Sunday at Strickley

Last Sunday about 80 pupils and families from Old Hutton school came to Strickley. This was organised by the HSA (used to be called PTA back in the day). James and Michelle had organised a Spring Activity Walk. And for a modest fee you could follow a marked route through the fields and wood, answering questions on an activity sheet, beck dipping, making a journey stick (though I think only the girls did that), and scoring points on a I-Spy sheet. One enterprising father had a pedometer and calculated the route to be 2.3 miles. The worst bit came at the beginning - straight up Wellbank. Anyone who knows Strickley knows that's a bit of a slog. There were helpers in the wood so no one missed anything, reviving biscuits by the Valve House and the smell of bacon buns to tempt you back to James' garden. After a week of intermittent rain, and a heavy downpour on Saturday, we were very lucky and though wet underfoot, the sun shone.

So, if you come to Strickley, see how many of these you can tick off - and someone did see the kingfisher!