Located in a small, rural village on the edge of Bath, Swainswick Explorers provide children with adventurous and stimulating outdoor play and learning experiences.
In a nutshell, what goes on at Swainswick Explorers?
All the activities we run have two things at their core: people and the outdoors. The activities we offer are: play adventures for children and young people after school and in the holidays; a Friday night youth club; parties on Saturdays; a parents and pre-schoolers group; plus learning adventures for school groups either here or at their school. The holiday adventures are run in all holidays, for at least a couple of days, and some inset days.We are also a small community, with eight of us in the household, all the adults working in one way or another for Swainswick Explorers.
How long have you been in business and why did you start this work?
We started Explorers in 2003, just after our 3rd son had been born. Rachel had given up her job and Edward wanted to do something else, rather than go back to teaching. We wanted to be outdoors, work together and do something our boys could join in on.
What is your outdoor space?
We have a 2 acre garden. But really, Explorers, at its heart, is about going on foot, going on a journey, in very ordinary countryside. We roam in about a 2 mile radius of Swainswick. Sometimes we set up camps in 'free to roam' areas (coloured brown on the OS map) and we also have some relationships with landowners who've given us permission to use their land and woods.
Summary of services offered
- Explorer Days
- Educational Trips
- Playwalks
- Birthday Parties
- Deliveries to early years settings
- After School Club
Do you have play equipment set up, or are activities based on the natural environment?
In the garden we have a whole assortment of play equipment, mostly 'loose parts' (lots of bits of similar things e.g. lengths of ropes, planks, tubes, scaffolding) that the children can move around and use again and again in infinite ways. We've also got a range of home-made structures like little houses, castles, swings, swing seat and cob building which looks querky, and again can be adapted for play. On our walks in the countryside the children are interacting with those natural spaces which become their play grounds.
What kind of ‘adventures’ do the children participate in?
Well, some of the adventure comes from being allowed to run, go down a steep slope, tend a fire, use tools, feel like you are making decisions about where the group goes, trying new foods and new ways of cooking it (on the fire), going through water, mud, ice or something that you are scared of, being in a group of strangers who, by the end of the day, feel like friends. It can be something more obviously adventurous like walking in the night or sleeping out in the woods. The children and young people find it very exciting.
For more information please look at the About Us page |
