We do like to go out into nature from time to time, normally to local forests to look at mushrooms or make little camps. Wanting to do something a bit different, we decided to check out The Gruffalo Trail, which is a big walk in the forest that features statues from the book The Gruffalo. The Gruffalo Trail is apart of the Essex Wildlife Trust, so it is a well maintained area that has quite a bit to offer. It’s a free walk that even includes a little map, if you go into the gift shop/cafe to grab it – the only thing you need to pay for is parking.
Once we had arrived and parked up, we went into the little cafe to fetch a map and a magnet – we have a collection of fridge magnets for everywhere we have been that has sold a magnet. The maps are, as mentioned, free – you just need to collect one. It’s a very cute map that includes the small route you need to take around to see all of the characters from Gruffalo as well as some little activities and bits of information about each of the character. The Gruffalo Trail has; Snake, Fox, Squirrel, Owl, Gruffalo, Mouse and Gruffalo’s child. These statues are far enough apart that you won’t see them from each other, but close enough where you can get around the trail within an hour, if you want to just hit all of the statues.
Beyond the trail, there is a picnic area with tables, an open field area where you can lay on some grass if you’d like, plenty of trees and places to build little dens. There were loads of dens already built when we went, so we added to some and went inside others, pretending they were homes and shops. The forest is quite vast beyond the Gruffalo statue area, which is nice if you like walks through the forest!
None of the statues were interactive, but each one made for a nice photo and the walk itself was just a little different then general walks in the forest. If you are an avid Gruffalo fan or if you’d just like something new to see in the forest, it’s well worth checking out the Gruffalo Trail!
You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!
I don’t k ow much about the Gruffalo, but I feel like I’ve seen an animated TV show or a film at some point
We love the books!
Ahh! The Gruffalo books are so fun to read; there are not many books I can stand to read out loud over and over again but the Gruffalo is an endless delight.
Loving the fun wood carvings of the characters along this walk brought to life. 🙂
They really do!