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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Travel
Phoebe Smith

Where the wild things are: how to immerse your kids in the great outdoors this summer

Phoebe Smith and her son on a wild camping adventure on the Isle of Mull.
Phoebe Smith and her son on a wild camping adventure on the Isle of Mull. Photograph: PR

‘Aliens!” The call came loud and shrill from the trees as I scanned the foliage for the unmistakable shape of my four-year-old son. For a moment, nothing stirred. The beams of light from the sun spotlit a nearby clump of bracken so intensely it reminded me of the torches Mulder and Scully used in The X Files.

Then, a rustle came from up ahead. “Quick! I found them,” he yelled before disappearing into a clearing between the pines. I walked on, to find, in front of us, the curved edges and spherical lines of a UFO, coloured so dark it nearly blended into the shadows. It was, of course, a metal sculpture representing the alien vessel said to have landed here over 40 years ago. On top of it stood my son.

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