This post is inspired by Tara Gain's gallery and the theme this week is Nature.

I am not religious but for me being in nature is the closest thing I come to having a religious experience.  It inspires & uplifts me, supports me, comforts me, and challenges me and I have always felt this way.

I can remember walking for hours on end as a teenager with our family dog sorting through all the teenage thoughts pulsing through me and finding comfort in the same trees always there, grounded and marking my path.

As an adult I have at times burst free of the house after a difficult day desperate for escape and release, again to find that just putting one step in front of the other, breathing in the air, feeling the rain or sun on my skin, twigs crackling beneath me and whatever else nature throws at me serves to soothe and restore calm and a sense that life goes on.

I have toiled up mountains in the rain and snow in quest of the buzz of life found at the top - that glorious feeling of peace and inner calm that comes after physical exertion.

I have reconnected with old friends whose life paths have thrown us in different directions and come together to spend a glorious uninterrupted day of talking and catching up whilst walking hills, peaks & moors.

Becoming a mum has made me more aware than ever of my place as a cog in the wheel of nature.  I have discovered a real sense of purpose and a deeper understanding of life that I never before had. 

Now I love being outside with my kids seeing them inspired and challenged by nature themselves.

One of our favourite places to go with our children is Badbury Rings in Dorset where we live.  As someone who loves walking I have found it frustrating with young children not to be able to go on the kind of walks that we used to.  However, Badbury Rings gives you a real sense of being in the heart of nature without having to trek for miles and lets me still experience this joy that I feel.  Hearing the wind blasting through the trees, seeing the delicate flowers bobbing in the long grass and feeling the smooth twisted stumps of fallen trees makes me feel alive and part of the grand scheme of things again.

Useful resources for getting out and about in nature with children

Walks with buggies
Great website set up by a husband and wife team based in Wiltshire frustrated with the lack of freely available information on walks suitable for those with access challenges.

Pushchair Walks
Useful site developed by 2 mums with range of graded UK wide walks suitable for buggies to download for £1 each.

Scavenger Hunt
Get your children interested in their natural surroundings with a Scavenger hunt and keep them entertained on a family walk