For this Outdoor Adventure we headed to the top of Faifley and the Car Park on Cochno Road. The start of the walk is to the right of the Car Park and is clearly signed. We took a slight detour into the woods on the right not long after the start where we had an explore around. We found our way up to the Three Graves. After that we got back to the Path and headed uphill to the Jaw Reservoir which was about 1 mile. We then carried on the loop past the Cochno Reservoir and the Green Reservoir. We eventually made our way to a substantial gravel path which led us all the way back down to Cochno Road. We turned left and after half a mile we were back at the car park.
This was walk was about 3 - 4 miles in distance. However, it was quite hilly so felt a bit longer and harder for the children. Make sure and pack some warm clothes to put on when walking along the top of the hills as it is quite exposed on a cold day. Wellies or walking boots are a very good idea as it is quite marshy up the top of the hills. Also remember to bring some sugary sweets to keep the children ( and adults ) going, I learned the hard way as I left them in the car! Having said all this the views are amazing and well worth the effort.
Tired children, if only I had remembered the sweets!
For this activity we used an app for identifying trees. You can download it onto your phone from the Google Play App or The App Store. This was a great activity for learning how to use a key in order to identify something in nature. Fingers crossed we got it right! The woods off to the right of the path just after the start of the walk proved to be a great place to play and explore. A great variety of trees and a stream to play in too. We even came across the Three Graves in the forest ( A great place for a ghost story!).
The Three Graves we found in the woods.
Here we tried to measure the height of an Oak Tree that we found on the way. The children can have a go at estimating the height and then using this technique they can see if they were approximately right.
Mr Paton from Edinbarnet Primary School showed us the way and kept the children entertained on the way.
Sometimes a big brother is needed for the last wee bit.