Margaret Mosley returns to Bewerley Park in Harrogate 70 years on

In 1954 Margaret Mosley, then aged 14 and a pupil at Woodlands Secondary Modern School based in what was then the mining village of Woodlands, near Doncaster, visited Bewerley Park Outdoor Education Centre in Harrogate with her classmates.

They stayed for 24 days and enjoyed new activities and embarking in nature.

Bewerley Park is situated in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and offers residential and day courses with a range of adventure and outdoor activities including caving, canoeing, hill walking and rock climbing.

A 'magical discovery' 

For Mrs Mosely, it led to a life-long passion of nature, particularly birds.

“It was a magical discovery as coming from a mining village, I had only ever seen black sparrows or crows so to see multi-coloured birds was beautiful,” she said.

“It was the first time I had been away from home for so long and in those days, we had no telephones to call our parents. We were all homesick and had to write letters to our parents to keep in touch with them.”

Margaret Mosley relives her school trip memories while flicking through her carefully-crafted diary entries (Image: North Yorkshire Council)

She added that every “nook and corner” of Bewerley Park holds “poignant memories” for her.

“We had no cameras in those days so couldn’t take any pictures, I had to sketch everything from spiders to rocks and sculptures in my notebook,” Mrs Mosely continued.

Decades later, Mrs Mosely, who now live in Redcar, made a 120-mile round trip back to the education centre, accompanied by her husband Douglas, 88, and their daughter, Louise Dale.

Centre revamp plans

Last November, a proposed £4.2 million investment to redevelop and modernise North Yorkshire Council’s Bewerley Park and East Barnby outdoor education centre in Whitby was given the go-ahead by members of the authority’s executive.

A range of improvements are planned to enhance the appeal of the two centres for generations to come.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for education, learning and skills, Cllr Annabel Wilkinson, said: “We were delighted to welcome Margaret. It’s heart-warming to hear that one of her most significant and happiest childhood memories is her residential trip to Bewerley Park.

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“It’s also lovely to hear that the trip ignited her passion for the outdoors, especially bird watching and to this day she remains a keen bird enthusiast.”

Speaking after her most recent visit, Mrs Mosley, said it was “so lovely” to be back.

“My first impression was that the site was bigger than I remembered, but it still looked familiar and brought back memories of the feeling of excitement at seeing all the open space and fresh air which was so different from my home at the time near Doncaster,” she said.

“I am so pleased to hear of the commitment to invest in the site so that it can provide future generations with the opportunities and experiences that I valued so much.”