It was a real pleasure exploring the gorgeous countryside of Shorne Woods on 24 November for our High Needs Nature Experience.

Seasonal visits

We like to visit Shorne Woods once in each season as there is safe disabled friendly parking, Tramper All terrain Mobility Scooter hire, and most importantly, a Changing Places toilet.

Changing Places state: ' ... over a 1/4 million people in the UK need Changing Places Toilets to enable them to get out and about and enjoy the day-to-day activities which many of us take for granted.'

There are also a couple of pieces wheelchair suitable equipment in the playground.

We gathered at the eco-friendly Visitor Centre which is currently undergoing some extensive building works.
Our participants each had a clipboard with our Autumn Bingo sheet and a magnifying glass. We also offered grabbers for wheelchair users to pick up anything they wanted to look at more closely.

The group decided to do the tasks collectively, so we ventured off, following the Easy Access route and ticking off items as we spotted them. Quite a few leaves deserved a closer look, while other items were sensory to the touch or sound. Some were sticky or sharp and stuck to our woolly jumpers

Animal life

We needed to find these for a full house:

• habitats for bugs, 
• nests in the canopy
• signs of animal tracks and activity.
  

Bush Craft Expert Hannah pointed out some rabbit activity so we could see where they dug to eat the roots and could see paw marks.

We also found fungus high and low,. Our group managed to tick off all items on the Bingo sheet, before handing back our Hire Trampers at the visitor Centre and enjoying a hot drink and lunch.

Spring time

We will be visiting Shorne Woods again in the Spring and are looking forward to seeing the new shoots and spring flowers.

#accessibilitymatters #accessiblenature #inclusionmatters #accessiblenatureexperience
#autumnscavengerhunt
#communitymatters
#communitysupport

@need2change @kent_downs_aonb
@shornewoodscountrypark @defrauk

📸 image credit: @laurasmile_999