Treehouses

Went on a bit of a 5 hour jaunt in the nice evening sunshine today and came across this in a wood lying on the ground:



and here's the treehouse



complete with makeshift ladder



And another little sign




Didn't half remind me of a few storybooks I read as a little 'un, made me quite sad. I mean, how many children do you think would even contemplate going out into a wood these days and constructing stuff with bits of rope and wood? Bet a large majority of them don't even know what a treehouse is Nope, it's mostly videogames, foul language and even cigarettes now

I was very glad we stumbled across "Team Treehouse", and this sort of thing should be strongly encouraged IMO, get them out of the house!

So did any of you used to play in little treehouses as a kid? Or still do ? Would you encourage your kids to play in the woods on their own or is it just too dangerous nowadays with all the riffraff about?

EDIT: this might have to be in the photo section, please move if so!

that there tree looks haunted


and i reckon thats made by late teen/ early twenties reminiscing about yesteryear.

[BanannaMan]

Had several treehouses growing up. (not all once)
I live in the country.. so my kids can play the woods all they like...er...or did when they were younger.

We had much more complex treehouses though....looks to me like a "first treehouse".... especially with the sign.

Tis a spooky looking tree/place though.
A goth treehouse maybe???

Depends on where i lived and the ages of the children.... if it was somewhere more rural and remote then yes I`d encourage my kids to be out in the woods building treehouses etc. Where i live now, no I wouldn`t feel happy unless they were that little bit older and more aware of the dangers. I`m not saying that crime doesn`t happen in remote idyllic locations but I think its more likely to happen in the cities such as where I live.

Lovely pics tho and does bring back nice memories of childhood.

To make you feel a little happier my kids climb in the trees, ride their bikes, and make go karts ....... it is not quite a forgotten talent yet

Only the other day I had a knock on my door ...."can you come .... Edward (my 7 year old) is stuck up a tree!" I went along to help him down, he was very high and very stuck, but I climbed part way up, and eventually talked him down, he wasnt upset or scared, just stuck!

I chose to live in a village enviroment for this very reason, it has its drawbacks now my eldest is getting older and wants taxi-ing everywhere, but as children they can have a lot of freedom to explore and grow, they are always running in asking for nails/hammer/spade/tools in general !

yep, we had plenty of "bases" as kids

and we used to use the hay-bailes the farmer made to construct bases aswell

awesome

Matt

[Skip]

Yup we had a treehouse in a small copse near to my house - I fell out of it during its construction and still have the scar to prove it - happy dayzz...

Originally Posted by Speedy Claire

I`m not saying that crime doesn`t happen in remote idyllic locations but I think its more likely to happen in the cities such as where I live.

I agree. Country villages are not perfect but in my mind more ideal locations - and probably a bit more tree-plentiful too

Originally Posted by Tomcat

To make you feel a little happier my kids climb in the trees, ride their bikes, and make go karts ....... it is not quite a forgotten talent yet

I chose to live in a village enviroment for this very reason, it has its drawbacks now my eldest is getting older and wants taxi-ing everywhere, but as children they can have a lot of freedom to explore and grow, they are always running in asking for nails/hammer/spade/tools in general !

good to know people do still encourage it

I could never live in a city having been a bit of a country girl and always living in little villages - unfortunately not on farms though . I'd have loved to have the opportunity to go out and play in the woods, but unfortunately my mum was very protective and I never got to 'play out' .

Originally Posted by BanannaMan

We had much more complex treehouses though....looks to me like a "first treehouse".... especially with the sign.

yeah this one does look very basic, but judging by the writing on the little bits of wood, they are quite young anyway! I like the ladder, but they may have had a bit of help with that

Originally Posted by injury_ian

that there tree looks haunted

Originally Posted by BanannaMan

Tis a spooky looking tree/place though.
A goth treehouse maybe???

just noticed it does look a bit spooky! There are some amazing shaped trees in that wood!

[timwilky]

We had a tree house suspended between 3 sycamore trees built by my dad. There is a public footpath that ran alongside my old family home and about 10 years ago I took the wife along to show her where I grew up. The old tree house was still there. Looked like it had had a recent coat of paint.

It was nice to think that at least 3 generations of kids had enjoyed my dads handywork. Although I doubt the health and safety people would have approved. about 30 ft high. no safety rails. access by ladders, rope&pully or simply climb the branches.