When I received an email a few weeks ago from Canopy & Stars, inviting me to join them in their Year of Wild, I was more than a little excited. With three busy boys to entertain this summer, I love their idea of a bucket list of wild adventures, from wild swimming to wild art and not to mention wild reading! Each challenge is rewarded with a scout-style sew-on Wild Badge, with a total of twelve to collect.

Canopy & Stars specialise in all things glamping and they have an enviable collection of beautiful, quirky and special places to stay: from treehouses, yurts, and converted horsetrucks, to cabins, Gypsy caravans, a boat with a thatched roof and a couple of Iron Age roundhouses. They invited me, along with a group of other bloggers and Instagrammers to spend the day at Knepp Wildland Safari in West Sussex, the home of 8 of their glamping spaces. Following a tour of these, I can confirm that they were all dreamy, with such thoughtful details (check out the bed caps on the pillows!) but I think it was the shepherd’s hut in the bluebell wood that was my absolute favourite.

We learned about the history of Knepp, and the story of its incredible and innovative 3,500 acre re-wilding project, which has proved a huge success, with wild ponies, cattle, deer and pigs as well as an impressive number of rare and endangered species.

We set off for a Wildland safari. (I somehow missed the ‘bloggers must wear yellow’ memo!) The all terrain Pinzgauers made short work of the rough ground, whilst ecologist Penny Green gave us a fantastic insight into the area and its wildlife. We stopped off at tree platforms en route for a bird’s eye view of the estate, and finished up in a clearing with a cup of tea and a gooey brownie.

At the end of the day, I set off for home with my friend Lou: both with rosy cheeks, muddy boots and tousled hair. In our pockets, we each carried a prized Year of Wild badge. The first but not, I feel quite sure, the last.

{Thank you, Canopy & Stars, for inviting me to join your 2016 #cscollective, and for a brilliant day of wild adventuring.}