Review ZOG Trail Alice Holt Woods: Kipper is at that age where he is just getting into the Julia Donaldson books. We have been reading them for a while but he is now enjoying the films as well. After visiting Alice Holt Woods before to see both the Gruffalo and Stick Man trails we had high expectations. Unfortunately in this instance they didn’t really hold out. Maybe it was because it was late in the day, or the fact that the weather wasn’t great or that Kipper had his two year old head on. Although normally those things don’t affect a day out for us.
To be honest I think the boys probably loved being outside. The disappointment lays with me. The other trails we have done normally include a large craved character at the end of the trail. However this time there was a picture of ZOG on ply board. Of course there was the excitement of finding him. But not the photo opportunity I had hoped for. I think if we had been there earlier in the day we probably would have gone to hunt out the Gruffalo on the other side so I could have got my fix.
The trail itself starts by the Go Ape, although you need to pick your pack up from the Information Centre next to the cafe. The new facilities they have put in are very good and much improved on the old cafe that they use to have. The pack itself was £3.50 so we decided to opt for one knowing that it would probably largely end up in the recycle bin afterwards. Inside there is a mask, a couple of stickers, activity leaflet, pencil and a 3D viewer. It was the 3D viewer that we could have done with two of. As you need it to interact with some of the activity boards around the trail. At least it was a good opportunity for them to learn to share!
As you go around the trail there are also little dragon signs to spot. The highlight of the trail has to be the play areas along it. I was not expecting these and they really kept the boys entertained. The first was a giant owl which with could climb up before flying down the fireman pole. Kipper was too little for this but enjoyed climbing up and down the wings anyway. The second was a tree with a woodpecker attached to it. Really its a tower to climb up. Although the rungs on the ladder were too far apart for little legs. That didn’t stop Monkey but again no good for Kipper. The final was a set of wooden tubes which were contacted. Both really enjoyed playing on this and it was difficult to drag them away.
It was near the end of the trail and was more of a highlight than finding ZOG. Alice Holt is a beautiful forest and there were some lovely pine lined paths to walk along. Plus they have a great play area, clean toilets and a cafe. Monkey hope to try the Go Ape one day but I can’t help feeling a little let down by the ZOG trail.
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27 Comments
Wow – this looks like a coold place to go!
Another day another adventure. We all want to be mudpiefridays ! Seriously though, this does look like a lot of fun
looks like the kids enjoyed a lot.fun place
Looks really fun and an endless supply of sticks for the boys to find!
Looks and sounds like so much fun! Bet kids from all over would love this! Great for a nice Spring walk too!
What a lovely place to visit!
Learning to enjoy the outdoors & not just stayed glued to their screens is what today’s kids need…looks like your kids had fun though you couldn’t get the perfect photo-op with no carved character at the end of the trail : )
– Nandita
Your kiddos are so adorable! Cute photos as well thank you for sharing your family time with us.
That looks an exotic place to visit. I would love to be there.
What a fun place to visit. Kids will really enjoy this kind of place. Thanks for sharing..!
Awww how much fun is this! I love how you’re making learning and living with boys fun! Now i wish that i wasn’t raising my little one in the city
wow that looks like so much fun! hope you all enjoyed yourselves
Oh I’d love to take my godson there! He might be a bit too old now but a few years ago he loved the Gruffalo book sooo much.
Looks like they had a wonderful time!
It’s obvious your boys had a great time. Thanks for giving them great moments like this.
I love Alice Holt woods. 🙂 Live only twenty minutes away from it and it’s such a lovely place to go for a walk.
Nice place and the kids look like they had so much fun.
How cute is this. This actually gets me excited for when my son gets older and starts exploring and learning about different things!
At least it’s a lovely place – what a shame though!
I’ve only done Go Ape at Alice Holt but the woods are on our (always expanding!) list of places to visit, it’s a shame the Zog trail isn’t up to the usual standards of the Gruffalo etc!
Wow this looks fantastic! I love mini adventures!
looks like your kids had a great time
What a lovely place to visit, looks like plenty of fun was had!
Looks like a lot of fun and adventure for children
this looks like a wonderful place to have fun and learn at the same time
Wow this looks fab! Still haven’t read Zog though!
What an ADVENTURE looks so much fun