Oh look ...... oh no ........ it's the GRUFFALO!!

I'm so excited to share this post with you all. Yesterday, Daddy, Evan & I were joined by Annma & Pops & we went for on the Gruffalo Childs Trail!

The Gruffalo Childs Trail at the Dean Heritage Centre is a woodland trail of a series of wooden carvings across the forest, depicting the adventures from the best loved childrens story by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. 

The Gruffalo sculptures have been beautifully carved by resident chainsaw artists Clayton Ryder and Gil Parnham, using locally sourced redwood from the Forest of Dean. They are truly special & depict the characters wonderfully. We arrived at the centre to be greeted by a 6 foot Gruffalo as we entered the site. We then began our trail, at first Evan was a bit unsure but he became really excited when we showed him the Gruffalo house.

Exploring the Gruffalo house with Annma, Pops & Daddy

The attention to detail in this wooden hut was brilliant. It had been built slightly crooked & inside we we saw photos of the food that the gruffalo likes to eat. "Roasted Fox" & "Owl Ice Cream" & "Scrambled Snake" we also saw his fireplace & some rather funny family portraits. If you look closely at Daddys feet in the final frame, you will see the gruffalos bed.

After leaving the house we started the trail. The creators had really put a lot of effort into the walk, helping to capture the imagination of its young audience. It's here the story began, "the gruffalo said that no gruffalo should ever set foot in the deep dark wood" & just as we read the first part of the story up popped the gruffalo & the gruffalos child.

A bit further along the trail we were able to read the rest of the story, each part of the story being told in different scenes. Evan squealed with delight as he found each of the characters & we read him the next part of the story until we got to the end & saw the gruffalo & his child fast asleep.

After all the gruffalo hunting & a bit of playing in a wonderful children's playground we were all hungry so we took ourselves off to the cafe for lunch. We passed over the bridge & climbed the stairs to eat "Roasted Fox" ........ (mummy had a jacket potato). After lunch we tottered around the rest of the centre which houses a collection of artifacts & interesting pieces depicting forest life.

This was a really magical day, it helped that the sun shining. Evan had a wonderful time wondering around the site, looking for the gruffalo. The centre had thought of everything & even had a play table downstairs with all sorts of gruffalo related crafts for you to take home. The gift shop, as you would expect was full of gruffalo goods & I couldn't resist these finger puppets.

We've read the gruffalo & the gruffalos child a few times since buying them & it helps bring the story alive. I'm so glad I bought them. We shall be taking them to playgroup tomorrow & sharing them with the children, I hope they love it as much as we do.