An Epic Summer

We have had an amazing summer. For the first time that I can remember, it feels like we have really made the most of it, and the heatwave certainly helped! We are all tanned and rested and ready for the change in rhythm that Autumn brings. Here’s a marathon round-up of what we’ve been up to.

Shortly after my last post, Daniel completed Reading Eggs and we decided it was a good time to take a proper break from work. He was suitably proud of himself. 

Instead, we focused on enjoying the sunshine. We went canoeing every fortnight - or rather, Daniel and Adam did while Ben and I enjoyed a peaceful walk along the canal path and met them at the other end. They each formed a strong attachment to a different instructor and it was wonderful to see their confidence and independence. 

Daniel finally finished rebuilding my brother’s long-demolished Lego pirate ship. He started working on it in odd moments at my parents’ some time last winter so I calculate it has taken somewhere in the region of 7 months. Some weeks he would spend a whole hour-long session hunting for just one or two pieces in the boxes of assorted 30 year-old Lego. I always think we adults can learn a lot from watching a child’s enjoyment of the process no matter how long it takes to complete the task. 

Then we have done a lot of camping - enough to satisfy even me. There was our annual Jew Camp with other families from the local area. We did two nights this year rather than one so we were able to do both kiddush and havdalah in a barn, boat rides, a day on the beach, feeding farm animals, toasting marshmallows on the camp fire and generally enjoying ourselves. Daniel took himself off to a grassy slope and started riding his bike without stabilisers. 

We went with fellow home ed families to a little site not far from home that we discovered last year and spent that weekend sitting round the fire pit, looking at Saturn through the telescope, playing tennis and hanging out. 

In August we headed to the Lake District for our first real family holiday since Adam was a tiny baby (we have had some incredible trips to visit DH’s family in various exotic places but hadn’t been away by ourselves for a while). My family used to go to the Lakes every other year and it was very special to show the boys all the things we used to do (and a few we never did). Our pitch had a stream on one side and a steep road with almost no traffic on the other, so the boys were in heaven with bikes and dam-building. They were inducted into the art of washing up in order to earn holiday spending money (at Daddy’s exorbitant holiday rates) and were so keen they would have bankrupted us if we had stayed longer. 

Our first stop on day 1 was Hawkshead, where my brother and I got our first walking boots aged 6 and 3. Adam still takes a slightly smaller size than I can find near us but I was fairly sure that if they had had tiny boots in 1989, when very few places had children’s sizes at all, they would still have something. Sure enough, both boys were swiftly kitted out and Daddy also succumbed, his old boots having bitten the dust a few weeks earlier. I have boot envy and resolve to do lots of walking to wear out my old ones quickly so I too can have lovely new boots. 

The weather was pretty wet for most of the week but the tent held up and we made the most of lots of trips. Hawkshead Grammar School is worth a visit, as is the Beatrix Potter house nearby. 

The steam gondola trip on Coniston was a real treat; there was a quiz for the boys to do, a friendly crew more than happy to show them the intricacies of the engine, and they even got a go at steering the boat and pulling the whistle! 

The commentary was interesting and told the story of Donald Campbell and the Bluebird in installments as we reached relevant points of the lake. That came in handy a few days later at the Lakeland Motor Museum, where they have a whole exhibition about the Campbells with replicas of the various Bluebird boats and cars. 

The Lake District Wildlife Park took up another day, despite sudden downpours, and the weather just about eased off for our visit to my great-aunt. She has entertaining small children down to a fine art - a trip on the Ratty (Ravenglass & Eskdale Steam Railway), meeting at the other end for a superb picnic and a walk to the river for a paddle, then the return trip and back to her house for dinner. It is exactly what we used to do as children and has lost none of its shine. She also offered the services of her tumble dryer so we had dry towels for the first time all week. 

There was only one day where it poured impossibly heavily and we took refuge in the Armitt Museum in Ambleside. This was a gem of a find with Beatrix Potter’s incredible watercolours of funghi, and a whole section about Charlotte Mason, the great educational reformer whose ideas have inspired a whole home education philosophy that I’ve been interested in for quite a while. There was a corner for children to have a go at Charlotte Mason-style nature journaling and the boys spent ages there so we have started a journal at home - more on that in another post. 

Because of the weather we didn’t manage to get in any walking, much to my disappointment. On the last afternoon the rain lifted briefly and we grabbed the chance to get kitted up and head up the hill behind the campsite. Old Man of Coniston it certainly wasn’t - it took about 20 minutes to get to the top - but there were some satisfyingly scrambly bits, stone walls to peer over, a couple of stiles to navigate, plenty of sheep and a nice view over Windermere from the top where we shared some biscuits and then descended rapidly as we could see the rain clouds sweeping in again. 

All in all it was a very successful holiday and we think we might get into the habit of going back to the same area every other year just as my family used to. There is a lot to be said for staying in the UK and knowing the area you are visiting. 

We rounded off the summer with a final weekend camping in Tintagel with friends. It was one of those typically casual home ed things - we picked a weekend and a campsite (one that doesn’t take bookings) and all turned up at some point. Those of us there on the Saturday went to the island and explored the ruins, and on Sunday we hit the beach at Trebarwith. Everyone helped with everyone else’s tent and shared beer and tea, and the children ran in a pack, enjoyed the play area and befriended the site cat. 

So there you are - an epic blog post to round up an epic summer. We have settled in to work and are enjoying the change of rhythm that autumn brings. To be continued...