The Gruffalo’s Child Trail at Westonbirt Arboretum
Within 48 hours of our last trip to Westonbirt Arboretum for Enchanted Christmas (http://www.stoppingattwo.co.uk/post/104432600098/enchanted-christmas-at-westonbirt-arboretum), we were back again for The Gruffalo’s Child Trail. We did The Gruffalo trail during the summer (http://www.stoppingattwo.co.uk/post/92560157888/looking-for-the-gruffalo-at-westonbirt) and Freyja loved it.
December may not seem like the best time of year to visit an arboretum, but on this occasion there were plenty of muddy puddles for jumping in and loads of fallen autumn leaves on the ground for kicking and throwing at your sister….
This trail followed a similar format to the previous one – with pictures around the old arboretum and boards with activities on to try. This time we bought a trail guide for £1. It was definitely worth doing this as Freyja loved her “map” to look for clues.
It didn’t actually contain a map – the trail follows the seasonal trail for which a free map is available at the visitor’s centre – but did have activities to do on it. The trail has 5 large images of The Gruffalo’s Child each with a letter on – which when unscrambled spelt “mouse”.
These images were great as Freyja was able to recognise the letters and at each board she would say what was happening in the story. Here she was pretending to be the “big bad mouse” in the part when The Gruffalo’s Child sees the shadow of the mouse.
What I loved most about our visit was Freyja channelling Anneka Rice in Treasure Hunt and running along the path with her “map” shouting that she had found a clue.
She was obviously fully immersed in the trail, and I think that is the great thing about these trails. Westonbirt is somewhere we come often, and although the girls do enjoy it, it is a nice idea to help them look at the trees and experience the arboretum in a different way.
The Gruffalo is still in the old arboretum from the previous trail and is obviously a highlight, and you can’t pass up a photo opportunity with him. It was just a pity that there was no Gruffalo’s Child to go with him.
After completing the trail we enjoyed lunch at the restaurant and Freyja warmed herself up with a hot chocolate.
After refuelling, the girls were keen to visit the Exploratree play area. The great thing about visiting in December is that the play area is fairly quiet.
The Gruffalo’s Child Trail at Westonbirt Arboretum runs until 28th February 2015. The arboretum is open from 9am until 5pm every day except for Christmas Day, and admission at this time of year is £5 for adults and £2 for children.
