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The Waggonways are an extensive network of paths and trails across old mining land, approximately 4 miles east of Newcastle upon Tyne. We looked at the local history signs to find out more about why the Waggonways were created. Then we looked at the diverse hedgerows, soaked by the rain. There were many hawthorns and the smell was so fresh, compared to through the recent dry weather. Looking forward to exploring at different times of the day and through the seasons.

Tonight, I took these photos because I found them interesting. I took the picture of the tree because I liked how the vine is growing around the tree. When I got home I researched this and I didn't know that vines on trees can cause structural problems as the extra weight breaks branches! The next picture I found out was called Elder, I didn't know that we had the berries in our woods because I like drinking elderberry juice! I've asked mum if we can try and make some. The next picture was of a dock leaf because Alex got stung by a nettle and I knew if I found a dock leaf then that could help. I also took a picture of the leaf because I liked it's edges, I didn't know it was from a sweet chesnut tree but also found out that Roman soldiers were fed a porridge made from sweet chestnuts before going into battle; because of this the Romans planted sweet chestnut trees across all of conquered Europe, including Britain which is why they can be found in the UK today! I really enjoyed finding this out!

Today, we went into the woods early before sailing club. I'm so pleased we did because I saw my first ever muntjac deer although it was too quick so I missed it on my camera! We think Hugo scared it away but I've been reading about them on the British Deer Society website and I have learned they browse small amounts of nutritious plants such as herbs and shrubs. This worries me a little because there is a lot of litter in the woods currently so I want to do a litter pick to help them.

Today, I carried out my first solo sail of the season so I really enjoyed myself. Whilst I was there I looked at the lambs in the field next to the club with their mums, which I want to learn more about this week. On the way home, Alex stopped the car quickly because he saw something on the road. I got out of the car with him and saw this baby animal on the floor. When I've looked on the internet I can't tell if it's a baby weasel or a baby stoat although it says on the internet a baby stoat has a black tip on it's tail and this one didn't. A baby weasel is called a kit!

The information boards on the Coxlodge Waggonway are covered in sap and other dirt, so we decided to clean them up. We took cleaning tools and scrubbed away. We chose one to test upon. This one explained the history, there are others focussing on the wildlife. Above the board was a horse chestnut, which had been dripping on the board. We had to work around the nettles at the base too. In the end, it was definitely cleaner, but more work to do! There are more boards to locate and clean.

Today we took our bug magnifier down to the river to look for bugs. We were not disappointed. June is definitely the month for finding wee beasties everywhere! We spotted some holes on leaves and investigated. We couldn’t find anything on the leaves but when we looked under, we found lots of tiny caterpillars. After this excitement we read ‘The hungry caterpillar’ and talked about the lifecycle of the butterfly.