Family Mindfulness Walk

Embark on this guided mindfulness walk for children and their families led by Julie Chalkley from Lavender House Retreat.

Charles Waterton’s travel accounts, specifically regarding his four journeys to South America, established his reputation as a pioneering naturalist. David Attenborough characterized these writings as an “extremely entertaining account” of the natural history of the rainforest. During these travels, Waterton witnessed the “beauty of a world untouched by man,” an experience that deeply informed his environmental activism. The sources detail his daring exploits, including grappling with a caiman. These “wanderings” provided the inspiration for his nature reserve at Walton Hall, as he sought to restore the ecological balance he had observed abroad.

Charles Waterton transformed his ancestral estate, Walton Hall, into the world’s first nature reserve. Motivated by the “merciless slaughter” of wildlife by gamekeepers and poachers, he constructed a three-mile boundary wall to exclude hunters and foxes. The wall was built in three stages and completed in 1826. In May 2026 it celebrates its 200th birthday: WallFest 26. WallFest 26 is a celebration of the completion of the wall.