These woods, just a five minute drive from our house, were definitely one of our favourite stomping grounds in 2016. Not only are they on our doorstep, but the walk around the lake there is the perfect distance – enough to stretch our legs and give us a much-needed injection of fresh air, but easily achievable for a quick outing. The other things we’ve loved about the woods this year is that there’s a beach for paddling, trees that offer the ideal climbing challenge, loads of fallen trees for balancing, an area that’s full of the most incredible fungi in the autumn (we call it ‘fairyland’), and huge bushes that make brilliant dens.
Looking at these pictures makes me desperate to jump in the car and head out straight away, but unfortunately both the twins came down with chickenpox for the new year, so we’re holed up at home until they’re well enough to venture outside. I am starting to suffer from cabin fever a little…
Every time we go to the woods we seem to find something new – a couple of months ago we spotted a freshwater crayfish in the shallows of the lake – but one thing that’s almost always guaranteed is mud, so a good pair of wellies is a must. The Aigle lollypop children’s wellies from Welly Shop are the ideal choice – nice and comfy, as well as lovely and bright to add some fun to our trips out. They’re also nice and sturdy, which is good as the twins give them a very good workout when we’re out exploring.
(The kids’ duffel coats are from Boden – another big hit for us this year).
Disclosure: The Welly Shop sent us these boots to review, but all content and opinion is totally my own
