Westonbirt Arboretum on a weekend with nothing to do
The weather has been dismal recently. I have had a cough for what seems like months. And although this has been a short term, half term can’t come soon enough. We had one of those rare weekends with absolutely nothing planned and nothing needing to be done. What was even better was then seeing that the forecast for the weekend looked good. With the prospect of a dry day we decided to make a picnic lunch and head to Westonbirt Arboretum.
It was a chilly Saturday, but the sun shone brightly in an almost cloudless sky. It felt wonderful to be outside, being together as a family and enjoying some fresh air. There was a noticeable change in our mood. The girls seemed happier – especially after they had wolfed down their sandwiches.
We all seemed to perk up having spent some time out in the fresh air. Out of the sun it was still quite chilly, but when you are wrapped up nice and warm it didn’t really matter. The girls enjoyed running around amongst the trees, attempting to climb them and playing on the natural play areas within the arboretum.
Emily made a beeline for every muddy puddle she saw. Freyja wasn’t far behind in her matching wellies. However, both seemed aware of the chill in the air so stayed relatively sensible with their splashing around.
Their held-back behaviour was only reserved for the puddles. Before long, they had found themselves some sticks. Then it was only a matter of time before the sticks were used for lightsaber fights. My two small children were joined by my man-sized child for this. I’m not sure who was having more fun. After the three-way stick fighting, the girls found a more relaxing activity. They now used their sticks for “fishing” for leaves and smaller bits of stick and bark.
I enjoyed seeing the first signs of Spring as we wondered through the arboretum. The most noticeable of these had to be snowdrops. The first flowers of the year can’t help but put a smile on your face. On closer inspection, even the seemingly bare trees were showing signs of life as leaf buds were appearing.
By the time we had returned home, although we were tired, we did feel energised and excited about the prospect of more days out like these over the next few months.
Looks like you had great fun in the winter sun ๐ #countrykids
It was a lovely day, thank you.
Yay! The Snowdrops are here! I love that Spring is around the corner. You all look like you’ve had a lovely day out, and tiring days are sometimes the best!
Visiting from the #countrykids linky
Love those first signs of Spring ๐
It looks like you had a really fun day out – I doubt my two would have been quite so sensible in those muddy puddles!
They are not usually that sensible (but they had been ill so they weren’t themselves!)
That first photo of Freyja really took my breath away, there is a glimpse of the much older girl she will become there. I was reassured to read on and see the the puddle splashing and stick play, phew you don’t want teenagers yet! On the contrary it looks like welcome outdoor family time at what seems like a busy term at school. I must say I am ready for half term here and seeing the farm buzzing again and my own kids having some time off. We have all had that silly cough too, Nick gets attacked by it in the middle of the night keeping us both awake grrr! Fingers crossed half term sees all the bugs leave us and some good weather for outings like this.
Believe me, we get a bit of teenage behaviour every-so-often!
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I love it their and it looks like both your girls had lots of fun. Sticks are the best and bring out long imagination play sessions with my trio! #countrykidsfun
We have quite a collection of sticks by our front door from various trips out.
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I love Westonbirt – have you been there for the Christmas lights? Well worth a visit. And I LOVE seeing kids splashing in puddles #CountryKids
Yes! I have a couple of posts about the Christmas lights. Love them – although it does get busier and busier each year now.
The photos look lovely. Sounds like a great day. My daughter loves puddle jumping. #countrykids
Can’t beat a bit of puddle jumping!
I only went to my first Arboretum about 3 years ago in Canberra. It’s now my favourite place in Canberra….People underestimate what a great day out they can be…
They are wonderful. Westonbirt is big enough that even when it is busy, it seem fairly quiet away from the main restaurant area.
What a lovely day out, looks like you all had a great time. xx #countrykids
Yes, it was great thank you!
Whenever I see photos of here I think it looks like a lovely place to explore and play x
It is a lovely place. Definitely worth a visit.
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Natural play – isn’t it wonderful? It looks like your girls (and your “man-sized child” ๐ ) had a fun day out. Jealous of the snowdrops… still no sign of them here in Luxembourg. #CountryKids
It was lovely. There are loads of snowdrops now – a couple of weeks later, so hopefully yours will be out soon!
Kids just can’t resist a puddle! #Countykids
Mine love them!
Great to see that spring is on it’s way. I for one will be happy to see warmer months again. #countrykids
I am with you there!
Always nice to get a sunny day at this time of year for getting outdoors. Emily and Freyja look like they were enjoying splashing in muddy puddles and I love that they were joined by their dad in having a light saber fight ๐ #countrykids
He is just a big kid trapped inside the body of a man
Love the puddles and the sticks – there always have to be puddles and sticks ๐ What a lovely day you had, and the stick fishing made me smile. Love the snowdrops too, great to see some signs of spring x #countrykids
Glad the stick fishing made you smile ๐
Great photos, I love seeing the snowdrops bloom too. ๐ x
Thank you ๐
This is somewhere I’ve always wanted to go. Is it all flat and pushchair accessible? #CountryKids
Yes, have taken the girls in pushchairs since they were a few days old.