The National trust

The National trust was founded in 1895 and was established to save our nations heritage and countryside. They restore and protect 300 houses, look after 250,000 hectares of land including forests farmland, countryside and if that wasn't enough they also protect 775 miles of coastline. All of this is for the public to enjoy and at the same time they are protecting our history and landscapes for hopefully many years to come. This is why we love to explore the National trust getting involved in all that it has to offer.

We have been members for two years the money we pay to become members is used to help the National trust with there restoration projects, so we know our money is being used for something worth while. Also they do the best cream teas and serve some lovely seasonal foods, yum.

The one reason we love being National trust members so much is when we are on our camping trips we will often see signposts for a National trust and can just stop off at any one that takes our fancy without having to pay. Some times we will be taken off the beaten track and find a new place to explore. These can  be  an  incredible old manner houses where we can discover the storys of the people who lived there, or can take us into the wild countryside, to waterfalls or beach coves. You never know where the next sign may take you.

With miles of countryside there are always new places to explore 

The coastline they look after is some of the most beautiful we have ever seen

Every property the National trust restore and look after are different they all have there own stories, Some are large manor houses with glamorous and grand rooms with beautiful lavish gardens. These can have you imagining yourself as a lord of the manor the next as a woods man taking care of his land, you learn about the family and people that kept it running.
Other properties may take you to old farm houses or pubs that have stood the test of time to grand castles nestled in the countryside so much to explore.

The interiors of the houses are as grand as you could imagine these family wanted to show there wealth to there guests. they are keep true to with authentic furniture and paintings from the families pasts, and have items laid out as if they had just left but will be back.

You can discover how the family lived and how the house was kept alive with the servants and chefs exploring the kitchens and servants rooms

If you are getting tired from all your adventuring there are rooms with comfy old chairs for you to rest and take in the incredible artwork. in the winter months the log fires are lit and you can relax with a mulled wine to escape the cold outside giving you a glimpse of what it was like to live such a lavish lifestyle.

With all these grand halls and lavish rooms each house would not be complete without a garden. The National trust have there own team of gardeners but the past is well preserved with them using some of the old techniques from former gardeners of the past.

 The allotments are used to grow fruit and vegetables for the cafe in some of the properties so you can have a tasty fresh treat after all your exploring.

There are always events on throughout the year and seasonal fun to be had. for christmas the houses are decorated with trees and the tables are set for a grand christmas dinner 

We have loved being members of the National trust and will be for years to come to think our money is going towards helping keep our rich history safe makes it all worth while.

We can explore to our hearts content. deer parks, caves and coastline thanks to the National trust. We hope we have inspired you to explore these incredible places hiding themselves away in our green rolling hills of our English countryside. The national trust is just one of our many reasons to explore but there is so many reasons to get out and enjoy the outdoors in any season.

A forage in the forest

As the autumn arrives, the days get colder and the rain at the moment gets more frequent.

We like to wrap up warm and take in the most of the outdoors as possible.

We wanted to have a go at foraging/ identifying something a bit different today not our normal heist of berry, wild flowers, plants and birds. Honestly we are complete novices at it so always a bit worried at the thought of going to look for mushrooms we took the safe option of not trying to eat them with our limited knowledge, maybe when we know a bit more. They do loads of great tours and walks that are usually free with a professional who can easily identify the beasts maybe after one of those we will feel better about grabbing one to eat.  The year is winding down so whats a better time than to find out a little more about mushrooms and be able to identify some of them. 

With the forest floor covered in fallen leaves and fallen down trees it is an ideal time to hunt for the many different varieties of mushrooms. We will show you some of them we spotted. Hopefully we are able to identify the ones we found but don't judge us if they are completely wrong, its early days and it was a lot of fun trying. Defiantly takes your mind of the rain. 

Mushrooms can be shy little fellows they like to hide under the brush and often found under trees in damp dark conditions but when walking in the woods you will see them if your looking or in some cases you will smell them first.

The first mushroom we stumbled across is a very common one the sulphur tuft toadstool,

They can be found all year round but you will most likely see them anytime in April to December.

You will find them across the uk in woodlands and forests. they grow in groups on old decaying wood and tree stumps.  

This is a type of honey fungus there are several verities but this species attack and kill the roots of plants, they will often be found in woodlands and forests. this one was a devil to identify we were a bit worried about touching some of the ones we didn't no so was hard to be sure. Risky game this mushroom thing.

The stinkhorn lives up to its name and is indeed very smelly. We found it by the smell alone, (trust us, think old eggs) it emerges from an underground from an egg or sorts and gets its horrid smell from the "globa" a substance that covers the cap, this as we found attracts alot of flies. Its a very interesting and unusual one.

The angels bonnet is rather beautiful one it is found on tree stumps and fallen trees. you can find them in woodlands if you explore around tree stumps they look so delicate and are tiny at times.

This has been a little hard for us to identify but we believe it is either a Chanterelle or a False chanterelle hygrophoropsis. they can often be found in woodlands or sometimes in open fields and are found in small groups. Its not our favourite kind of reminds us of those skip crisps you have when your a kid.

This one is one we are not sure it maybe weeping widow but its not dark enough we think these can sometimes be found in your back garden. They look the most friendly but if it is a weeping widow it most defiantly is not.

This rather lovely looking fella is the butter cap it has a lovely name to go with its delacate cup like appearance. Being a very common mushroom you will most likely see it on your adventures in the forests.

After a long day of mushroom spotting and looking up the many hundreds of different species there are we had a look for other autumnal treasures you can find in the forest.

We are already scoping out holly for our christmas wreath

We love the way moss starts to cover tree stumps and fallen trees making a blanket across the forest 

And the leaves that cover the floors creating a patchwork quilt for us to walk on 

Once we had explored the forest we ended the day with a warm cup of soup overlooking the nearby fields. We still have a lot to learn about hunting mushrooms and identifying them but we hope this brief look into the world of the woodland floor will inspire you to go out and adventure to find these rather special and magical fungi. 

Please do leave any comments you have and if you do find anything you want to share hashtag us on Instagram sarahandthebearadventures