The Ordinary Moment // These Two

These two are the closest in age out of my children.  There is 16 months between them, but when they were little it felt like less.  Finn had a difficult start and took longer to meet some of his initial milestones which meant he was still very much a baby when Cora arrived.  They grew up together and they have had a special relationship since very early on.

As toddlers they were so close but things inevitably changed when Finn started school and the age gap between them seemed to grow hugely in that year.  Now they are both at school in year 1 and 2 and I can see such a difference between them but when you get them away from it, their special relationship is still there and they can be the best of friends.

I like to take just the two of them out sometimes to encourage it. With the bigger boys around, Finn is desperate to be one of them, but when these two are on their own, they play so well, they encourage and share and are back to being the best of friends.  We love the woodlands but to get to a decent sized area we have to drive quite a way, so we visit this tiny woodlands in our town to play amongst the trees and set up our swing.  

I loved listening to their conversations, watching them play and connect and be close again.  The age gap between them looks bigger than ever as one is shooting up at an amazing speed and one is growing much more slowly, the academic gap grows with school but I hope they will always have a special relationship as brother and sister.

These pictures are from a little trip out this week.  The bigger two had friends over so I took these two out for a few hours, to the tiny woods and then the park and I realised how much I missed time with just them.

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Days out in Kent // Bedgebury Pinetum

 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.  

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Days out in Devon // Haldon Forest

When we were looking for days out in Devon, Haldon Forest popped out at us as it had all the wildlife and woodlands of a forest with the amenities of toilets, a cafe and a playground so we loaded up the car and headed there in the morning.  Entry is free but you pay for the carpark which was about £7 for the whole day and less for a shorter time, quite reasonable for a day out.  In non-Covid times there is a Julia Donaldson trail and we were a bit upset that it was closed during our visit as the children would have loved it.  The office was closed too but there was a map of the trails on the wall and a sign encouraging you to take a photo on your phone to use instead.

Everything was well sign posted and the queues for food and the toilets were socially distancing well/  We decided to do the mid length walk as the children have a tendency to go off path exploring regularly and so any walk takes us a long time.  There were separate trails for cycling and running, everything colour marked along the way and some paths were available for either.

Our path led us through the woodlands and there was so much to explore as we went.  The forest was full of man made dens of varying sizes and we loved discovering them as we walked through.  You could go quite far off the tracks but there were boundaries in place to make sure you didn't get completely lost.  Along the way we found plenty to play with including a huge wooden xylophone which the boys couldn't get enough of.  The day we chose was overcast and misty with light rain at times but it didn't bother them one bit.

At one point we found signs explaining everything in front of us including a beautiful white tower but the fog was so low we couldn't see any of it!  I imagine the views are beautiful on a clear day though!  There was plenty of insects to observe along the way and spots of colourful flowers amongst the trees.  In the main area all the dogs were on leads but as we went into the forest we realised that dogs were allowed to roam free which did cause a few issues for us as some super friendly dogs bounded over and two of the boys are very afraid. I would say the forest isn't the best place for dog-fearing children as the most friendly dogs usually didn't have an owner in sight.  For most of our walk this wasn't a problem as despite the main area being quite busy, the walks were not, possibly due to the number of choices.

The forest is really well looked after and some areas were cordoned off as the new trees are growing and need to be protected from humans and animals.  There was also lots of information about how sustainable the forest was and how much timber is produced which was fascinating.  

Haldon Forest is a beautiful and well looked after area with plenty of trails for walking, running and cycling. The kids loved exploring the dens and getting off the track and I would love to visit the Gruffalo trail when it is back up and running although I think two of the boys need to stick to places with dogs on lead policies for now.  You can find out more about visiting Haldon Forest here. 

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Days out in Kent - Bearsted Woods

This summer has seen us discovering more of the county we live in and one of the places we have visited recently and enjoyed is Bearsted Woods near Maidstone.  Also known as the People's wood, the area is a good size for exploring with small people as the walks are all a shorter length and there is a lovely play area too.  We took a picnic and found a great choice of tables to sit at and during the hours we spent there, I think we only saw one other family!

We crossed over a lake and saw a field of friendly goats and there were signs around the area telling us about insects and nature we could spot on the trails.  We found a maze mown into the ground and although it wasn't tall enough to get lost in, the kids loved finding their way through it.  One of their favourite features was a line of painted rocks that extended for many metres and we wished we had brought one with us to add to the snake of them along the side of the path.  The paths were wide and well maintained and the kids loved going off route to explore their own short cuts (which were usually much longer).

We planned our day so that the playground was at the end of our walk.  All through the woods there are 'trim trails' which are stations with instructions for specific exercises, like the monkey bars, balance beams and spots to do star jumps.  The main playground was great though and there was something for all ages.  If you live locally, it is a lovely place to spend an afternoon but there are no amenities in the woods so you do need to bring enough water and use the toilet before you arrive.  There is a small shop not far from the playground if you need to stock up on anything (we went on a very hot day and ran out of drinks before the end of it).  For any Pokemon Go enthusiasts, there are also lots of Pokestops and two gyms within the woods!

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