To look after the earth tomorrow, young people need to learn about everything that grows and lives on it today
My ambition is to show through stories how the natural world can improve the mental health of children and young adults.
Here on my website I review and write novels that will excite and entertain young readers, while conveying the wonder and healing qualities of the nature. If your'e looking for children's novels with a strong ecology theme, you've landed in the right place. The Bookshelf is bursting with suggestions. Root around in Nature Notes too. When I find facts that interest me, I will share them here for you too.
And please, get in touch with your own nature news, views and book recommendations. .
I learn something new about the natural world every day. Maybe we could learn together?
Trees
The UK has more than fifty different species of native trees
The Druids believed that The Beech Tree is a granter of wishes. It is also symbolic of education, communication, marriage, nourishment, and credibility. I think of beech trees as wishing trees.
Guess how many beats per second a great spotted woodpecker maikes with its beak? Five? Ten? Try 40! The great spotted is on of three native woodpercker and by far the best drummer.
From the author of October, October , winner of the Yoto Carnegie Medal, comes a heartbreaking and heart-warming story about sisterhood, found family and accepting love in the most unusual and unknown places. Fen and Rey were found curled up small and tight in the fiery fur of the foxes at the very edge of the wildlands. Fen is loud and fierce and free. She feels a connection to foxes and a calling from the wild that she's desperate to return to. Rey is quiet and shy and an expert on nature. She reads about the birds, feeds the lands and nurtures the world around her. They are twin sisters. Different and the same. Separate and connected. They will always have each other, even if they don't have a mother and don't know their beginning. But they do want answers. Answers to who their mother is and where she might be. What their story is and how it began. So when a fox appears late one night at the house, Fen and Rey see it as a sign - it's here to lead them to their truth, find their real family and fill the missing piece they have felt since they were born. But the wildlands are exactly wild. They are wicked and cruel and brutal and this journey will be harder and more life changing than either Fen or Rey ever imagined ... My Thoughts Reading this book is like disappearing into a wonderful dream. Beautifully written in a mesmerising voice, the setting feels so real you can feel the leaves brush by you and the chill wind down your spine. The characters are skilfully drawn with both sisters telling us their story and sharing their emotional arc from the beginning to the end of their adventure with the author seamlessly and very effectively flitting between the two girl's inner life. The story itself is full of hope, and keeps the reader turning the pages to find out what happens to these two fascinating girls. A roller coaster of a tale with heart warming and heart stopping moments, much intrigue and joy and a hugely satisfying ending. I strongly recommend this book to readers of all ages, particularly middle grade readers with an interest in natural settings.
From the Costa Award winning author of Voyage of the Sparrowhawk comes an epic adventure with a call to arms: we must fight to save the most treasured things on our planet. On the top of the hill, overlooking the sea, that's where you'll find a magical place . . . To Bea and Raffy, Ravenwood is home. In its own way, the house rescued them, even if it did have a fallen-down tree taking up most of the kitchen. So the idea that it could be sold. Demolished even. Well, that's unthinkable. Then again, it's not like the children get a choice. But the truth is, we can all make our own choices, especially if we care enough . . . My Thoughts To me, this is a perfect book. A thrilling story, beautifully written, all about having the courage to hold onto what's precious, and fiercely guard the extraordinary natural world we are privileged to share. Everything about this story will delight young readers who look for adventure and escape in their books. The author effortlessly carries us into a beautiful and eccentric world where relationships between people and nature are complicated, and very precious. With themes of grief, friendship and courage, and an ending that literally had me punching the air with delight, The Rescue of Ravenwood is simply not one to be missed.
Explore the incredible place we call home! Marvel at the physical planet, learn how the weather works, meet some of the most influential people from the past and present, and much more. Examine every corner of the Earth, from outer space to underground and from the Maasai steppe to Manhattan. My Thoughts This gorgeous book is divided into four large sections, Physical Earth, Life on Earth, Earth Regions, and Human Planet. There are lots of colourful maps and fascinating facts about various places, species, and behaviour, showing the wonderful diversity of life on this planet and hopefully helping readers understand the need to protect it.
It's February 1974 and working class families have been hit hard by the three-day week. The reduced power usage means less hours for people to work, and less money to get by on. Thirteen-year-old Jason feels the struggle keenly. Ever since his parents died, it's just been him and his older brother Richie. Richie is doing his best, but since he can't make ends meet he's been doing favours for the wrong people. Every day they fear they won't have enough and will have to be separated. One thing that helps distract Jason is the urban legend about a beast in the valleys. A wildcat that roams the forest three villages up the river from their bridge. When Jason's friends learn of a reward for proof of The Beast's existence, they convince Jason this is the answer to his and Richie's money problems. Richie can get himself out of trouble before it's too late and the brothers can stay together. And so a quest begins ... Starting at the bridge of their village and following the river north, the four friends soon find themselves on a journey that will change each of them ... forever. My Thoughts Lesley Parr has the wonderful, rare, and hard-earned skill of writing sublime stories that, on the face of it, seem sensationally simple but, like an onion, reveal later after layer after layer to the reader long after the book has been put down. Like The Valley of Lost Secrets, Where The River Takes Us is primarily about brotherhood and friendship, and beneath that there is grief, loyalty, fear, and - most importantly for young readers - a lot of food and a fabulous adventure. The setting, Wales 1974, is sublimely drawn and the issues - poverty, strikes, social care, bullying - are as relevant today as they were fifty years ago. The characters feel alive and individual, each one representative of people we have all met along the way, and the author illustrates the deep love between them without once - as far as I can remember - actually using the L word. Where the River Takes Us is a thought-provoking, exciting, tear-jerker of an adventure To be enjoyed by free readers aged 8-11 and a great one to read together at bedtime.
R un away from what they see. Discover who you are. Maudie and Jake's family is falling to pieces - their mum's been struggling with her grief since they lost Dad and one night she vanishes. When Jake is put into care, Maudie can't take it any more. She comes up with a wild plan to pull their family back together - by kidnapping Jake. On the run in Cornwall, Jake and Maudie each find something they hadn't expected - freedom and love. But can they find Mum and a way to heal together?A powerful and insightful novel about grief, disability and first love; a story about getting lost and finding yourself. My Thoughts A wonderful, heartbreaking, tender, hopeful story of grief, love, and acceptance. What the World Doesn't see is a is all-consuming, with distinct voices that suck the reader into its vortex of emotion, grief, fear, and joy. Mel Darbon's characters are multi-dimensional and technicolor, so vivid they stay with you long, long after you finish reading the book. The story is gripping - I had to make myself slow down so that it lasted longer - and the emotional intelligence behind it all is extraordinary. If you read just one book this year, make it this one.
Lily and Tom travel the county with Ma Hawker, enthralling crowds with their amazing collection of curios. Always on the lookout for new wonders, Lily is tricked into buying a worthless bag of rubbish. But hidden within is a special piece of scrimshaw. A young woman called Flora Meriweather is desperate to buy the scrimshaw, hoping it can help her solve a mystery surrounding her late mother. But someone else also wants to get his hands on the scrimshaw and ensure that secrets stay hidden in the past. Can the Curio Collectors help the truth come to light? My Thoughts This book is sublime! From the gorgeous title, cover illustrations and production quality to the absolutely delightful story, The Curio Collectors is a joy to behold. I always enjoy Eloise Williams' novels; she is a master storyteller w ith a delightful lexicon that enriches the story and the reader, with not a word wasted. In The Curio Collectors Eloise has pulled off a blinder, creating a seemingly simple tale that is rich with history, multi dimensional characters, complex relationships (I love the dynamic between Lily and Tom), and conflict. And y ou only have to hea r the fabulous name ' Horatio Pinch ' , and g lance at Anna Shepeta's brilliant illustration, to know all you need to know about the badd y who instantly put me in mind of Ian Fleming's terrifying Child Catcher. Barrington Stoke (the publishers) list this title as having a reading age of 8, and with a dyslexia-friendly layout, typeface and paperstock so that even more readers can enjoy it. Certainly I can imagine it appealing to younger readers as a challenge, and older readers as a relaxing, easy read. I am 203, absolutely loved it and can vividly see nine-year-old me carrying it around, stroking the cover, copying the pictures and reading and reading it again. Fantastic stuff!
Set in a world where plants talk, friendship is hard-won and adventure is around the bend of every river ... Orla has lived on her own since Ma died, with only her beloved garden for company. When sickness comes and nature is blamed, Orla knows she must find a cure. Armed with her mother's book of plants and remedies, she steals away on a river boat with two other stowaways, Idris and Ariana. Soon the trio must navigate the rapids of the Inkwater to a poisonous place from which they may never return ... My Thought s This is an absolute dream of a book. Yarrow Townsend is an astonishingly talented writer and in this - her first novel - she takes the reader on a twisty turney journey through the wonders of nature while cleverly weaving a complex and multi-layered story that comes to a fabulously satisfactory and unexpected conclusion. My favourite bit is the plants, who talk to Orla all along the way, begging, cajoling, berating her with their whispered words. This conceit works fantastically, and involves the reader in the very roots of the story. I also love the start of every chapter where the plants are categorised with Latin name and folklore or healing powers. This story really does have everything; nature, a good plot, diverse and interesting characters, twists and turns and a truly original premise. I thoroughly enjoyed it and urge all of you to read it.
To celebrate the publication of her fabulous new novel, Hag Storm (find it on The Bookshelf ) Victoria Williamson talks about the challenges involved in writing historical fiction, and how she set about bringing one of her favourite poets - Robert Burns - to life in her wonderful new story. "History was always my favourite subject in school. I loved learning about the societies and individual lives of people in the past, and the emphasis on meticulous research and accurate interpretation of events based on reliable sources was never an issue for me, until I started writing historical fiction. Researching the life of the young Robert Burns, I found books which painted his early life in broad strokes, such as Reverend James Muir’s wonderful ‘Robert Burns Till His Seventeenth Year’, but many of these seemed to leave just as many information gaps as they filled. It’s these gaps that writers of historical fiction often refer to as the ‘rabbit holes’ which they can fall down while doing their own research on the characters they’re writing about. One minute you’re writing a scene where the main character’s mother is in the kitchen preparing dairy goods from their farm to sell at market, the next you find you’ve spent a whole afternoon researching the history of cheese-making in eighteenth century Scotland, and exactly how long it takes to make Dunlop cheese. Historical accuracy matters, but while I did my very best to ensure I portrayed the details of Ayrshire life in 1771 as accurately as possible in Hag Storm, I found myself taking liberties with the some of the events in the life of the young Robert Burns, and inventing some of the characters he might have met. Take, for example, the character of the mean-spirited factor, Angus McNab, who makes the Burns family miserable in the book with his insistence on prompt rent payments regardless of the family’s circumstances. In real life, during this time their landlord, Provost Fergusson of Doonholm, was still alive and would no doubt have been more understanding, having already agreed to lend William Burns the large sum of £100 to stock the farm at Mount Oliphant. But every hero needs to be up against a first-rate ‘baddie’ who gets his just desserts by the end of the story, and if there wasn’t a real one at the time the story is set, then a little historical fudging is sometimes required! Provost Fergusson passed away in 1776, five years after the events of Hag Storm take place, and it is only then that the Burns family are pursued by the estate executors for rent arrears. It was these events that that gave Robert Burns the model for his cruel factor described in his poem ‘Twa Dogs’: Poor tenant bodies, scant o’ cash, How they maun thole a factor’s snash; He’ll stamp and threaten, curse an’ swear, He’ll apprehend them, poind their gear; While they maun stan’, wi’ aspect humble, An’ hear it a’, an’ fear an’ tremble! However, in order to give young Rab a worthy foe and to heighten the dramatic tension of his family’s difficult life on the farm, I chose to confine Provost Fergusson to his sickbed during the events of Hag Storm and to introduce a factor that would turn the financial screw on the Burns family every month. Burns purists will no doubt be horrified by this historical inaccuracy, but it’s at points like these where historical fiction must diverge from factual biography in order to produce the most exciting plot possible. After all, if readers are willing to buy into the idea of a young Robert Burns battling witches to save his family, they can hardly object to a few liberties being taken with his real-life teenage timeline! It’s this balance between the demands of producing engaging fiction while also ensuring meticulous research is done to preserve as much real-life accuracy as possible that makes writing historical fiction so tricky, but ultimately so rewarding. It’s a genre I would encourage everyone to try, not just for the challenge, but for the unexpected joy of spending an hour or two learning about everything from the history of watermills in Scotland, to traditional cottage thatching techniques!"
Victoria Williamson, author of The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle and The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, talking about the worrying trend of library closures
I found this little gem nestling in the ivy on my walk this morning and couldn’t resist taking a quick snap, but left it there for the next person to find!
Green socks, part of Mother Nature’s new Spring Collection. I predict these will be popping up all over the place very soon.
#moss #trees #spring #springcollection
Gorgeous hoarfrost this morning, the white feathers of which are supposed to resemble an old man (a Herr) ‘s beard. Looks more like a fat white hairy caterpillar to me but I’m a heathen.
Look who I met on my dog walk - a teeny bank vole. They don’t hibernate so the cold wouldn’t bother him but there was a red kite hovering frightening low above my head. After posing for my photo the vole scampered into the undergrowth, the kite screamed like an angry cat and I punched the air defiantly! I would NOT make a good documentary maker disturbing the course of nature like that!
FYI bank voles live in woodland, hedgerows, parks and gardens. They eat fruit, nuts and small insects, but are particularly keen on hazelnuts and blackberries. They live in shallow burrows, but may make grassy, round nests above ground if the soil is unsuitable for digging. I couldn’t find one example of a children’s story featuring a bank vole, though some editions of Wind In The Willows have humiliated poor Ratty by making him a bank vole.
#vole #nature #naturelovers #braywicknaturereserve #windinthewillows
“Signs of autumn - the reddening leaf, the chill in the early-morning air, the misty evenings. The summer has been splendid but it has lasted long enough. This morning I welcomed the chill in the air and viewed the falling leaves with cheerfulness.” ~A.A.Milne
#funghi #autumn #walks
A seven hour walk, sore legs, one more hill to climb and these marvellous trees gave us a leg up, lending us their roots to use as steps. A very welcome helping hand from Mother Nature 🌳
#nature #treeroots #cornwallcoast #cornwall #southwestcoastpath #southwestcoastalpath #hikingadventures #hiking
Woke up to this little bit of paradise, but look at the SOS message on the beach. We don't own this world, were here to share it then pass it on. Shame on us that we’re not passing it on in the state we found it. It’s everyone’s problem so please,
please, do your bit, however small or insignificant it may seem. Every little bit helps. #doyourbitforclimatechange #doyourbitfortheenvironment #climatechange #sennencove #sennen #cornwall #cornwallcoast #nature
Though swans usually drink fresh water, like albatross they have salt glands just under the skin above their eyes. These glands desalinate the water and food ‘sea faring swans’ ingest, enabling them to live,
drink and feed perfectly happily on saltwater. (Particularly when their diet is supplemented by tourists!)
#nature #swan #cornwall
Do you see that solitary seagull happily enjoying the morning sun on the cliff below? Now I love nature as much as the next man, but do you suppose it would mind if I pooed on it? Maybe then came back and pinched a bit of it’s breakfast? Just asking. 🐦 🍟 💩
#seagull #seagulls #cornwall #nature
The house to the left of this magnificent sculpture is Ferryside, where Daphne Du Maurier wrote her first novel The Loving Spirit. Across the estuary the ‘Rook With a Book’ commemorates her short story The Birds. No prizes for guessing where I am!
#daphnedumaurier #birds #birdsofinstagram #fowey #cornwall
Meet Tyson, my writing buddy, he comes to visit whenever I work outside and seems to find my computer intriguing. He’s flexing his new red chest feathers in this shot. Cool eh?
#robin #songbirds #gardenbirdsuk #nature #naturenugget
Want to know if a tree is slow or fast growing? Inspect its trunk, the faster it grows, the smoother its bark. 🌿🌳🌲 #trees #nature #naturenugget #woodland
Can you see the goldfinches hiding in the foliage? No nor can I, but every morning when I pass this patch of thistles they fly up and scatter like pollen, gold stripes glinting in the sunlight. I have crept up, waited still as a statue, even videoed my approach to catch them for you, and every day the little buggers wait till I put my phone away, then burst out chattering and giggling as they fly away. So here’s a picture of a thistle. Swipe left for a photo of a goldfinch (I didn’t take it 😢) #nature
Butterflies and bumble bees will be delighted the teasels are blooming. They always remind me of partially bald men at this stage, but soon the flowers will grow north and south to fill in the gaps. Goldfinches and greenfinches will be dreaming of the seeds to come in autumn - they have extra long beaks, which means they can reach right in and not get pierced on the prickles!
Teasels are one of my favourite flowers.
#teasels #nature #finches
This beautiful heron, so elegant in flight, looked like a weary, hunched old bishop wearing oppressively heavy vestments which, incidentally, is pretty much how I felt after a weekend of partying! (scroll to see him hiding in the reeds before I accidentally scared him off.) #birdsofinstagram #heron #nature
It’s that time of year when some people’s thoughts turn to lawn mowing! Picture 1 is Joe the Giant Tortoise Mow, picture 2 a £499 RoboMow! I know which I prefer!
#tortoise #lawncare #lawnmower
Call me bonkers, and yes I am a little obsessed with dragonflies and Charlotte’s Web, but I feel certain a spider spun this dragonfly web just for me last night.
#dragonflies #spiderweb #nature
These very hungry caterpillars massacring our hops will turn into beautiful peacock butterflies, hibernate, lay loads of eggs then die eleven months from now. A longer lifespan than the mayfly (one day!) I suppose but an odd old life eh?
Not the best pictures I know, but I was so excited when this red kite swooped down and disturbed me from my book this afternoon I felt I had to share the moment!
#redkite #redkites #nature #thames #riverthames
Clever people of Instagram, please tell me what sort of tree this is before I get arrested for accosting passing strangers to ask. Nobody seems to know - not even the people who work at the nature reserve where it grows!
#woodlandtrust #nature #trees
Doris the tortoise has woken from hibernation just in time to help with the weeding! In Somerset we used to call bindweed Granny Pop Out Of Bed and squeeze the base of the flowers to make them pop out of the stems. Now I’m 127 years old and live in the “Home Counties” I call it a bloody nuisance and feed it to the tortoises!
#naturenugget #nature #tortoises #bindweed
Whenever you find fungal conks like this growing out of the trunk or at the base of a tree it’s an indication the tree is decaying inside.
#fungus #naturenugget #nature
On my walk this morning I found 17 NOx cannisters, a bag of weed, couple of empty beer cans and this lovely bumble bee foraging on an opium poppy!
#opiumpoppy #bees #examsareover #naturenugget
Useless fact - moths rest with their wings closed and butterflies with them open. This red admiral was snoozing on our ceonothus.
#butterflies
#uselessfacts
#nature
Clearly I need to get a life, but watching these little critters is ridiculously relaxing!
#universalviews #woodlice #bugs #bugslife #lovenature #nature
Aren’t these flowers clever - they wake with the sunrise and close when it’s dusk. So do tulips, hibiscus, poppies and crocuses! It’s behaviour known as nyctinasty. Not Nasty at all if you ask me - eminently sensible in fact!
#nature #flowers #nyctinasty
Wish I had that much control over my children -
look at them, 18 in a perfect line and following along nicely!
#springwatch #thames #geese #geeseofinstagram #rspb
Nice to see a cob sitting the nest in the middle of these gorgeous yellow water lilies. He’s protecting the nest while his wife has a a bit of breakfast!
#swan #wildlifephotography #thames
This behemoth West Highland Terrier puppy outside The Guggenheim in Bilbao is carpeted in bedding plants and so is literally and figuratively still growing!
Fontaine Moussue (Mossy Fountain) in Salon de Provence - this 16th century drinking fountain has grown over with moss, which has mushroomed into this fabulous tree shape. The fountain still bubbles up through the limestone, so fresh water drips constantly through the most ‘treehead’. In winter it drips with icicles!
The leaves from these chicory flowers would be delicious in a salad but I think are better left to give colour to the fading meadow. 🍂🍁🌺🌼🍂🍁
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#meadow #flower #nature #photography #author
Look at this little beauty peeping between the golden leaves of Autumn 🍂
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#flower #nature #beauty #photography #author #bookreviewer #bestseller #naturephotography
How could I feel a stranger here
Who know all changing seasons of the year
From buds that speak in hints
To frost that sets the flints
As fast as precious stones?
I know them all at once,
For when on thinning boughs the birds are dumber
My memory can make a full-leaved summer
But now today out of the trees
Flies and falls down a flock of greenfinches
And on some teasels lighting
Cling with crying and biting,
Till tugged and torn by them
Each fringed brown-headed stem
Shakes like the wand tossed by a thyrsus-bearer
And I stand looking on, a strayed wayfarer. ~The Teasels, Andrew Young —
#teasels #poems #author #authoroftheday #poets #nature #photography #goals #love
Love this “It’s a dog’s life” post from my brilliant niece @annakierstan (starring fabulous sister’s dog and fabulous great-niece 👏🏻)
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#dogs #dogslife #willow #goals #doggoals #author
Ooh I want to be on that horse! That is just how my childhood mornings used to start (except no smart phones in them there olden days!) Great shot from @visitwindsoruk🐴💜
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#pony #horse #childhood #childhoodgoals #author #story #sunset #horseears #love
These flowers have medicinal qualities and are bing used in research for Alzheimer’s prevention🌸💚
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#salvia #flowers #pretty #instagoals #nature #beauty #author #books
This little guy looked almost good enough to eat! Not with garlic and butter but because his shell looks like a whirl of delicious chocolate!
#snails #chocolate #nature #iphone
These yellow-bellied slider turtles are popular pets, unfortunately they are also popular alligator food and so I fear these two are not going to last long 😩
#turtles #swamp #southcarolina #endangeredspecies
The great blue heron is the biggest bird in North America, standing at 4 ft high,l and with a 5 ft wingspan! This one was serene and unconcerned by my presence, standing within arms reach and posing beautifully for my photos.
#birds #birdsofinstagram #heron #greatblueheron #southcarolina #nature #naturephotography #naturelovers
Apparently this magnificent swamp is where the animators came to work on Shrek, one of my favourite children’s film/book adaptations. It is also the setting for the series of DC comic’s Swamp Thing! Culture or what?
#swamplife #swampthing #swamps #plantation #shrek #adventuretime #childrensbooks #childrens #bookadaptation #nature #treesofinstagram
This majestic golden orb spider was twice as big as my hand! My childhood hero Charlotte would be proud of that web.
#spiders #southcarolina #charlottesweb #nature #plantation #savannah #ebwhite
I bet there’s a tale to tell about this pretty little sail boat adrift in the alligator infested Savannah swamp
#swampland #northcarolina #stories #adventuretime #sailing #iphoto #nature
This alligator is about one year old and sunbathing right below our terrace. He’s about three foot long and apparently could grow to four times that!
#alligator #reptiles #southcarolina
Think of the adventures you could have in this spooky five story tree house! The top level is above the tree canopy - I felt like Mowgli!
#treesofinstagram #junglebook #southcarolina #palmettobluff #treehouse #adventure
It’s that time of year when every morning I think “I must read Charlotte’s Web" AGAIN. .
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#charlottesweb #webs #spiders #spiderweb #ebwhite #childrensbooks #bookreviews #literacy #nature #photography #middlegradebooks #naturephotography #eviewhite #iphoneography
It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important
#thelittleprince #antoinesaintexupery #rose #wonderfulniece #amazingniece #niece #englishroses #englishrose
I've already posted the rules of conckers, but if you're more worried about your knitwear than your knuckles ponder this ... experts say the old wives’ tale about putting conkers in wardrobes and drawers to stop moth caterpillars feeding on fabrics is scientifically accurate because the seeds produce a natural insecticide. •
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#conkers #games #photography #nature #naturephotography #fun #cool #life #conkergames #fantasticdaughter #green #beautiful #beautifulnature #beautifulphotography#
The conker season is nearly upon us! In order to avoid tears and tantrums, here is a reminder of the official rules of the game!
1. Each player must use a new conker at the start of each game (ideally, a new lace as well). Players cannot re-use conkers from earlier games.
2. The game begins with the toss of a coin. The winner of the toss chooses to strike or receive.
3. A distance of no less than eight inches or 20cm of lace must be between a player’s knuckle and their conker.
4. Each player takes three strikes at the opponent’s conker before play switched to their opponent. The opponent then takes three strikes and turns alternate in this way until the end of the game.
5. Each strike must be clearly aimed at the nut. There can be no deliberate mis-hits.
6. The game is decided once one of the conkers is smashed.
7. If a conker is not completely smashed but so little of it remains that it cannot possibly mount a serious attack against its opponent, that conker is out.
8. If both nuts smash at the same time, the match must be replayed.
9. Any nut that is knocked from the lace but not smashed may be re-threaded and the game may be continued.
10. Any player causing a knotting of the laces (a snag) will be noted. Three snags will lead to a disqualification
11. If a game lasts for more than five minutes then play is halted. Each player is allowed nine further strikes at their opponent’s nut, again alternating after every three strikes. If neither conker has been smashed at the end of the nine strikes then the player who strikes the nut the most times during this period is judged the winner.
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#photography #nature #naturewalk #naturelovers #naturephotography #treesofinstagram #walks #middlegradebooks #literacyrocks #childrensauthor #kidswriter #author #kidsbooks #conkers #conkergames #leaves #trees #pretty #beautiful #goals #life #fantasticdaughter #conkersofinstagram
One of these thinks it's autumn, the other thinks it's spring! I am determined it is still Summer! •
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📸 @kalonphotographyy 📸📸@_louisathum
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#photography #nature #naturephotography #walks #naturewalks #naturelovers #fantasticdaugher #beautiful #trees #treesofinstagram #treesofengland #flowers #goals #life
I know all wooded pathways look the same on photos but when you're in them and the light is dappling through the trees it always feels so magical
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#dogwalking #trees #path #september #england #towpath #childrensbooks
Joe is loving this warm weather and now weighs in at just over 10kg !
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📸📸 @benthumm .
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#gianttortoises #joethetortoise #grass #nature #photography #nature #naturephotography #fantasticdaughter #fantasticson #goals #middlegradebooks #childrensbooks #childrensauthor #bookstagram
Who didn't listen in geography? I obviously didn't as I had to look this up! Sedimentary layers in the Cornish cliff face. Either that or you're not allowed to park there! .
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#sedimentaryrock #cliffface #geography #geology #walks #clifftop #coastalwalk
It’s the time that you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important. . . . (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
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#thelittleprince #roses #yellowroses #flowers #nature #literacy #literacymatters #childrensbooks #childrensauthor
Not bubbles, or raindrops but pond skaters, AKA Jesus bugs in account of their incredible ability to walk on water! According to National Geographic these are 'the most advanced surface dwelling water bug found in nature.' Well now you know! .
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#nationalgeographic #waterbug #waterbugs #thames #riverthames #riverbug #nature #insect #naturefacts #naturelovers #thamesriver ##childrenstories
"Swans living on fresh water will typically eat pondweed, stonewort and wigeon grass, as well as tadpoles and insects such as milfoil." Um yum - lucky swans! It doesn't half get caught in the kayak paddles though!
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#swans #swans #thames #riverthames #thamespathway #riverbirds #riverweed #nature
One of the more impressive spectacles of the plant world - The sudden appearance of mushrooms after summer rain ☀️🌨🍄
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#mushrooms #mushrooms #plants #fungi #fungiphotography #cornwall #cornishcoast #nature #naturewalk #photography #naturelovers #naturewalk
Look who popped up beside our boat today! There is a Scottish legend about mythological creatures called Selkies that are said to live as seals in the sea but shed their skin to become human on land. If this piques your interest check out a wonderful new novel about it called Seaskin.
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#seals #selkie #sealskin #fiction #cornwall #cornish #amreading #adventure #orendabooks
A Series of Unfortunate Events? Frenchman's Creek? I bet this house has some wonderful stories to tell! .
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#clifftop #clifftops #storytelling #cornwall #stories #literacy #literacymatters #reading
Today's magical pathway - a canopy of gnarled oak leading to a sanctuary for seals. .
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(📸 @kalonphotographyy )
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#sealsanctuary #oak #gnarledtree #fairyland #magical #storytelling #fairystories #cornwall #childrensbooks #magicalpathways
Can you see this otter cunningly disguised as part of a fallen tree? If you haven't already read Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson or Ring of Bright Water by Gavin Maxwell then I urge you to get to the library and pick up a copy - you have a real treat in store!
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#otter #braybookfairy #naturewalks #library #childrensbooks #visitcornwall #englishwildlife #wildlife #stories #storytelling #bookreviews
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree that looks at God all day
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree .
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#trees #treestagram #braybookfairy #naturewalks #childrensbook #storytelling #poem #cornwall #wind
I had never heard of 'seagull syndrome' until today - to save you looking it up here is the definition:- "unwillingness to share, selfish tendencies, misplaced entitlement." I wonder why ...
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#seagull #seagulls #syndrome #birds #fisherman #cornwallcoast #cornwall #porthleven #fishingboat