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British Summer Time (BST) is a 20th century invention. First suggested by Benjamin Franklin in 1784, but then more seriously proposed by William Willett. The idea of the changing of clocks was that we could make the most of increased daylight hours that occur through the northern hemisphere summer, as the Earth orbits the Sun. It was first adopted by Germany in 1916, soon followed by the UK, so not to be disadvantaged at a time of war.   During the Second World War, to increase hours of productivity, we had double Summer time. Since then we have trialled this again, but it was unsuccessful,...

Here are a few of ours. If you have any to add, please do send them over to be included. 1. Bone Hill, Dartmoor. There's a great view, plenty of space, lots of rocks to hop and climb. Hide and seek and cops and robbers are brilliant games for a gang here.   2. Grimspound, Dartmoor. In the middle of a Bronze Age village, Grimspound, Dartmoor. What a view and so much exploring to be done. The boundary is 150 metres in diameter with the remains of 24 circles, 18 thought to be stone roundhouse, the other 6 store rooms.   3. Just...

We love a picnic. It gives freedom from the kitchen table routine, allows us to get out quickly, gives time to refuel tired kids, allows us to stop and take in the surroundings and provides a destination to a walk. Because we always walk to our picnic spot we like things to be light, compact and easy to carry. A good rucksack can make light work of even the heaviest loads. We tend to fill the bag up with ingredients for picnic food that we can make once we're there. For example, an avocado, endive, radishes, gherkins, hard boiled eggs. See our...

Extract from history.com "Picnic” comes from the French term “piquenique” which was used from the mid-1600s to describe gourmands who brought their own wine when dining out. But elegant meals outdoors were probably first eaten during the Middle Ages, when hunting became a vaourted pursuit of the leisure class. These medieval hunting feasts were depicted in artworks of the time, like the ballads of Robin Hood and the famous Bayeux tapestry.... read more. Picnics developed from moveable outdoor feasts for the wealthy and victorian garden parties to leisurely gatherings as we know today. An informal affair where everyone brings their own dish. Perhaps to "Pick...

  Team work! What could be more fun than running around outside, excitedly, with a group of friends trying to work out clues with the possibility of being on the winning team? That's what Eliza had in mind for her birthday party. It's great fun and it's free but it does take a little planning. We decided to organise ours in Hampstead Heath, an area the kids don't know too well with plenty of variety of outdoor space. After a couple of recce trips put together a list of clues. We couldn't leave clues in place, as being a public area,...