Friesian Class trip to Greystones Nature Reserve

On Wednesday 15th February, we visited Greystones Nature Reserve and Farm, in Bourton on the Water. Greystones is an example of one of Europe’s earliest ‘towns’. It was an important centre in the Iron Age, about 2,500 years ago. The Dobunni tribe lived in round houses, made tools with iron and traded with other groups.

Volunteers at the centre have built a replica roundhouse from wattle and daub, with a thatched roof, and have painted in the inside with paintings similar to those found in other settlements of a similar type.

We spent the day learning about the site itself, and what everyday life was like for the people living there during the Iron Age.

We ground our own corn to make flour using both a rotary quern and a saddle quern (that was hard work!) We made a simple dough of flour and water, and cooked our bread on the open fire.

We used willow to weave a wattle fence and then used dampened mud to cover it in daub.

We also walked around the perimeter of the settlement and saw where the ramparts would have been. We used our tracking, hunting and gathering skills to spot natural resources which might have been of use to the tribe, such as looking for footprints, edible plants and potential dangers. We also handled a variety of natural objects and thought about what they might have been used for.

Thank you so much to those who came with us to help - you were brilliant and we are very grateful!

Although it will not be open this half term, we are hoping to be able to pass on details of opening times during the Easter holidays, when you can visit as a family and see the round house for yourselves.

Near to the site, there is also Notgrove long barrow - an Iron Age burial site that you may want to take a look at too (Thank you to Amy for sending me details!) : https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/education/educational-images/notgrove-long-barrow-notgrove-gloucestershire-9417