I’m Catherine, the founder of The Wild Way.

Thank you so much for taking the time to check out my website and for thinking about joining us with your family. This space on the website is to show our process of building and creating our Forest School and to let you know a bit more about me and why I’m doing this!

A little information about me

I’ve been a professional freelance trumpeter for the last 20 years and I am the proud Mum and Step Mum to my three wonderful children, Hugo, Frank and Magda. Since becoming a parent, I found myself out of the house on many walks desperately trying to get a child to nap, burn off steam, or find a new place for them to explore. I quickly became fascinated by the positive impact the outdoors had on them. Meltdowns and tantrums felt less overwhelming; they seemed more at ease, more imaginative, and deeply engaged with the world around them. I also felt that for myself, being surrounded by nature hit a bit of a reset button, so I embarked on a journey to create a space where people who care for others and those being cared for, have an area to escape from every day life a little bit, where you can have a cuppa and feel safe to be who you are.

My husband manages the site at the Leslie Sell Activity Centre, and we had often talked about how special the place is - and how wonderful it would be to create a space for younger children to explore and thrive. So, at the start of 2025, I threw myself into the training with real excitement and began the rewarding journey of establishing a Forest School there.

Below you can find my blog and check out the journey of The Wild Way from the very beginning. I really hope you love it as much as we do, and I can’t wait to meet you and your little ones soon!