We spent Sunday at my in-laws house, situated at the top of a small hill and surrounded by forest in the Scottish Borders. It had been a little while since we had visited their house, instead meeting them halfway or at our own house, so it was nice to visit them for a change.
We also took advantage of the dry autumn day and went for a walk in the forest. O took his balance bike and had great fun bumping down the stoney path. A on the other hand found a stick and ran all the way down the hill, chattering all the way down.
At the bottom of the hill were several tractors that normally work in the forest. O and daddy had a good look round while A investigated the ground with his stick and jumped off wooden planks.
I knew from previous visits there was a chestnut tree just round the corner and we went to look if there were any conkers around. We found a fair few after searching through the grass, but nowhere near the amount that we found last year. They were also a lot smaller than we normally find too, I wonder if that’s because we’ve had a very dry autumn as that seems to be our local tiny blackberries problem too.
With my pockets full of conkers we headed back up the hill in a different direction, with views over the lowlands.
I put A up in the carrier, but the wasn’t looking very tired so I let him down when he saw the puddles and started squealing at them.
Of course he had great fun splashing in the water and O happily zoomed through the puddles on his bike.
On the way back to the house we found some pretty Fly Agaric toadstools, I was impressed with their colour and the fact they were quite intact.
Have you found any conkers or Fly Agaric recently?
J x
Ruth says
Wow! I haven’t seen toadstools like those for years! Well spotted! Conkers have been very thin on the ground here in the North West too. I collected a few really early on but in the real conker season, I haven’t seen any and we’ve been out and about quite a bit. x #whatevertheweather
Elizabeth says
Sounds like a lot of fun! None of my children have ever played conkers because there are no horse chestnut trees where we live.
Mini Travellers says
Gosh those toadstools are huge. what a beautiful place the live! #whatevertheweather
Sherry says
I love taking photos of toadstools they always look so pretty. We’ve really struggled finding conkers this year, though the season seems to be getting earlier. Thanks for hosting #whatevertheweather
Let kids be kids says
What a wonderful place to explore, run around and hunt for conker a. Those toad stalls are beautiful.
mark says
ok this may sound stupid but being australian i have never herd of the hunt for a conker. The closest i have come to chesnuts was chestnut puree for desert in budapest a few years back
#whatevertheweather
Mummuddlingthrough says
We have loved gathering ‘plonkers’ as TG calls them… Looks like a beautiful place! #whatevertheweather
Claire says
We love conker collecting and have gathered quite a stash this year! Looks like you had a fab trip!!
Sarah says
I haven’t seem a Fly Agaric for years, we have collected lots of conkers this year though. I love the balance bike, our kids had them when they were younger and we thought they were brilliant, our kids were able to miss out the stabiliser stage altogether by starting on them. Thanks for having us on #WhatevertheWeather
Mackenzie Glanville says
Adam would love it there, tractors, mud, toadstools fun, fun and more fun! Love your pics #whatevertheweather
Lucy says
We had early conkers this year. They were all on the ground by September. But big and shiny. The toddler kept trying to eat them…
Thanks for hosting #whatevertheweather – I’m linking for the first time
Cathy (MummyTravels) says
We went looking for conkers in the sunshine last week – there are quite a few big horse chestnut trees near us, so there’s always loads (even once the squirrels have snaffled their share). I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fly agaric in reality, looks amazing, brighter than you’d think. #whatevertheweather
Lauren says
Love the toadstools, I haven’t seen any like that for years. Looks like you had a lot of fun 🙂 #whatevertheweather
Jenni says
Looks like a great trip! My little boy loves splashing in puddles too. That’s interesting what you say about the blackberries, it’s been a disappointing year and for sloes too… Love the toadstool pics!
Jenni
Sara | mumturnedmom says
I’m quite jealous of your conker hunting, horse chestnut trees aren’t that common here! Lovely way to spend an afternoon x
susankmann says
Looks like a lot of fun. Great pictures, love the toadstool.x
Nadia - ScandiMummy says
It looks like you guys had a great day out. We specifically went out searching for conkers as I’d read they keep spiders away, and so far it seems to be working 🙂 Thank you for hosting #whatevertheweather
Nadia – ScandiMummy x
Elizabeth (Wander Mum) says
Those toadstools are amazing! What vibrant colours! We’ve found quite a few conkers – although my daughter seemed to prefer chucking them back on the grass than keeping hold of them! #whatevertheweather
Baby Isabella says
Wow! Those toadstools look amazing – like something out of a picture book. Sounds like you had a good adventure! We found some more conkers over the weekend 🙂 #Whateverthrweather
Colette says
We’ve really struggled to find any conkers at all over the last few years – I’ve wondered if we’ve looked too late in the past.
#WhatevertheWeather
Sarah says
I haven’e visited Scotland since I was 10! Mmmmm that’s 24 years ago! I’d love to take the children someday and explore. My uncle lives in Turiff near Aberdeen and my ancestry is from the Scottish Highlands. We love conkers too.
Alice says
Forests, puddles, conkers and toadstools just scream Autumn! Such a lovely little outing! We need to go on the hunt for some conkers! #whatevertheweather
Sarah (@tobygoesbananas) says
It looks like you all had a lot of fun. We went for a walk in the woods this weekend too but there were no conkers – we were all about the pine cones!
Kara says
What a perfect day
Beth says
Sounds and looks like a lot of fun!! I love days out like this. Great photos xxx
Becky (PinksCharming) says
Those toadstools are epic! What a brilliant find. We love finding conkers, such fun, though I do have to strategically throw them away every few weeks, or we’d drown in a sea of them! Lovely post xx #whatevertheweather
Lisa (Travel Loving Family) says
I love autumn walks! Looking for conkers entertains my kids for hours too:) #whatevertheweather
Chloe says
Wow those toadstools look really beautiful. I’ve never seen any in person before. I absolutely LOVE O’s bike. Is it wooden? We love, love, love wooden toys. Jamies grandad was a toy maker and his house is full of wooden toys.
It must be so nice (I’m sure it comes with it’s difficulties too) for them to get to share outings together. Even if they do different things, it’s so nice that they can explore together and have some company. Nothing beats muddy puddle jumping either! It looks like A had a great time. x
Annelise says
This looks like so much fun! My little two would love to run around conker hunting here.
Mummy here and there says
Looks idyllic place to walk and love them beautiful toadstools X
Jenny Eaves says
I know, I was impressed with the toadstools! No idea what happened with the conkers this year, will be on the look out earlier next year I think! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Hee hee, I couldn’t imagine there being many at all on Shetland? My husband is an arborist so he’s told me there’s no way we’re moving up to the Northern isles! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Thank you! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Yes, I think we’ll look earlier next year, but the blackberry season seems to have been late for us up here! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Thanks, it was a wonderful day. 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Ha ha, you’ll have to come to the UK in autumn, then you can find conkers to play with! 🙂
Jenny Eaves says
Ha ha! Love it! plonkers is a great name! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Well done! You’ll need to send us some, ours were so small and then rotted before we could do anything with them. 🙁 x
Jenny Eaves says
That’s the plan for O’s balance bike, although he hasn’t got enough confidence quite yet for pedals. 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
It is great, so much to do when you’re out for a walk in the woods! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Oh no! Maybe we just missed them then?! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Fly agaric are lovely to look at, I’ve seen quite a few in the woods. I don’t think we have as many chestnuts up here, so it can be hard to find conkers. 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
They are gorgeous, I love Fly Agaric! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
It’s strange isn’t it? Hopefully a better year next year! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
You’ll have to hunt out an arboretum to find one! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
It certainly was, thank you! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
That’s good news! Hope they continue to work for you! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Ha ha, yes my littlest would rather throw them as well, as you hear the one, two, you know he’s going to throw! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
They are such a lovely colour aren’t they! Well done on your conker finding! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
We found some at the same tree, the same time last year, so I just wonder if it’s a bad year? 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
I’ve been to Turrif a few times, I studied at Aberdeen Uni and loved Aberdeenshire. A gorgeous part of the country. My ancestry (distant) is from Caithness area, I have to say that I love Scotland and wouldn’t live anywhere else. Of course I am biased! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
I know, it’s lovely to have these memories to look back on and our little seasonal traditions. 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Oh yes, we love our cones too, they are so much fun to collect! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Thank you! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Simple autumnal fun is great! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Ha ha, send them up to us, ours went mouldy after a couple of days 🙁 , need some more chestnut trees here! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
The simple things are the best! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
That’s so sweet that they still have all the wooden toys! Yes, O’s bike is a wooden one by Plum and has been used for almost every day for almost 2 years now! Definitely a sturdy, long lasting bike. We’re getting a smaller metal one for A though, as the wooden one O has won’t fit A until he’s around 3, but he already shows a lot of interest on going on a bike!
Surprisingly it’s the time they spend outside together that they actually enjoy each others company most, the annoying each other happens mostly indoors! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
We love hunting conkers, it’s so much fun! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
It was lovely, thank you. 🙂 x