Levens Park

We had arranged to go to Levens Park, 5 August 2008, but on the morning of the walk one family couldn’t make it due to illness. The walk was beautiful – the best of the three and very easy and safe for the children. The wildlife was amazing, loads of deer, goats, ducks and sheep – all within a couple of metres of where we were walking. We walked towards Levens Bridge and headed down to the river. The older children paddled and swam in the river, and threw stones.

We read Psalm? - thanking God for the gift of children (a new born baby was part of the group). We threw stones into the river to pray for the missing family and to thank God for different things. The children shouted out their thanks and prayers.

Kendal Castle

Our walk took us up Kendal Castle on 21st June 2008. It was a rainy Saturday morning. One of the original group members could not join us, but another family did. Some of the children played hide and seek in the long grass as we walked up to the castle. We explored the castle and had good conversations as we walked. However, the rain made it impossible to sit and talk.

We went back to our house for lunch – bacon butties – and read the story of the Wise and Foolish men building their houses. Some of the children/young people read the story to everyone and asked some questions about its meaning.

This was a very local walk and we enjoyed the time together. The children especially liked reading the story over lunch.

Serpentine Woods

Our first walk took us into Serpentine Woods in Kendal on 24 May 2008. The woods have an ‘alphabet trail’, that the children followed, looking for any objects (mostly carved out of wood), that began with the different letters of the alphabet. We took a theme of music, as there are various instruments in the woods. When we stopped for our bacon butties we read the story of Joshua marching round the walls of Jericho, then the trumpets being sounded and the walls of the city collapsing.

The group found it difficult to ‘pray’ – but when we talked about the personal things that we were either worried about or concerned about – it was easy to offer these thoughts to God in prayer.

Everyone enjoyed the walk, though the path was at times a little tricky for the pram. The children enjoyed being together for a walk and most of the group enjoyed the bacon. Not all of the group members would say they believed in God. The morning provided for deepening of friendships and enjoying the outdoors.