After returning from holiday last week mini mumblers and I have been out and about this week catching up with friends. We thought we would do a quick overview of the hidden gems (well we think so!) we have found this week in North Leeds and further a field …..
“THE WEB”
Bolton Abbey Welly Walk, we have been to Bolton Abbey quite a few times but never seem to have timed it right with when the welly walk is on – not quite sure how as its on for a while -27th May – 5th November!
We were unsure which car park to park at but we found out you can do the walk from either the Cavendish or Stepping Stones end. The walk is free you just pay for car parking which is £10 per car. I have one child that loves a good walk and another who asks “how far is it” when he does his first step! However on the welly walk he didn’t moan once as he was looking out for the next obstacle all the time and walked 5km with no rides on shoulders (this was a first!)
TREE CLIMBING
As per the name the walk can be muddy, we chose a relatively dry day in comparison to the general weather this holiday but if you dress accordingly (or take a spare set of clothes) the walk can be done in all weather. There are lots of opportunities for climbing and scrambling, my 3 year old did need help (a push up) with some of the climbing bits but most of the obstacles had parts at the side for adults to help. The obstacle activities include tunnels, swings, snakes and ladders slide,balance logs, stepping stones, balancing beams, tight rope wire and a mug bog! On weekends and during school holidays there is also tree climbing (additional cost of £3 per child) which my six year old loved, the guys (professional climbers) doing it were great.
I wouldn’t say the walk is pushchair friendly (carriers would be better) as there are a few steps and steep gradients but there were a few people with prams on the day we did it. We managed the roundtrip back to the car park and with an ice cream stop it took us about 2 hours. I have known people with younger children stay at one end and send others back for the car and pick them up on route if little legs are tired. We had a great outdoor adventure on the welly walk and would highly recommend.
We had heard good things about the Crag House Farm nature walk so we met some friends there for what we thought would be a few hours and we ended up being the last ones in the coffee shop as we had such fun! Unfortunately when we arrived they had run out of nature trail sheets but the lady pointed us in the right direction and if you follow your nose you can get around pretty easily and it is pushchair friendly.
The gardens are lovely and lots of open space for children to run around in, there are also “wildlife facts” dotted around the trail. There are a few summer houses which have outdoor games (connect 4, snakes & ladders) in and provided a great back drop for many “shows” with our group. We spent quite a lot of time in the bird hides playing “I Spy” for what wildlife we could spot. We then progressed to the two ponds and walked around them playing a game of “Mr Wolf” and thats when we spotted the bonus of the nature trail for us, blackberries and lots of them!!! We quickly found things to store them in, well those that we didn’t eat!!
We all enjoyed a well earned coffee/hot chocolate and cake in the cafe afterwards, there is an area in the cafe that has children toys.
If you want somewhere where you can enjoy the outdoors and make your own fun in nature this is the place for you.
We wanted to meet some friends from East Yorkshire halfway and Beetle Bank Farm & Wildlife Sanctuary, Murton, York which opened in May was ideal. (It took us 35 mins from North Leeds.)
