Final full day away in the van. Great to wake up in the campervan and make a latte. Chilled start to the day but no run this morning as we went for a walk to begin with.

Prior to the walk however, Dan spent a fair bit of time in the forest with many of the new friends. They started to make a den with branches and coverings of fern leaves. It was probably a team effort of about 8 to 12 children, working together and making a den that many would be proud of. Sometimes people need reminding that children can get on with things on their own and do not need supervising, directing or guiding; they do pretty well on their own, using their imagination and adapting things to make them work!

When we prized Dan away from den building, we started our walk – an easy 5km amble. We ventured into the forest opposite our site and enjoyed a reasonable walk with only one backtrack. The routes were adjusted but the main thing was the chilled walk together, chatting and enjoying the environment, despite being eaten by the mosquitos.

Back at the van there was a bit of chilling time before I went out on the bike alone. Kit on and ready, I planned a rough destination with the aim being to see what the paths looked like and adjusting along the way. It wasn’t quite as planned with some routes being quite narrow, winding and muddy. It had to have been the most rough route I’d been on, with logs, bogs and plant growth to contend with. The reassuring factor all the way was, the bike tracks proved someone else had been here before. Eight km done in half an hour was ok, considering the slopes and surface. Great fun and no photos as had no time to.

Back at the van and cleaned up, it was a short walk around the lake and then to the station cafe to get the pizzas we ordered. We all ate far too much but they were lovely. A great day finished with a lovely pizza night out.

Games, friends and cycling about the campsite to cap off a great day.