Nature-Zoe Scott-Smith

Access to Nature: Weaselling on Higher Tor

We’d like to share the great work going on in the Outdoor Education Department with you. Access to Nature is a fantastic programme for helping participants onto the next stage of education/training/employment. We’re grateful for the opportunity given to us by our funders – the government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund, and The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England, the Environment Agency, and the Forestry Commission.

This is the fifth of six blogs recounting their adventures: 

In the penultimate week of the Access to Nature program, the groups returned to the heart of the Peak District – the site of many successes during the climbing day on week 3. After kitting up with helmets, waterproofs, and hiking boots, members went for an adrenaline-fuelled day of weaselling, squeezing and scraping their way through tight gaps in the rock formations of Higger Tor. Weaselling is highly challenging and gave them the chance to develop many a soft skill, from problem solving to communication. The unusual landscape inspired many members of the group to ask questions about their natural surroundings. Jack and Alex were all-too-happy to share their knowledge of Higger Tor, its formation, and the hydrology and geology of the surrounding landscape.

If you feel these activities would benefit the young people in your school or group, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by emailing jack.flemming@ymcarhg.org