I have been wanting to come and try The Green Fairy Trail at The Heart of the Country shopping village for AGES! And today, with a little sun in the sky, we headed along.
There is plenty of parking and what is even better is, it is all FREE.
The girls were so excited, running ahead, following the fairy arrows to find the start of the trail.
The girls found the start of the trail and we read through the instructions together. The girls were so excited.
Just after the instructions you can see a map to decide which way you would like to go first. Theres lots of little paths to follow which gave the girls chances to work together to decide which way we would all walk.
The girls looked at the signs and Jemima got very excited when she saw the dummy sign. She has never had one (we tried but she would spit it out), but loves giving babies dummies.
Along the walk there are quirky little signs for you to read. I loved this one. “Be the change that you want to see in the world”. Incredibly appropriate in this woodland fairy walk which uses only recyclable materials and has subtle ways of teaching children about how best to prevent global warming.
The girls loved finding all the different fairy doors. They would knock on them, as if they expected a fairy to open it and walk out. It was magical to watch as a parent.
There are various fairy scenes for the children to find and explore.
All beautifully organised and arranged by a team of lovely volunteers.
The Worry Remover is a lovely touch. My girls both had a go giving the fairies their worries. Jemimas worry was that Father Christmas might not know where we live (we recently moved house) . She’s definitely her mothers daughter, a big fan of Christmas.
For those who use a dummy and for parents who would like their children to give up the dummy. We saw the amazing dummy tree where you can post your dummy into a box for the fairies and the fairies then attach it to the tree for the next time that you come. Such a lovely idea.
The woodland also has goblins, so be sure to hunt for them too.
My girls love being outside, so the stepping stones and the stick made play houses were a total winner for them.
The girls liked the little fairy sized buildings that they found around the woodland.
The girls found a wishing tree and we placed money (2p) down and made a wish to the fairies.
There were so many lovely sections. Even if you go off course, you can find little surprise sections. The girls loved the little fairy playground… See if you can find it when you go. It has a slide, swing and a see-saw.
The mudkitchen and the woodland seating area in the Folk Zone, kept my girls amused for about twenty minutes. They made mud cakes, sandwiches and all sorts. Dogs on leads are allowed around the Fairy Trail but they cannot go into this Folk Zone.
Jemima loved the Magic Motel.
We named our eldest Matilda after mine and my husbands first theatre show together when we went to see Roald Dahl/Tim Minchins, Matilda the Musical. Seeing this little quote in the woodland was even more special for us as it is what we often tell the girls.
My girls were so excited in the Teddy Bears Picnic area. Feeding the bears all of the food and playing with each other nicely.
You could sit and have a picnic in the Folk Zone or in the dedicated Picnic area.
From here you can also see the two pigs that live at Heart of the Country Village.
We had an absolutely lovely time. We probably spent about an hour doing the fairy trail and playing with the mud kitchen, stepping stones and stick dens. I have loads more pictures, but I don’t want to spoil it all for you. Half of the magic is finding these things yourself.
If you just walked around it without stopping for long, it could probably be done in 15 minutes. But i’d recommend stopping, reading the signs and playing with your little ones.
You can make this visit as magical as you want. How about taking a little glitter and sprinkling it around for the fairies?
This trail is absolutely FREE and is closed on Mondays but open every other day 10am to 5pm. Free Parking.
That’s a wonderfully descriptive blog about this fantastic venue, it’s a truly magical place.
I’ve been privileged to be allowed to run children’s activities at HOTC and some of the proceeds go towards the funding of a waterproof ‘ sail’ to be placed on the fairy trail so that even if the weather is damp activities can take place.
Hi Hazel, Thank you for your kind words and what a wonderful idea. Do email me some of the childrens activities that you have coming up and I could share them on my social media. My email is smallhousebigtrips@gmail.com. Thank you, Kelly