A few weeks ago, whilst out on our usual Sunday morning family walk around Rooksbury Mill, my Daughter found a stone and it was beautifully painted with a penguin on it. Written on the back, I found a message to go to the Andover Hampshire Rocks Facebook Page. Excitedly we joined the Facebook group and read all about this new craze sweeping the country. We saw pictures of many other creative painted rocks that people had made and were hiding around the town.
To explain further, the idea is when you are out walking you search for rocks and when you find one: take a picture to upload onto the Facebook page and then hide them in a different place around town. Rooksbury Mill, Anton Lakes & Charlton Lakes seem to be popular hiding spots, if you want somewhere to start looking for your first find!
My children love looking for rocks and get very excited when they find them. Sometimes a couple have come home and have then been hidden the following weekend, however we always hide them again so others can enjoy them enjoy too. This has also encouraged my children to decorate their own rocks which are hidden around Andover somewhere. Don’t forget to post a picture of the rocks you find on the Facebook group so can see who finds them!
Now, on a regular basis, our 10 and 3 year olds ask to go out to look for rocks and it’s a wonderful way to enjoy nature whilst doing a low cost activity and we get regular exercise as a family too. What’s not to love!
For more information and to get involved please visit Andover Hampshire Rocks Facebook group page here or for other areas search Hampshire Rocks on Facebook.
Written by Trudi Adams