In her latest post for BornFree Parent Panel mum of 2 Nicki Cawood shares how she and her family discovered there was a whole new world of adventure to be found in their local forest.

When growing up I loved nothing more than playing street games, climbing (and inevitably falling!), getting messy and enjoying the fresh air. I’m determined my boys will get the chance to enjoy some outdoorsy fun whenever they can.

Recently we stumbled across the Forestry Commission while on the hunt for somewhere new to go. The Forestry Commission are basically the government department that have responsibility for maintaining, expanding and protecting Great Britain’s forest network.

We went to Dalby Forest, a local and vast area under the Commission. It cost us £7 (per car) to get in, our petrol to get there (which was negligible as it was fairly local) and our picnic which I made up from food in the fridge.

When we parked up we found a visitors centre, very well maintained toilets and a café (which was upstairs so we didn’t explore this as it was a family day and we had Taylor in the buggy). At the visitor centre we were given a map of all the forest walks, advised of the lengths, which ones were best for kids / pushchairs.

We chose a three mile route which, as you can see from the pictures was absolutely beautiful! Very family and buggy friendly but not at all boring, we went over streams and wooden bridges, around farms where the animals would come and say hello, and at regular intervals there were benches for picnicking.

Kieran decided to go dressed as a Knight of The Forest and when we left he was King of The Explorers (or Diego from TV) after enjoyingthe view, exploring and looking at different wildlife, birds and insects. We picked up binoculars and a child’s magnifying class for £4.00at the visitor centre before setting off (this was possibly the cheapest visitor centre gift shop I have ever been in!) and it made the exploration all the better.

We had a blast! Out and about as a family in the fresh air, amongst the trees, adventuring, learning and having fun in a safe and well maintained area…. For £7. The £7 goes towards the general maintenance of the forest, walkways and conservation so I didn’t begrudge one penny of it!

Next time you are at a loose end and fancy a day out, why not log onto the Forestry Commission website and find your local walks and forestry events, pack a picnic and lose yourself in the wonder of our own British forests!

Tell us about your family’s favourite place to visit in the great outdoors and we’ll choose one person to receive a BornFree Drinking Cup.

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