Other than the necessary trips to school and supermarkets, we haven’t really been out since before new year. We usually try and take the kids out as often as possible, but my new job means weekdays are out of the question, and the weekends just seem to be about catching up on everything. I knew we would all benefit from some fresh air, exercise and a change of scenery, so on Saturday, we jumped in the car and headed over to the Wyre Forest to do the Stick Man Trail. It was a beautiful day – cold but sunny – perfect for a walk in the woods.
Parking at the forest was just £3 for the day, and the activity pack for the trail was £3, making it a super cheap day out, especially if you were to take a picnic. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t bother buying the pack if we were to do it again, but would chuck some paper, clipboards and wax crayons into our bag.
It didn’t start off too well. Within minutes, Alex fell over and landed in a huge pile of mud. Typically, he was the only one not wearing wellies (discovered he had grown out of them!) and was covered head to toe in thick mud. Graham took him back to the toilets to try and clean him up a little. We hovered around, and Harrison spent a happy few minutes paddling in a little stream and looking at ways to cross it.
Alex came back, slightly less muddy but with a big hole in his jeans and a graze on his hand, and refused to walk. Graham carried him on his shoulders for a while, whilst Harrison ran on ahead. He wasn’t a happy bunny at all!
We carried on a bit further, stopping to do some rubbings of tree bark and looking out for signs showing the characters from the story, ready to tick off the list.
It became apparent that Alex wasn’t going to get down and join in, and Benjamin started getting whiny in his pushchair. He wanted to get out for a walk, but with Graham holding Alex and me helping Harrison, he couldn’t. Graham decided to head back to the cafe to get them a cake and a drink, and Harrison and I continued on the trail.
At various points on the trail there are activities to have a go at. Harrison absolutely loved building and playing in the dens. We talked about why you might need to build a den in the woods, and who might live in them. It’s something we’ve never done before – living in inner city Birmingham means den building opportunities are somewhat limited – but is something we definitely want to do again because the kids can get so much out of it.
The trail, which is about a mile long is perfect for little legs and is perfectly accessible with the pushchair if you stick to the paths. However, doing some of the activities like den building would have been difficult with the pram, so next time we will take the carrier for Benjamin so we can all get involved.
Harrison was so excited at the end of the trail when we found the Stick Man. We collected sticks to make our very own – that’s this weekend’s activity!
I’m not entirely sure how long the Stick Man Trail is on for at the Wyre Forest, but you can find all the information here. We will definitely be going back to the woods again, even if it has finished. Harrison and I can’t wait to build some more dens and see what else the forest has to offer!
It looks and sounds like a great day out….
That sounds so fun! Our family loves to go hiking, too 🙂
My boys love hiking too. Looks like boots a must today.
The kids would love this so much. They love going on hikes at our local state park.
What a great weekend activity you had! Such day outs are perfect for all family! Thanks for sharing such an interesting post!
How Fun! I would totally do that with my little one.
I really enjoyed watching the Stick Man on TV over Christmas and the idea of a themed walk seems like a lot of fun.
Great photographs and a great family day out. Looks like you all had fun.
John
How cute! And you know there is always one kid that has to get covered in mud for it to be a real outing, right?
What a great way to keep kids active!It’s nice to go on this trail with family, it’s good quality time. 😀
Sounds that you had a great day. My family was love to hiking
I would really enjoy being on that trail! So looking for to mid-spring here to get out!
That sounds fun! Cool things to do. My kids will love that!
Sounds like you had a great day bonding and having all that fun and all god out doors fresh Lovely!
It looks like you had a great day together. It looks like my type of place when i was growing up
What a lovely day to be with the family. This looks like a challenging trail.
It never fails. lol Whenever we make an outdoor excursion with all the troops, somebody ends up covered in muck, mire, or such and is a little bit cranky. lol It definitely is worth the outing and fresh air though!
I love the look of these stick man trails. Such a good idea for keeping the kids engaged on a walk 🙂 #countrykids
The Stick Man trail has definitely proven as popular as The Gruffalo trail and I can definitely see why. It looks like, after all the fuss at the beginning of your walk it turned out to be a lovely mother-son bonding experience. It’s a shame that Benjamin and Alex didn’t enjoy the trail but hopefully you’ll be able to go back again soon and make the most of it as a family. Thanks for linking up with me on #CountryKids.
We’ve recently done the Stick Man Trail at our local Woods but we don’t have a Stick Man sculpture at the end. He’s fab! Looks like you had a great time #CountryKids
What a shame about the mud puddle but it seems that Harrison had a grand time. I don’t know the Stick Man story but it sure looked like a fun walk in the woods.
This looks like a really great and fun activity to do with kids its very important for them to enjoy the outdors
This looks like loads of fun not just for the kids but for adults as well. It will surely bring out the kid in any adult….sorry about the mud thing there