The end of the Christmas holidays is in sight (boo) and after approximately two weeks of asking, I finally got around to taking Max on the Gruffalo hunt at Thorndon Country Park. In my defence, the weather has been rather blustery and I refuse to spend time in a wood when a gale is blowing.
If you haven’t visited Thorndon, you should! The Visitor’s Centre offers a good selection of drinks and munchies, plus a very friendly team of staff on hand. Thorndon itself is absolutely beautiful; you could spend hours wandering around the woodland. There’s picnic areas, clearly marked out trails and a little playground too.
However, the biggest draw for us is the Gruffalo hunt. So off we went a-hunting. Upon arrival at the Visitor’s Centre, we popped in for a map (just 50p) and were soon on our way,
Our first find was a little red squirrel hiding up a tree,
I promise you, he is up there – it was a bit dark and I have a terrible camera.
With a bit of help from a lovely family who could clearly sense that I get lost just looking from left to right, we soon found the Mouse. He’s so cute,
We trudged on. Max lost, then recovered his left wellie boot, fell over and muddied his gloves and finally happened upon the Fox. He’s a sneaky one, hiding in his den,
My heart was warmed as we approached the footbridge, and heard a daddy re telling the story of the Billy Goats Gruff to his little boy. The rest of the trail brings you to the Owl, the Snake, the Gruffalo’s child and the Gruffalo himself,
To finish off our jaunt, we had a cheeky little snack in the cafe, bought an Owl and toddled off home,
All in all, a brilliant morning out, for just £3.70 (not including the Owl). If you decide to visit, do remember that the car park costs £2.20.
Chicken and Frog Bookshop 