inspired by a natural playground

We took a trip to Winster Valley this afternoon with a Friend who had grown up in the area. We parked the car by a wood where the road came to an end next to Cartmel Fell school. The one room school had been 'solidly built in stone' in 1871 to serve the local farm children who had previously been taught in the nearby church. Their playground had been the surrounding woods and fields. I guess that they learnt as much from those playtimes as they did inside the school. Claire told us that one day, the teacher went to call them in for lessons and they were nowhere to be seen. They had followed the local hunt! On other days they would stay closer to school, sliding down this boulder, worn smooth with the pants of generations of children.

During the war, evacuees swelled the numbers, including a young Derek Nimmo. No doubt their education was broadened by the experience.

In 1971, exactly 100 years after it was built, the school closed and is now used as a community centre. However it is not difficult to imagine the happy laughter of children playing in the woods.