We're going on a Gruffalo hunt... #weloveforests

Last month my eldest turned seven while we were staying in the beautiful Keswick Country House hotel, we were looking for things to do on his special day and Whinlatter Forest soon became top of our list, especially after reading about what a lovely time Red Rose Mummy and her family had earlier this year. The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffer is one of our family's favorite stories and we know it off by heart.

So after a delicious breakfast we set out on a very special adventure, we were going to the woods to hunt for...

The Gruffalo!!!

Just a few minutes drive from Keswick centre we started up the steep road into Whinlatter, England's only true Mountain Forest. Even from the car, as we got higher and higher the views became breathtaking.

Once we'd arrived and paid parking we walked over to the ranger's kiosk and asked about the Gruffalo Trail, the children were each given a sheet on which they cold tick of each animal they found in the deep, dark woods, they were told if they cold be really clever and find all of the animals from the story that were hidden in the forest then they cold come back and get a sticker and some colouring sheets. We also purchased a Gruffalo trial guide, a little steep at £2 for a few extra little activities but They children loved having their little 'map!'

At the prospect of a sticker they ran up into the forest ready to start the hunt...

We started at the enchanted Forest Area which as full of exciting hidden sculptures and forest art, both children loved running around finding carved wizards and animal tucked away in the forest.

Elizabeth soon spotted our first sign and we started our hunt, determined to hunt do the Gruffalo and friends...

Every so often they was a sign that suggested an activity and these varied from Den building to doing a warm up dance and sing their senes to experience the forest around them.

After seeking through the deep dark woods, the children found each character one by one, until the only one missing was the Gruffalo himself...

After turning a corner, Ben spotted something big out of the corner of his eye...

Could it be?

Yes, it was.

The Gruffalo.

A creature with terrible claws, and terrible tusks in its terrible jaws, and knobbly knees and turned-out toes, and a poisonous wart at the end of its nose. 

But Mouse has no worry to show. 

After all, there’s no such thing as a Gruffalo...



The end of the trail took us in to the younger children's part of the play area,  which Elizabeth was fascinated with. This wasn't an ordinary swing park, this is an area of natural play of leaning about the things around you and having fun and that's just what she did!



From the 3rd of October the Gruffalo Trails will be being replaced by the even more exciting Gruffalo's Child trail for the winter months, continuing the nationwide celebrations of the 10^th anniversary of the book’s publication.

“The trails will be an amazing adventure, encouraging visitors to make the most of the autumn and winter seasons in our beautiful forests alongside one of the all-time favourite book characters.”

Later this winter, several uniquely carved wooden sculptures of The Gruffalo’s Child will be placed in selected forests around England. 

During spring and summer 2014, more than 10,000 children, including mine, met the Gruffalo himself and hundreds of thousands followed the Gruffalo activity trails through Forestry Commission England woods and forests. You can find further information on the Forestry Commision England Website.

For just the cost of parking, our lunch (and the optional £2 trail booklet) it was an amazing day out that was thoroughly enjoyed by all four of us. A great vale family day out that allowed us to relax and explore in beautiful natural surroundings...

Have you followed a Gruffalo Trail? Will you be following one of the new Grfufalo's Child Trails from October? Do let us know what you think...

Win a Discovery Pass and Explore the outdoors with the Forestry Commission...

Exploring the outdoors is great fun whatever the weather! Visiting your local Forestry Commission site is a great way to keep the whole family active and healthy and there are lots of educational activities for all ages from bug hunts to treasure hunts, nature trails and more! We have great fun visiting our local Forestry Commission site at Delamere Forest and you can see some pictures and read more about our latest visit here.

I'm really pleased to give you, my lovely readers the opportunity to win a Discovery Pass for your choice of Forestry Commission location. The pass comes packed with benefits including a years free parking at the site of your choice, seasonal e-newsletters and a generous selection of discounts for shops and activities both on and off site. Find your nearest site by clicking here.


Follow the instructions in rafflecopter to enter...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Find more great competitions here... ThePrizeFinder - UK Competitions

Exlporing Nature whatever the weather! #weloveforests

As you will know we love to get outside and play in the fresh air, so after spending quite a lot of time indoors over the festive period due to all of us being  poorly, we decided to have a break from watching movies and playing Car's Monopoly or Junior Scrabble and blow away those cobwebs with an adventure in the forest! So on the Saturday morning after Christmas we had an early start and made the 40 minute drive to Delamere Forest in Cheshire.

I grew up in Merseyside and have many fond memories of days out at Delamere, from running around playing chase with my cousins in summer months to lovely forest walks hunting for pinecones in the Autumn and of course going to choose our Christmas Tree in their winter wonderland in December!

We had visited Delamere with Ben when he was quite a bit younger but this would be Elizabeth's first adventure in the Cheshire woodland!

We timed it well and arrived at the Linmore Visitors Centre just as the cafe was opening! So we went inside to order breakfast and some hot drinks to warm us up and give us some energy for the day's adventures!

The cafe serves local food at reasonable prices and has a lovely rustic feel to it, a really nice start to our day out.





After filling our tummies we wrapped back up in our scarves and coats and set out on a walk in to the forest. There's been quite heavy rain over the previous few days and some of the forest had experienced flooding so  we were advised against walking up Old Pale Hill, which was a shame as I remember some pretty amazing views, but to be honest we probably wouldn't have seen much with the weather the way it was.

 

Despite the rain we were still able to have a lovely walk around the forest and we had some great adventures, from splashing in enormous muddy puddles (which both Ben and Elizabeth though was hilarious) and meeting some cows, to becoming detectives and having a 'treasure hunt', spotting different types of trees with the help of the Forestry Commision's Free Fantastic Forests booklets, which gave us some great 'clues' to look out for!

Big outdoor spaces like Delamere are ideal for budget days out with young children, whatever the weather, as long as you wrap up warm and pop on your wellies there's plenty to do all year round! Open every day and the only costs are car parking and if you want to buy food and drink (you could always bring a picnic and a flask to save even more!) You can also purchase a Discovery Pass which as well as supporting your local forest, will give you free parking for a year and discounts on food during the week.



As for activities, for older children Delemere has Go Ape, cycling trails and cycle hire and an orienteering course so plenty to keep them active. With younger children the only limits are their imagination! From playing detectives to treasure hunts, collecting leaves and spotting trees, building mini homes for their wildlife friends or even playing 'leaf snap' with siblings, there is much to discover, not to mention just running around in the fresh air or jumping in muddy puddles!

We had a lovely morning out that certainly blew away those cobwebs and felt really refreshing after being stuck indoors for a while, we can't wait for our next visit to the forest! Where's your favourite place for outdoor fun?

We were sent one year's discovery pass in exchance for a post about our visit but all opinions our are own.

I've linked this post up with #Countrykids over at Coombe Mill , click the badge below to check out more outdoor adventures...