Pupils at Whitstone Community Primary School had a grand day out on their recent visit to the Cookworthy Forest Centre, near Halwill. They were welcomed to the Centre by Glyn Bradbury, who led the day's activities. The theme of the activities was bush-craft. Their first stop was at the re-creation of a Celtic roundhouse. Glyn explained how the roundhouse had been made, and here the pupils were fascinated to learn how to make fire without the convenience of a box of matches.

After an early lunch taken among some elegant beech trees dressed in their livery of green leaves and moss, they meandered through the wood to a meadow gilded with buttercups, where they were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a red deer. Then they walked to the area of the wood where they were going to construct shelters, on the way identifying the animal tracks that had been cast in the mud. The results of their efforts were some shelters that were both practical and surprisingly comfortable. They returned to the roundhouse and, before they threw themselves into the last activity of the day, enjoyed the treat of toasting marsh mallows in the glowing embers of the fire that had been lit at the start of their visit.

The final activity of their visit was to fashion a mallet from ash wood cylinders. Helped by the adults who had accompanied the party, the pupils got hands-on experience of using saws and bill hooks to shape their cylinders of wood into a useful tool, tangible souvenirs of their visit. As they returned to the car park, the children offered their sincere thanks to Glyn for leading them on a most enjoyable forest adventure, which even the attentions of the midges from time to time couldn't spoil.