Cranedale Day 4

Return of the mac

Cranedale Day 4


North Yorkshire Moors

The weather forecaster said rain would begin at 7.00am and continue throughout the day. How often do they get it right? Unfortunately, very often.

It rained, then it rained and then it rained some more. Would this put us off having a good time? Maybe a little but it was very difficult to tell.

After a 45 minute journey we arrived at the North Yorkshire Moors. We knew we were there because there was a sign post telling us where we were. It was a good job the sign post was there because it was so misty, we could barely see anything else.

The initial part of the visit involves walking down a “dry” river bank known locally as a Griff. The Griff at the top of the hill is quite shallow. To measure the height of the Griff our guide, Chris, used Georgia as a measuring stick. The first measurement was 4 Georgias. As we continued down the Griff, the depth became greater. When we were 15 Georgias deep we stopped for refreshment.

A plant which grows in the banks of the Griff is called sorrel. It is a pleasant looking, green plant with heart shaped leaves. Chris waxed lyrically about is refreshing qualities and pleasant taste. Each child tucked in and described the sorrel using words such as bitter, sour, apple flavoured and lettuce like. Still, it was better than nothing and after consuming a handful we continued our journey down the valley.

The rain continued to fall and some of us found out about the waterproof qualities of our clothing. Mr Britten, wearing a Cranedale centre purple “waterproof”, had so much water in his pockets that he was considering offering a hand washing station for all the children who discovered the delights of the “outdoor toilet” Soon, the dry Griff became full with the sound of running water – thank you boys. Francesca and Isobel complained about the boys’ natural advantage in the toilet department. However, James P informed the group that he had the same problem as the girls due to his fly-less trousers. On hearing this, the cry of “Too much information James!” could be heard for miles around. Fortunately, this was only heard by Salterford Children. No one else was mad enough to be on the moors on a day like today.

Once we reached the bottom of the Griff we found a stream. It was just after twelve and Chris decided that this was the perfect location for lunch. Idyllic on a summer’s day – cold, wet, sitting on plastic sheeting, eating soggy sandwiches for us! Despite all the rain, no one complained!

After lunch the weather changed. It was no longer just raining; it was absolutely throwing it down. It was obviously the perfect time to study wildlife in the stream. The children manfully collected, identified and recorded a variety of nymphs, shrimps and flies. Who would crack first?

Some quotes from the afternoon

James S “I’m cold, wet, miserable and “this close” to crying!

Georgia “I’ve got Granny hands!”

Rosie “I like most things but this is ridiculous!”

Anna “Do you think my denim rucksack will keep my sandwiches dry?”

James P “Can’t we go back the long way?”

Everyone else “Shut up James!”

With no obvious signs of improvement; a decision had to be made. Would we continue with the fieldwork or would we cut the activity short and head back to the centre, like a pack of wimps, for hot chocolate and classroom based study. I have to report that the hot chocolate was delicious.

Tonight is our last evening at the centre. The children have a lesson in the classroom with microscopes followed by moth catching. It is still raining at the moment so I’m not sure how many moths we will catch.

Cranedale Day 3

Cranedale Day 3


Sustainability in farming

After the excitement of last night’s football, there were a few tired looking faces around the breakfast table this morning. This didn’t prevent the children from consuming a man mountain of breakfast items. I’m not sure Mr Britten’s new policy of changing from Frosties to Special K is going to make that much difference in the total calorie count.

The morning was spent with Ruth who is a farmer. She runs a mixed farm with her 70 year old father. Ruth explained to the children about the different crops grown on her farm and about the difficulties faced by farmers in areas with poor soil and exposed land. As well as growing wheat, barley and corn, Ruth also breeds English Longhorn cows.

Most of the animals are sold for breeding although some are sold to the supermarkets for meat. These were mainly castrated males who are sent for slaughter at two and a half. After a tour of the fields the children were able to ask questions which Ruth answered openly. Apparently, bulls become steers at an early age using a rubber ring! Some of the boys are now determined to avoid the local swimming pool.

Lunch was eaten at the farm and our time at the farm finished with a game of fetch with a very friendly collie called Sweep.

The afternoon was spent studying the local ecology and the children were able to count plant species, measure various weather conditions and study insects under a magnifier. Rosie collected so many snails that we may be able to recreate dinner in Normandy this evening. Even Alex, who was convinced everything was going to kill her, joined in and survived the day.

A lot of the learning at the centre is reinforced with fun activities. Today, we had a worm charming competition which was won by William and Remy. A consolation prize must go to Maddy, Isobel and Rosie who not only charmed 20 worms out of the ground but also had a song and dance routine which seemed to be the secret to their success.

The final game of the day taught the children about the importance of warmth and food during the winter months. The children were each given five nuts and an egg. Their instruction was to warm the egg and hide the nuts. Unfortunately, Harvey misheard the introduction and was nearly arrested for indecent exposure before Ben could scream “No Harvey, warm the egg not the nuts!” The game was eventually won by Isabella who provided food whilst keeping her egg the warmest. William collected by far the most food but neglected to care for his egg and it perished in the cold. Multi-tasking not being a skill most males possess.

After the heroics of the English football team – not to mention the myopic referee – most of the children are looking forward to the next match. Tonight, it’s back to normal with an evening activity. The children will be taking part in some team building activities and traversing across a course of low ropes.

Last bit. We have a few more misconceptions to add to Monday’s list. All these were said today by certain nameless children.

1. Leaves make wind.

2. Bulls get lonely in a field full of females.



Despite these setbacks, the children continue to impress us. Their effort, intelligence and behaviour has been first rate all week and I’m certain will continue to be so.

Cranedale Day 2

Flamborough Head


After a quiet evening, the children were out and about early this morning ready for breakfast. Each day breakfast is served at 8.15am and the children begin activities at 9.15am. This sounds reasonable to all I’m sure. Rosie didn’t agree and was prepared to snarl at anyone who attempted a conversation with her. Obviously not a morning person.

Breakfast was a variety of cereal, toast, croissant, bacon, sausage, egg, hash browns, beans and juice. How Mr Britten managed to eat it all is a mystery.

Today was mainly spent at Flamborough Head. It is the perfect location to learn about coastal erosion and also has plenty of opportunity to learn about eco-systems on the wave cut platform. If this sounds all very educational, I can also write in more child friendly language. Flamborough Head is the perfect location to hunt for crabs in rock pools, climb through caves and eat ice cream!

Weather today was very sunny. The purple rain coat has yet to be seen. The forecast is good until Thursday afternoon so we may get to see it on the moors.

The crabs were fairly tricky to find especially for some of the girls – Isabella, Isobel, Georgia and Alex who complained that the seaweed was too wet, the rocks too slippery and the crabs too nippy. Many of the boys attempted to encourage them with insults such as “stop being such girls” but this didn’t seem to bother them at all.

James S, amongst others, has a new word – beast! It’s a perfect example of how language changes with the generations. In the past everything was cool, wicked, mint, fab, brill, groovy, bad, sick etc. It basically depends on your age. Now everything is beast. No idea why, but there it is. I’m sure next year a new word will have replaced it. By the way, if you are over the age of 30, don’t attempt to use the word “beast” unless you want to deeply embarrass either yourself or your children.

After the crab hunt, the children had their lunch on the beach. Each day, there is a choice of five different sandwiches. The children select one of the sandwiches and these are ready for collection in the morning. There is a little bit of flexibility with the sandwiches e.g. mayo or no mayo. No salad was on every selection! I’m sure, by the end of the week, some of our more fussy ones will be choosing bread no tuna, no mayo, no salad, no butter.

The afternoon was spent looking at and sketching some coastal features. Stacks, arches, caves, cracks and geos were all spotted and made notes on. Georgia was very honoured to find out that a coastal feature had been named after her.

We then drove up to Bempton Cliffs. This is an important site for the RSPB and is very popular with bird watchers. The children were given a pair of binoculars each and set off in search of puffins, razorbills, fulmars and a type of cormorant popular with school children everywhere. (Look it up if you don’t know what I’m talking about. We didn’t manage to spot any of those birds but did see all the others. Normally, the puffin is the most exciting bird we see but today was different. For the first time ever at Bempton, a peregrine falcon has decided to nest there. Many birdwatchers had spent the whole day watching the nest and allowed the children to look at the falcon using their high powered equipment. After the excitement of the falcon, we went and had an ice cream to calm us down.

This evening is a free choice evening. Some children are studying sea creatures in the labs, some are writing a diary, some are helping with recycling and some are watching England vs. Ukraine. I’ll let parents guess which choice their child has made. Except Mrs Wellings who will be pleased to read that Ben is determined to find out the difference between hard and soft shelled crabs.

Cranedale Day 1

Cranedale


Day One

The annual year six trip to the Cranedale environmental studies centre began today. The children arrived at school bright and early carrying enough clothes to last a fortnight.

The journey to the centre was fairly uneventful, apart from an impromptu stop for the toilet at a garden centre. Unfortunately, a coach load of octogenarians had the same idea so there was a bit of a queue at the ladies.

We arrived at the centre just after eleven and were given a guided tour of the facilities and found our rooms. The children quickly unpacked and were then given a packed lunch consisting of a sandwich, crisps, cake and a variety of fruit.

Unlike previous years, we were met with bright sunshine. Sitting in the courtyard, eating our lunch, was most pleasant. Suntan cream and short trousers were the order of the day.

The afternoon activity was orienteering. The children were sorted into pairs and set off individually to find various markers around the site. This was a friendly competition which was eventually won by Remy and Isobel. Their team name was the “Royal Surfers” – No idea why?

Evening meal was served just after six. The food at Cranedale is always exceptional and tonight was no exception. Vegetable soup with a roll, jacket potatoes, sausage, beans, cheese and a cherry crumble.

During the day a few gaps in the children’s knowledge have become apparent. These were, of course, dealt with immediately but did provide a bit of light relief.

1. Someone who travels to work in a car is a communist.

2. The North Yorkshire Moors National Park is an acronym of Nymph.

3. Dubai is part of Europe.

I’m sure, as the week progresses, this list will lengthen ;)

Previous readers of the blog will be pleased to hear that the purple waterproof is back. Hopefully, it won’t be needed but you never know. Mr Britten has remembered his towel this time although Miss V has forgotten her waterproofs, sun cream, glasses etc. despite bringing four bags!

More tomorrow…