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The Guardian
19-07-2025
- The Guardian
Where the wild things are: how to immerse your kids in the great outdoors this summer
'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. Then, a rustle came from up ahead. 'Quick! I found them,' he yelled before disappearing into a clearing between the pines. I walked on, to find, in front of us, the curved edges and spherical lines of a UFO, coloured so dark it nearly blended into the shadows. It was, of course, a metal sculpture representing the alien vessel said to have landed here over 40 years ago. On top of it stood my son. Even before I managed to take a decent picture, he wanted to run on again. 'We've got to find number four now,' he declared. 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. But there is another way. And it is completely free. And that is the outdoors. The UFO-themed walk was on Forestry England land, which is one of the first places to turn during the holidays. From interactive app-based trails that allow you to take videos of your child pretending to be a dragon complete with AI wings, to crafting missions where you work together to find natural items on the woodland floor to make the face of the Gruffalo, they are an inexpensive way to immerse yourself in nature. On the UFO trail, a free leaflet at the start guided us around the trees where I could tell the story of the key sites. My son was so enamoured of the map and tale that the next morning at breakfast he asked me to read it again while he followed the map with his finger and remembered our adventure. But an outdoor adventure doesn't have to be deep in the forest, where maps are required. The next day, we headed to Thorpeness, home to the much-photographed House in the Clouds, a former water tower that was disguised as a red and black clapboard house in 1923. Our mission was to find a way to get a good photograph of it. We followed a footpath up a hill, past quirkily painted weatherboarded houses which were popular after the first world war. While I was in awe of the house we had come to see, my little one found it way more exciting to discover the windmill opposite (bought by the creator of the House in the Clouds to help pump the water). Adjacent to Thorpeness is the town of Aldeburgh, where we spent hours on the shingle beach filling buckets with 'magic stones', chasing the waves, paddling in the North Sea and taking shelter under Maggi Hambling's giant scallop shell sculpture when rain fell. 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. Weeks on, my son still talks about this day as one of the best in his life. Beaches are always a winner when trying to convince kids that nature is cool. On a previous trip, I took my boy to New Quay in Ceredigion, west Wales (one of a few places that lay claim to being the inspiration for the characters and town in Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood). We didn't set foot indoors for an entire day. When the tide was out, we set up a beach 'base camp' with some shade under a giant parasol, then proceeded to bury each other 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. As the temperature rose, we swam in the sea and, just before the end of the day, we were treated to a spectacle of the resident bottlenose dolphins putting on an impromptu performance at dusk. None of this cost a penny. 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. We stayed up watching the sunset, despite it being way past his bedtime. 'I love the sun so much,' he told me as we saw the sky turn purple. 'I don't want to go to 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. On one of the last days, we woke before dawn. I packed a chocolate croissant in my bag and we climbed the nearest hill to watch the sun rise. He still talks about it and asks when we will do it again. One of my most memorable trips with him was paddleboarding on the river near our house. I packed a picnic and we paddled to an island, where we sat and watched the birds, while he asked what each one was called and demanded we collect some of their lost feathers to take home, in the hope we might one day be able to make a cape that allowed us to fly back here. Memories like this 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 is the author of Wayfarer and the 2025 recipient of the Royal Geographical Society's Ness award for promotion of accessible adventure, particularly to women and those from underprivileged communities
Wales Online
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Tom Jones played matchmaker for another huge Welsh singer
Tom Jones played matchmaker for another huge Welsh singer It's not unusual that Tom Jones managed to play cupid for his former duet partner. It appears Sir Tom isn't just a talented vocalist but also dabbles in matchmaking. (Image: undefined via Getty Images ) Tom Jones isn't just an incredible vocalist, but it turns out he is also a brilliant matchmaker. Former Catatonia singer, Cerys Matthews has her long time friend Sir Tom to thank for setting her up with her husband of 14 years. In 2011, Cerys married Steve 'Abbo' Abbott, a music manager and member of post-punk band UK Decay. However, this may well not have happened if the Sex Bomb singer hadn't set them up. Tom had told the pair that they found each other attractive and the rest was history. At the time, the music manager hadn't even heard of Catatonia as he was living in America. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter Steve said: "I lived in America, so I missed Catatonia. I only knew them because I was working with Tom Jones and he recorded with her. It was Tom actually that put us together. He and Mark, his son, knew we had a lot of common interests." The pair of Welsh singers already had a close bond as in 1999 Cerys Matthews and Sir Tom Jones, had duetted together on the festive hit 'Baby, It's Cold Outside'. Sir Tom with Kelly Jones, Cerys Matthews and the late Stuart Cable at the launch of The Pop Factory TV studio in Porth (Image: SOUTH WALES ECHO ) Article continues below Steve continued: "We were out with them in Ronnie Scott's one night, I was her manager, and she went to the toilet and Tom said, 'Hey, boyo, I think she fancies you.' "I'm like, 'Get out. Get away from it.' I went to the toilet, and he said to her, 'I think your manager fancies you.' No conversation happened, and that's how we ended up together." Now, after 14 years of marriage the couple are raising five beautiful children in their blended family . Cerys Matthews and her husband Steve Abbott got married in 2011 after being set up by Sir Tom Jones (Image: Western Mail ) The pair's relationship is built on their shared interests, one of which is of course music, and Steve says that he and the 'Mulder and Scully' hitmaker both value meaningful lyrics over melody in songs. Speaking to BANG Showbiz, he explained: "A great song with great lyrics, oh my goodness. I'll always listen to the lyrics. Article continues below "Some of the radio shows I listen to, you get a great tune that starts, and then the lyrics, 'I want to be me / I want to be free / Can I be free? I want to be me / That's what I want to be.' I'm like, 'Oh my God. Bloody awful lyrics.' I just can't listen to it. "Actually, my wife Cerys is the same, the lyric is so important. The melody is important but having a great lyric is so important."
