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Lot of parking avaiable. Not particularly cheap - check photos for current rates but if you're making a day of it then not an expensive day out!
Quite a hilly walk up and down through thte woods although nothing crazilly steep. The walk is a mix of gravel tracks and woodland trails, and were some unavoidably boggy areas. Are some uneven and stepped sections, no stiles.
Beaufitul Lake (pond ?? I don't know), Hank wasn't brave enough to swim but were other people throwing the ball in the water for their dog to chase.
Other than that are a couple of streams running through the forest, a couple with enough depth to have a good splash.
Lots of bins around the car park, and found one just past the lake too.
Lots to see and do here... There's toilets, cafe, play areas, visitor centre and shop, alternative trails and even a dog wash! There are also lots of picnic benches dotted around the route so plenty of places to stop and have a bite to eat. There's also Go Ape, and Gruffalo statues and adventures to find.
Several laid out routes here and we chose the Lodge Pond Trial which was the purple markers, and starts pretty much directly opposite the visitor center. It's well signposted, and takes you though the forest with its huge trees and streams, up to the picturesque lake and round past the childrens adventure play areas and back to the start.
The only one slightly confusing point was a post with four sides, with an arrow pointing in all foure directions!! Doesn;t take too much to confuse me, but the route is basically a wonky figure of eifght and this is the crossroads, so head on and keep going and you;ll eventually come back past this point.
This place has been on my list for a while now but have put off as just assumed it would be crazy busy. I'm sure it would be more so on a hot summers day in the school holidays but I went on an overcast April Friday afternoon and the car park was nearly empty and we only passed 2 or 3 people on the actual walk so suited us just fine!
So a real great family day out if you want that, or time it right and equally a fantastic peaceful woodkand walk too!
