Going in search of The Gruffalo's Child

Going in search of The Gruffalo’s Child #weloveforests

We spent a long weekend in Bristol last weekend to celebrate Daddy P hitting 50 on Monday. Having been stuck on the M4 on the way down, we really wanted to avoid a repeat on his birthday.  Going in search of The Gruffalo’s Child at Westonbirt Arboretum and trying out the STIHL Treetop walk seemed like the perfect solution.  We’d have some fun outdoors and could drive home across country.

Going in search of The Gruffalo's Child

We’ve been wanted to revisit Westonbirt Arboretum since we first visited last Autumn. That time around we’d visited with family and although we’d walked around a lot of the grounds, somehow we’d missed The Gruffalo’s Child.  Monkey was desperate to find him and we all wanted to check out the Treetop Walk which opened in April this year.

We’d spent the morning in Bath, so arrived after lunchtime, avoiding any queues for parking.  Picking up a map, we realised that we needed to concentrate our afternoon in Silk Wood as we were going in search of The Gruffalo’s Child.  The STIHL Treetop Walk can be seen from the entrance and we decided to start there and then walk on through the woods.

Going in search of The Gruffalo's Child

The Treetop Walk is accessible to all as it rises gently from the ground.  There are steps up to a Crows Nest, but otherwise, it’s easily to walk along with a buggy.   The walkway is really sturdy and great for kids like Monkey who don’t especially like heights.  It rises to 13 metres, but to be honest, felt a lot lower than the 15 metre high walkway at Salcey Forest.

There are information points along the walk for children to enjoy, and in fact we all liked looking at the different woods and their finish.

Monkey wasn’t feeling quite brave enough to tackle the Crow’s Nest so we sent Daddy P on ahead, it was his birthday after all.

Going in search of The Gruffalo's Child

We’d heard a rumour that The Gruffalo’s Child was playing hide and seek in Silk Wood, so Monkey was off like a rocket. Dad in one hand, stick in the other.

Going in search of The Gruffalo's Child

I knew that the really spectacular leaf colour changes were likely to be in the Old Arboretum, but we weren’t going to have the time to explore the whole site on this visit. But Silk Wood still had plenty of autumnal shades for us all to admire.

Going in search of The Gruffalo's Child

It was lovely to be out in the fresh air, admiring the leaves on the trees.

There are clearly marked walks through the woods, but plenty of room to run between the trees and have a few adventures too. Going in search of The Gruffalo’s Child was a great afternoon activity.

There was a moment of great excitement, Mummy look!!  There’s a face in the trees.  Can you spot it?

Going in search of The Gruffalo's Child

I just love this boy’s imagination.  He really does rock.  There are so many instances these days where he seems so grown up, in stature, looks and in the things he says and does.  But then there are moments, when he runs up to The Gruffalo’s Child and gives him the biggest hug.  Then I stop and realise that my son is still just 6, not quite 7, not really that grown up at all.  That makes me smile.  He’s still my little boy for a bit longer.

Going in search of The Gruffalo’s Child had been a great little adventure.  If we’d had longer we’d have revisited the rest of the Arboretum, but time was getting on, and we wanted to pick up Brewster from the Cattery before going home.  But we’d still had a lovely afternoon, we’d swept away the cobwebs and Monkey can now say he’s met both The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child.  He’s a happy boy.

Have you been enjoying the autumn colours?

disclosure: we received free entry for one adult, but would have written about our trip regardless.

Country Kids

18 thoughts on “Going in search of The Gruffalo’s Child #weloveforests

  1. I always love reading peoples posts about Westonbirt, and I bet it was beautiful to explore it in the autumn with all the colours that must be on show. Monkey looks like he had a fab time exploring the Treetop Walk, the views from up there must be incredible. Monkey’s face in the photo of him hugging the Gruffalo’s Child really does say it all, I bet you had a wonderful day.

    Thanks for linking up with me on #CountryKids

  2. Oh the colours of those leaves Mary! What a wonderful place to visit in Autumn, and I’m glad Monkey was able to find the Gruffalo’s child 🙂 xx #countrykids

  3. Bob is 10 and still acts like 6 sometimes as well so you have a few years yet.
    Lucky Daddy getting to go up the crows next because it was his birthday….lol
    Great idea to get the map and head for the parts you really wanted.

  4. Wow what lovely pictures and those trees are just a gorgeous colour. Finding Gruffalo’s Child sounds like a really fun activity trail for kids, and aww, your son seemed to really get into it! #countrykids

  5. Amazing photos. I do love Bristol. We did the Gromit trail a few years ago, this Gruffalo looks fun too 🙂 #countrykids

  6. Awww this is wonderful! We have a Gruffalo Trail near us as we often go as Boo loves ‘finding’ him each time. I would love to go on the hunt for The Gruffalo’s child as Boo loves that story even more! It looks like you had a fab time! #CountryKids

  7. Oh my, what a lovely day out you’ve had. Definitely nice to be out and about this of the year, the surroundings looks so beautiful. Well done for finding him. #countrykids

  8. Westonbirt Arboretum looks like such a good day out. I love your photos of the Autumn colours on the trees, and looking for the Gruffalo’s Child looks like great fun. It’s great that the treetop walk is so accessible for buggies too. #countrykids

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