‘Aliens!” The call came loud and shrill from the trees as I scanned the foliage for the unmistakable shape of my four-year-old son. For a moment, nothing stirred. The beams of light from the sun spotlit a nearby clump of bracken so intensely it reminded me of the torches Mulder and Scully used in The X Files.
Next, I heard a rustle from the front. “Quick! He yelled “I found them” before disappearing between the pines. I kept walking, and there, in the distance, were the curved, spherical, lines, and edges of an UFO. It was painted so darkly that it blended almost into the shadows. This was, ofcourse, a metal statue representing the alien craft that is said to have landed over 40 year ago. On top of the sculpture stood my son.
Even before I managed to take a decent picture, he wanted to run on again. “We need to find the number four,” he said.
We were in Suffolk’s Rendlesham Forest, a 15-mile drive from Ipswich, walking a free UFO trail, based on the sighting of unexplained flying objects by US military officers based here in 1980. Loving to follow a trail of any kind over several hours – but especially one where he can tick off numbers, so he knows there is an end (handily, this one culminates in a playground) – he walked, ran and skipped the three miles, while I enjoyed spending time outside with him.
When it comes to the summer holidays, it can feel as if we are doing a countdown. Of the 13 weeks most children get off school each year, six are lumped together over the summer, making July and August feel like a stretch of endless time. Not only can it be a nightmare, due to the juggle of childcare and work, but keeping kids entertained and – crucially – active rather than sat in front of screens can be expensive. So many activities cost a fortune. There is an alternative. You can do it for free. The outdoors is free.
The UFO theme walk was on Forestry England Land is a popular destination for families during the holidays. You can find a variety of inexpensive ways to enjoy nature, from interactive trails on your smartphone that let you record videos of you child pretending as a dragon with AI-powered wings to craft missions in which you have to gather natural materials to make the Gruffalo face.
Then, UFO trailA leaflet that was provided at the beginning guided us to the important sites, where I told the story. My son was so fascinated by the story and map that the following morning, at breakfast, he asked me read it to him again as he followed the maps with his finger.
It’s not necessary to spend your outdoor adventure in the middle of the forest. We headed to Thorpeness the next day to see the famous Thorpeness Beach. House in the CloudsIt was a former water tank that had been disguised into a red and clapboarded house in 1923. We had to figure out a way to take a decent photograph. We walked up a hill and past weatherboarded houses painted in a quirky way, which became popular after the First World War. Although I was enamored with the house, my child found it more interesting to see the windmill that was opposite. The windmill had been bought by the creators of the House in the Clouds in an effort to pump water.
Aldeburgh lies adjacent to Thorpeness. Here, we spent hours filling buckets of “magic rocks”, paddling in North Sea waves and hiding under Maggi’s scallop shell sculpture. The day was rounded off with a hearty helping of fish and chips from Aldeburgh Fish and Chips, owned by the same family since 1967. My son still speaks of this day weeks later as being one of his best days.
The beach is a great way to show kids that nature can be cool. On a previous visit, I took my son to New Quay, Ceredigion in west Wales. (One of the few places which claim to be the inspiration for Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood and the town it is set in. We did not step foot inside for the entire day. After the tide had gone out, we built a “basecamp” at the beach, with some shade and a parasol. Then, we proceeded to dig each other up in the sand. Then we looked for jellyfish washed up on the shore (a great opportunity to teach him about them), went rock pooling in the shallows (we found crabs, limpets, anemones and periwinkles) and built an elaborate fortified river, hewn from the silt using our buckets and spades.
The temperature began to rise, so we went swimming in the ocean. At dusk, we were treated with an unexpected performance by the bottlenose Dolphins. All of this was free. Yet we’d shared some of the best quality time I’ve experienced – bonding over the natural world, revelling in getting sand between our toes, and shivering in the cool waters of the Irish Sea.
For something that feels like a bigger trip to my son, I try to involve a train. A couple of summers ago, we took the fast train to Scotland, then caught the ferry to the Isle of Mull as foot passengers. There, I hired an e-bike with a child seat and trailer, and we stopped off to wild camp near a loch. He helped me put up the tent, I cooked our dinner on a stove and we bonded over a shared love of marshmallows.
Even though it was way past his bedtime, we stayed up to watch the sunset. He told me, “I just love the sun,” as he watched the sky change to purple. “I don’t want to go sleep.” He did, thankfully, nod off under a sky full of stars, with not a mention of Bluey, Peppa Pig or any of the other characters he usually demands entertain him. We woke up early one morning on our last day. I packed a chocolate croissant in my bag and we climbed the nearest hill to watch the sun rise. He still talks about the experience and asks us when we’ll do it again.
Paddleboarding near our home was one of my favorite trips. We paddled out to an island and ate a picnic. He asked me what the birds were called, and then demanded that we take some of their feathers home to try and make a cape to allow us to fly.
These memories are priceless. I know, given his age, he probably won’t remember everything we do, but I hope going into the wild places will instil in him a knowledge that the natural world is a wondrous place and the backdrop to some of our happiest times together. For me, it helps to remember that when it comes to the holidays, instead of counting the days, I need instead to make the days count.
Phoebe Smith was the winner of the Author Wayfarer Then, there is the 2025 recipient The cheapest way to buy a car is by using the Royal Geographical Society’s Ness Earnings Promoting accessible adventure to women, especially those who are underprivileged and from lower socioeconomic groups.Privileged communities
