meandered through the countryside, leaving us further apart at certain points.

We eventually caught back up and found a rope swing wrapped around a tree. I unwound it and took the first go, feeling a bit uneasy as the wood I was holding onto seemed fragile, almost dead.

Rope swing in the woods

After a few goes, Tyler took a turn, swinging around. On his third try, he swung too hard, let go, and slid down the muddy bank on his bum. I picked him up and dusted him off, while Mummy called across the bank, "That’s enough, boys."

(Side note: Mummy is super adventurous, but now that we have kids, their safety is her top priority. She always strives to be a living example for them.)

We continued to the next part, where Mummy and Tegan could cross to our side of the bank. We took a bit longer because of the low-hanging trees that I used to climb on as a kid. I tried to rush Tyler along so we wouldn’t miss Mummy.

They almost found a crossing place. Mummy had to lift Tegan up, help her grab the thick branch, swing around like a sloth, and crawl along it. Then Mummy climbed up afterwards. She didn’t like that idea, though, so we walked on a little further.

The girls decided to head back to the main gate, but not knowing this, we thought they were still walking along the riverbank. We carried on around and climbed over a barbed wire fence, which involved me holding Tyler over, and him accidentally kicking the fence into my leg—ouch. I held onto a branch, pulling myself up over the fence, thinking, If this goes wrong, it’s going to hurt, and Tyler will see a lot of blood.

We got across and walked along the bank. Just as we were about to walk up into the field, we saw another tree down across the river.

"Tyler, we can make this," I said, looking across to the other side for Mummy, to let her know we were coming back over.

We climbed up—it was a nice thick tree, fairly level, with overhanging branches to steady ourselves. Holding Tyler’s hand, we steadied each other, about 15 feet above the water’s surface, knowing that if we fell, we’d definitely get wet and possibly stuck in the mud.

At one point, I put Tyler’s hand on a branch and stuck his walking stick in my pocket. I had to climb over another branch while he held on for dear life. We had passed the halfway point, but there were no more overhanging branches for balance. We were still 10 feet up and knew that falling would mean trouble. We kept each other going with our new mantra, "Keep moving sideways, keep moving sideways."

We inched closer and closer to the end of the tree, holding hands. No jumping from this one—the tree had already crashed into the floor and the bank. When we finally reached the end, Tyler said, "Let’s not do that anymore." "Okay, Tyler, we won’t."

"Where are Mummy and Tegan?" we called out. No sign of them, so we headed towards the exit. Tyler got a bit worried about the huge cows gathered nearby, so I suggested we walk around the outside of the field. As we got closer, we found a cut-through. A small brown cow started walking towards us. Tyler grabbed my hand tighter as it approached. I turned, stomped my foot, and gave a little roar. The cow backed off, and we carried on.

Foreging in the woods

We kept shouting for Mummy and Tegan but got no answer. We reached the main gate, went through, and looked down the road. They were nowhere to be seen. I took off my t-shirt and left it by the gate, so they’d know we’d been there, and we went looking for them.

We headed back down the footpath, slightly worried. Where were they? Had Laura slipped and fallen down the bank? Had they tried to cross and got stuck, or worse, fallen in? We kept walking and calling out. Eventually, we heard Tegan shouting. Me and Tyler shouted back, getting closer and closer until we finally saw her.

We crossed over a concrete walkers’ bridge and finally reunited. We walked up to the top of the hill to see how we had got separated. After a short discussion, we decided to walk back down the hill, over the bridge, and back to the beginning to retrieve my t-shirt.

As we reached the main road, I asked, "Who’s ready for the next adventure?"

We crossed the road and headed down a public footpath, slightly overgrown at the start. I tried talking Mummy into this new way. "I just want to go home," she said. "It’s fine," I replied, "there’s a proper bridge we can cross at the end of the footpath."

"I don’t want any more bridges. I don’t want any more of your crazy ideas!" she said.

"There’s a proper bridge, for cars, at the end," I reassured her.

We walked past a hidden building. I knew it was there, but it was hidden beneath brambles and undergrowth. It used to be a pumping station. Tyler insisted on coming with me when I climbed over for a look. He wanted to go inside, but I said no, as the roof looked unsafe.

We carried on along the footpath and soon noticed a bridge—a water pipe, really—that we used to play on as kids. I remembered falling off it when I was four while playing with my big brother, rolling down the bank and hurting myself.

I teased Mummy, saying, "This is the bridge we need to cross!" She was not impressed—lol.

We reached the end of the footpath and walked along the road, through the village. This time, we took one of Tyler’s shortcuts through the park. We ran around the football building and in front of Mummy. When we got to the back gate, we realised it was locked. We had to climb over to get in, unlock the door, and retrieve the key to let everyone else in.

Life really is an adventure.

We sat down, waiting for the kettle to boil. Tyler made us a hot chocolate, and we chilled out. I took a moment to reflect on today’s adventure, then started writing THIS.

David Herbert

About Author

David Herbert:

English Author, Entrepreneur, Minimalist, and Digital Nomad.

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