What happens when you send a group of SEND parents into the woods for an afternoon of peaceful bushcraft, green woodworking, and fresh air? Absolute magic, a decent dose of adrenaline, and, naturally, a comedy of errors.
Yesterday, we headed over to Eden’s Forest CIC in Honley for our adults-only wellbeing session. Carers rarely get three hours completely to themselves, so the chance to switch off, grab a hot drink, and just be amongst people who truly get it was heaven from the get-go.
The wonderful team at Eden’s Forest showed us around the woodland, and before long, the inner child came out in everyone. Between trying our hand at green woodworking and braiding, plenty of us found our way straight to the cargo net and the zip line. Nothing blows the cobwebs away quite like flying through the trees on a Sunday afternoon, followed shortly by tucking into fresh, piping-hot pizzas cooked right there in the outdoor wood-fired oven. It was genuinely delicious and just what we needed.
Of course, a Little Hiccups adventure wouldn’t quite be complete without a bit of a mishap.
Towards the end of the afternoon, myself and one other managed to take a slightly too scenic route and got thoroughly lost in the trees. In our defence, it was entirely the fault of Hiccups the Bear leading us astray, and honestly, the woods were far too lovely to rush through anyway! What was meant to be a neat 5:00 pm finish turned into us wandering about for a good extra half an hour trying to retrace our steps.
The absolute highlight came when the search plan was hatched. The team thought they’d locate us by whistling through the trees—a brilliant strategy, except for the tiny detail that both of us wandering lost souls are deaf. You really couldn’t write it. Once the penny dropped, we were in absolute hysterics out in the undergrowth.
A massive, heartfelt thank you to the fantastic team at Eden’s Forest for their endless patience, their warm welcome, and for waiting around while we sorted our bearings out. It was a brilliant, laughter-filled afternoon with such lovely company.
We’ll definitely be back—though maybe next time we’ll pack a trail of breadcrumbs just in case.
