How did Tom do (Part Four)?

Posted by Rosie

And here we are with the final instalment of seeing how Tom, now aged 12,has succeeded with the National Trust's list of "50 things to do before you are 11¾".  Links to Part One to Three are here, here and here.  So far he has managed 31/38.  What will his final score be?  Let's see:

39.  Catch a crab - I have plenty of memories of Tom trying to catch crabs along with plenty of dead ones handed to us on beach days. As for catching a real live one I don't think he has.  A NOPE then.

40.  Go on a nature walk at night - he has often walked at night and without any street lights here that can be very dark indeed, but he has never done a proper night nature walk so another NOPE.

Planting out marrows (Tom at back)

 41.  Plant it, grow it, eat it - oh yes - in fact if you look on the previous blog post there is both a very young Tom helping to plant his first courgette plant and a slightly bigger one harvesting pumpkins he helped to grow.  This year he has some tomato seeds to sow and grow on.

42.  Go wild swimming - rather more times than I care to remember - Tom seems to have an affinity for water!

43.  Go rafting - he has done plenty of water based things but never gone rafting so another NOPE.

44.  Light a fire without matches - and a NOPE here.  I am not sure he has even laid and lit the woodburner although Ben often does this.

45.  Find your way with a map and compass - he has had a go at orienteering so a yes this time.

Extreme bouldering at Clécy Via Ferrata

46.  Try bouldering - this is one of his favourite activities.  A walk once around nearby Clécy that was supposed to be along the river bank had us all scrambling up the boulders at the base of the rock climbing cliffs with Tom and Ben scampering ahead like mountain goats and a friend and I struggling to keep up in less than suitable shoes!  There are also plenty of places to go bouldering near Sally, his aunt in Derbyshire.

47.  Cook on a campfire - I am only just getting Tom vaguely interested in cooking in a kitchen.  He has never cooked on a campfire but does  like to be in control of the BBQ when that is lit.  I still think that is a NOPE though.

Just before abseiling back down!

48.  Try abseiling - this he has done.  Having started out a nervous rock climber he now has much more confidence and abseils back down quite happily after he has reached the top of the wall.  He also loves the treetop and cliff side walks you can do around here, especially the one called Via Ferrata at Clécy with a 250m rope slide at the end.

49. Find a geocache - this is another thing he has never done but something we would like to do this year - he enjoys map reading and a puzzle and there are a few geocahes around here. Still counts as a NOPE though!

50.  Canoe down a river - yes.  There's a blog about it here!

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Right he was on 31.  Let me count up:

Drum roll please ..... and Tom's final score is 39/50 .

I think that is a score he can be very proud of.  We never set out to complete the list and in fact only first read it about a year ago.  However I think it is a good list to try and achieve with a broad enough range of things to do that all ages can get involved.  Have you been ticking things off?  Do let me know how you are getting on.