As regular readers know I am lucky enough to be official blogging ambassador for Westonbirt Arboretum. It’s a tough job but someone has to do it. During the school holidays Westonbirt always runs seasonal activities for children. So in the Easter holidays we headed there to check out the arboretum in spring and the activities they had laid on for children.

When we arrived we were greeted by a lovely volunteer who gave us a map for the spring trail. The trail was brilliant fun. We had to find pictures hanging from trees and match them to the pictures on our map. Tick them off and find them all. The children, full of enthusiasm for the trail, scampered round the woods looking for pictures. We also found spring treasures, buds on tree’s and shoots springing from the ground.

The trail ended at the activity centre where the children could try any of the four activities on offer. They opted to create a mini woodland, using bits collected from the woods. Then Super Kid went off to examine pieces of lichen under a powerful microscope whilst Robo Boy and Wonder Girl used clay to make creatures. The activities were fun and educational and the volunteers helping out were fabulous with the children. This made being there on my own with all the children much less stressful.

Hungry and tired from our walk we headed to the restaurant to see what the new operator, Calcot Kitchens, has to offer. I was impressed. The boys had children’s sandwich boxes which they enjoyed. Wonder Girl had a children’s pasta bowl, which she wolfed down. What she couldn’t finish was snaffled up by Super Kid, so it must have been tasty. I went for fishcakes with chips and rocket salad. It was delicious. The fishcakes were tasty and the chips were perfectly crisp and fluffy inside. The salad was fresh and had a nice dressing. Overall the food has massively improved and I would absolutely eat there again in future.

Westonbirt Arboretum is a really wonderful family day out. We always come home red cheeked and happy. To see what activities they have planned over the coming months have a look at their website.