The Highway Rat Trail at Haldon Forest.
Today we decided to go out and get some fresh air, after all
suffering with colds, we needed to get out before cabin fever set in, so we set
off to complete the Highway Rat Trail at Haldon Forest.
The Forest Commission’s website described the trail as:
The Highway Rat is the latest Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler book to be brought to life on our forest trails. Follow the panels, complete activities and interact with the forest as you head on a journey with The Highway Rat and all the characters from the story!
Normally Haldon Forest’s car park is heaving with vehicles
but today we were lucky enough to find a space straight away. We unloaded the
boys and got changed into our coats, walking boots and wellies. I tried to put
a hat on Oliver but my attempts soon proved futile.
We headed up to the toilets and the rangers office to check
when the Highway Rat Trail started. A pack which costs £3 is available but we
chose just to enjoy the walk.
We found the signpost for our trail and headed off. We told
Sam we were following the green trail and he loved trying to be the first to
stop the green arrows along the way.
We soon found out first signpost. The signposts give you a
fab picture from the story and also some interesting facts about the countryside.
Behind the first signpost we were also lucky enough to find our first stone
from the Facebook Group “Devon Rocks and Stones” which we are part of.
Oliver was really fussy and one minute wanted to walk and
the next minute he wanted to be back in the pushchair. Thankfully, this route
is fairly safe for children of all ages. There are two road crossing but these
are clearly marked and you are given plenty of warning before they appear. The
route is wheelchair and pushchair friendly and mainly flat.
Along the way there is plenty to keep the children amused. It starts with a large wooden xylophone, where children can run sticks along the large suspended poles and listen to their different sounds. There are also lots of dens and houses for children to enter. There is also plenty of space for the children to run, disappear into the woods and walk along the many streams along the path.
The views for the adults are also stunning, we are so lucky
to live in a county where we have access to woodlands and forests, the sea and
the moors all on our doorsteps.
The Trail also has a wooden park at the end of the trail,
where children can play or ride bikes over special bumps that have been
created. The park also holds large sculptures of Stick Man and The Gruffalo.
The trail is 1.5 miles long and it took us nearly two hours
to complete it, walking at a leisurely pace with Oliver sometime dawdling with
us as any Toddler does.
Would we attend the trail again? Absolutely!!! We thoroughly
enjoyed it and we had best outcome at the end too…. Oliver fell asleep!!! Mummy
Win J
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