When you have a small child, it can be something of a balancing act to find something to do: difficult, sometimes, to reconcile interesting for you as the parents and interesting for them as a small child. And then you factor in the child's need for a nap half way through the day, and you wonder if it's really worth it. Even if most places allow very small children in for free.
But the Botanical Gardens of Wales have a Gruffalo trail.
Our Tiny adores the Julia Donaldson books, and Michael Rosen's We're Going On a Bear Hunt, so we set off on a Gruffalo Hunt.
We packed a picnic, loaded up the palanquin, and set off, Tiny on reins to start off.
Unfortunately, the Gruffalo Trail is on the other side of the Gardens to the entrance, so we started with an Uh-Oh - a stream! Because naturally Tiny wanted to stop and have a splash. And the fountain.
We were also waylaid by a Scarecrow Trail and trying to find all the scarecrows scattered throughout the Gardens. We didn't do very well with that until after the Gruffalo Hunt. I still don't think we found them all, though.
Last time we visited the Gardens - the first time - we didn't have the palanquin. We didn't get very far down the Gruffalo trail before giving up, that time. Not very suitable for prams. We did pass one, this time, with tired parents struggling along behind. The palanquin was a much better idea.
It turned into a good walk. After we found the Gruffalo, we followed signposts to a waterfall, and then another, and then out of the woods into a field with no real idea of where we were or how to get back to the glasshouse, at the start of the Gruffalo trail, without simply turning around. We didn't want to do that, so we pressed on across the field.
Fortunately, the path we were following did indeed lead us back to the glasshouse. So we went in to have a look at the embroidery exhibition. I keep meaning to learn what I think of as Proper Embroidery, with all the different stitches, not just cross-stitch. One day. The creatures and other designs were beautifully rendered.
And then it was time for tea and cake, and to find the rest of the scarecrows.
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