Winter outdoors events season has started. Going to a lights show; and a fireworks display; Meeting reptiles and other critters with Animal Cwtch; Exploring fossils and dissecting owl pellets with Wild Space; going to Clearwell Caves Christmas event.

64 – Going to a light show…

Monday 27 October. Cloudy. 9°C

We’re going to a light show. I’m not a huge fan though I have been to some which are really wonderful. It annoys me the way they tend to plonk electronics on top of the natural world without looking at what’s there underneath. It is, however, a great opportunity to get outside. After our recent adventures in the dark in the middle of the country it’s nice to be outside in a park at night in an environment which feels very safe.

We’re in York and going to the Echoes of Yorkshire event at the Museum Gardens. It’s chilly but we’re all out as a family and it works very well. B runs a lot between the different groups and everyone can go at their own pace. The big light display is impressive but B and I are more delighted with the little things. There’s a wonderful lit path you can follow and some grey metallic sculptures of knights and other people from the past which are really fun to find and interact with. The best bit is just being out in the dark exploring. We run off the main path and back and see what we can find.

57 – Going to a fireworks display

Wednesday 5 November. Rainy. 15°C

It’s fireworks night. We have a great one near us at the local athletics field. It’s a bit rainy but not too bad. We head out, negotiate the queues and find ourselves standing on a muddy field watching lots of very big, loud, beautiful fireworks for about twenty minutes.

B and I have a discussion about whether this can be called a nature challenge. We’re both a bit dubious. On the plus side, we are outside, in the rain, and it’s a definite experience to do that in November. As with the light show it’s a safe environment where we can go out at night and a great community feeling. On the downside I imagine the local wildlife is totally terrified and we don’t notice much nature with the fireworks to distract us. It’s nice walking home on wet pavements in wellies negotiating piles of soggy leaves though.

47 – Meeting reptiles and other critters with Animal Cwtch

Saturday 15 November. Sunny. 12°C

We’re at the British Bird of Prey Centre as part of their Wild Encounters Weekend and delighted to meet Animal Cwtch. They’ve brought an array of creatures including lots of reptiles, a tarantula, an immaculately behaved white bunny and a tenrec. B gravitates over.

They’re really lovely at showing her everything. I’m delighted because it’s years since she’s got to hold a snake and I think it’s a good thing to do young (before you get scared). She makes friends with a boa constrictor and a beautiful yellow one (photo above) and many others. The staff are amazing at taking time with her and telling her all about them. She even held the tarantula, which she said was her favourite. I didn’t get a picture because I was hiding. She pretends to have a spider phobia sometimes. I think it’s gone!

46 – Exploring fossils and dissecting owl pellets with Wild Space

Saturday 15 November. Sunny. 12°C

…and we also meet the wonderful Molly and Sarah of Wild Space and learn how to find and dissect owl pellets (basically what owls regurgitate and leave behind) and explore fossils. Both are fascinating.

They have amazing magnifying glasses to find little shrew skulls and other remains in the pellets and show us what they all are. I’d never heard of them before but we’ll be looking out for them now. They’re a sort of fluffy brown consistency.

The fossils is, frankly, a challenge saver. We’re STILL TO DO OUR FOSSIL CHALLENGE. A bit like flying the kite, we’re daunted by lack of knowledge and skill but feel a lot better equipped now. They showed us lots of different types of fossils and advised what to look for. Also which rocks it’s worth smashing and which ones it probably isn’t.

25 – Going to Clearwell Caves’ Christmas event

Sunday 7 December. Wet. 12°C

This is one of my favourite things to do each year and I think it’s B’s too. Clearwell Caves, in the Forest of Dean, do the most AMAZING Christmas event. They fill the caverns with Christmas trees and parcels and Santa. They also make a ‘tableau’ story which runs through the caves and leads you through. This year it’s The Festive Forest, all about how animals get ready for Christmas. In the middle of the experience, in the large bottom cave is a cafe.

This year, for the first time, B wants to learn about the caves as we walk through the entrance. She went to The Big Pit with the school last year. Clearwell is a much more cuddly caves experience. We note the different colours in the rock and note the machinery scattered about. Then we get swept away into seeing Santa, enjoying the atmosphere and exploring the Christmas story.