For the second year running, I have taken the big two on a long weekend camping with a group of friends at Bedgebury Campsite. It is a highlight of our year and after lockdowns and restrictions, it feels wonderful to set them loose in the woodlands and get so much fresh air. We stayed an extra day this year which meant we went exploring at Bedgebury Pinetum, a forest we had all heard of as it is famous for it's Christmas lights.
It was a five minute drive from the campsite along one country road and parking was £14 per car, with no additional entrance fees (slightly cheaper on a weekday). The adults wanted to go for beautiful country walks and the children were keen to find the play areas but we managed to fit in both.
The forest has set running trails, cycle trails and walking routes so there is something for everyone. The running routes are set out with distances and there was on site cycle hire facilities as well as the option to bring your own. We went for a beautiful walk which took us deeper into the forest which was well maintained. We found a mini fern garden where we could explore miniature versions of the varieties of the trees and the Gruffalo trail where you can spot your favourite creatures including a huge Gruffalo (probably more of a highlight for me than the children now they are 8 and 9, I still know the book off by heart!).
After we had had fun exploring the walking trails, we went to find the playground. The main playground is set with a wooden ship as well as other equipment and a table tennis area too. There is a Go Ape next door which sadly we didn't get to experience but it looked great fun. Leading off from the playground was an adventure playground trail which combines a forest walk with several different playgrounds, all designed differently. Around the forest there were dens and other interesting creations for the children and mine could have spent most of the day exploring them all. The giant log swing was a big favourite and sadly the huge spiders web climbing area wasn't something we managed to play on (the rain beat us by that point.
There is a cafe with indoor and outdoor seating which sits next to a lovely lake with ducks. They did a variety of hot and cold food including vegan and vegetarian meals and we loved trying out the cakes too. If you didn't want to buy food then you could of course being a picnic.
We loved our visit to Bedgebury Pinetum and would recommend it for families of all types. My children are not confident with dogs and we loved how the place was designed with children in mind as well as dogs. Dogs have to be kept on a lead and there are dog parking stations by many tables and benches. The toilets all had smaller children seats and lower sinks and my nervous of dog children felt very comfortable there.