Located to the north-west of Oxford you will find the Wytham Estate, home to both Wytham Woods and Hill End, a unique outdoor learning experience which has provided inspirational outdoor learning for children and adults for over a century.
In 1920, the Wytham Estate was purchased by the philanthropist Raymond ffennell, who following his return from South Africa, acquired the entire estate from the Earl of Abingdon. Raymond and his wife Hope wanted to encourage open-air education, a relatively new concept in England but one which was already popular in Germany. They were particularly interested in this new way of encouraging outdoor learning in order to provide disadvantaged and ‘delicate’ children access to fresh air and an attempt to combat the widespread rise in TB which was rapidly increasing since before the start of WWI.
Following their purchase of the Wytham Estate, the ffennells spent time creating innovative outdoor classrooms and dormitories at their educational establishment Hill End which they located on part of the Wytham Estate. In the 1930s up to 300 children a day travelled from London and parts of Oxford to Hill End ‘Camp’. Following the death of their daughter and only child Hazel, in 1942 Ronald and Hope ffennell gifted Wytham Woods to the University of Oxford with the expectation the University would preserve and maintain the Woods, using them primarily for research and educational purposes, with a further hope the woods could be sympathetically enjoyed by the people of Oxford. Just a year later, Raymond ffennell died, leaving Hill End also under University ownership.
Wytham Woods has been used extensively for environmental research over several decades, as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the Woods are one of the most studied areas of woodland in the world. The area is exceptionally rich in flora and fauna with over 500 species of plants, a wealth of woodland habitats and 800 species of butterflies and moths.
The ffennell’s early outdoor learning experiences has continued to delight generations of Oxfordshire children and with Hill End’s natural surroundings of meadows and woodlands, the area is an important place for today’s young people and their families to enjoy and learn more about nature and the environment and how important it is to our long term future.
Whilst Hill End was managed for decades by local authorities, in 2017 the establishment was set up as an independent charitable trust, managed by an impressive team of trustees. As an organisation they welcome a wide range of visitors from schools who come for day trips and residential courses and they also share their beautiful site with the local community, hosting a number of events at Hill End each year. To find out what is on offer, including the Family Campout on 27 and 28 July, please visit hill-end.org/activities/upcoming-events
In recognition of their founders, each June volunteers from the ‘Friends of Hill End’ organise the ffennell festival which this year will take place on 8 June. The day brings together an assortment of activities including downhill racers, learning circus skills, Real Kingdoms Adventures, Oxford Sailing, pond dipping, bushcraft with Ultimate Survival, natural arts, bee keeping and learning about bugs, WW1 history tours, whittling skills, storytelling and much more!
The activity day will be enhanced further with live music from various local bands and when you get hungry, if you did not bring a picnic, you can tuck into a BBQ, cakes and of course ice-cream! For anyone coming along, it is worth bringing some cash with you.
Booking for this fabulous day is essential and as some of the events are timed with limited participation numbers, when booking your tickets you will have the time to pre-book one or more of the activities. (hill-end.org/news/ffennell-festival-2024)
Hill End’s quality has been recognised by a number of national bodies. This year, they were delighted to be awarded the Learning Outside the Classroom quality badge, accredited as a British Orienteering Recognised Centre and gained the prestigious international Green Flag Award® which recognises and rewards professionally managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of recreational outdoor spaces across the UK and around the world.
Hill End is a ‘place of possibilities’ for all generations to enjoy!
