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Parks

Top parks to enjoy with your children.

30 Days Wild Day 5: Exploring Headley Heath in Surrey
ActivityAdventureEnvironmentExploreParksSurreyUKWalkingWoodland

30 Days Wild Day 5: Exploring Headley Heath in Surrey

I have two days off work to spend time with my littlest, so we decided to try somewhere new. We drove over to Headley Heath, partly in search of butterflies, but also to just have an enjoyable walk around somewhere we’d not been to before.

Headley Heath in the North Downs region and is about 300 hectares large. It’s obviously heathland (which I love) but also there’s pockets of woodland and dry chalk grassland, plus a good viewpoint out over the Downs from one point, so very interesting to visit. There’s lots of wildlife to look out for here including butterflies, birds, insects and lizards.

The info leaflet that I picked up told me that ‘lowland heath is one of the most endangered habitats in the world, even rarer than the rainforest’, which amazed me. And how fortunate we are to live so close to this site.

Headley Heath has a useful 3km ‘lizard trail’ that is suitable for families. I’d say it’s also fine for buggies in the summer months too. It’s quite undulating in parts but definitely doable. There’s two car parks which are free for National Trust members. No cafe or facilities so bring a picnic and cross your legs.

We head off in the direction of the Belted Galloway cattle which graze on the heathland. Apparently they have a vital role in maintaining the heathland habitats. (We visited the Romney Marsh earlier in May and the sheep which are farmed down there are also vital in maintaining the landscapes and rare flora and fauna down there too).

B loved watching the cows. They are an easy win for children as easy to spot! I didn’t want to get too close though.

Headley Heath

Having fun in our nature playground

Then we wandered through the Heath, keeping the orange trail markers in our site, though as the site is fairly small it doesn’t really matter if you veer off onto a different path, it’s tricky to get lost here.

B did better than me and found a colony (?) of ants looking busy going in and out of a small hole, plus a bright purple/red butterfly – possibly a peacock butterfly. We also both spotted a white butterfly, which I think is the most common here – the cabbage white. We’ll try butterfly spotting again soon, but here’s a useful guide to butterfly types. 

We also saw a foxglove, which are common here in summer and attract the bees plus lots of gorse, and these pretty white flowers (my knowledge of flowers is quite poor I’m finding!) which were also attracting the bees.

Headley Heath, ants in the ground

Ants busy making a home

Headley Heath, foxglove at Headley Heath

Foxglove at Headley Heath, a food supply for bees

Headley Heath, bee on flower

We stopped at Brimmer Pond for a rest, to look out for newts and dragonflies (didn’t see any) and to listen for birds. I think we partly had trouble as my toddler is RATHER LOUD. If you take a listen to the short video you’ll understand! I tried looking up what birds were singing when we got home, using the Warbler app (£4.99) and it told me it was possibly a Great Tit, Common Blackbird or Great Spotted Wren.

Headley Heath, Brimmer Pond

Brimmer Pond at Headley Heath

Headley Heath, notice about newts

Notice about the newts at Headley Heath

https://smallerexplorer.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/IMG_2114.mp4

We also had a poke about for insects. Looking under old bits of wood is a good idea if you are searching for insects. We found a few disgruntled woodlice plus a couple of large beetles. They scuttled away before we could look any closer at them unfortunately.

Headley Heath, Searching under logs for insects

Searching under logs for insects

Admittedly I did have to take B to a playground before we went to Headley Heath, but once we arrived and were exploring he really enjoyed it and didn’t want to come home, so I’m now going to describe any outing to a wilder area as a trip to the nature playground!

Headley Heath

 

June 6, 2019 3 comments
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Things to do in Greenwich and Blackheath with kids
ExploreFarmsLondonMuseumsParksUK

Things to do in Greenwich and Blackheath with kids

We spent half term in London in the very pretty Blackheath, just outside Greenwich. There’s loads of things to do in Greenwich and the larger southeast London region for all the family, plus it’s very easy to get into central London for some of the bigger sights too. As I’m fairly familiar with the area I thought I’d go see some lesser-known spots as well as the big hitters. Many of the places we visited were free to get in so your only cost is transport if you get organised with snacks and a picnic lunch.

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February 28, 2019 0 comment
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What to do on a weekend in London with kids
Age rangesCafesExploreFarmsGalleriesMuseumsParksPrimarySecondaryTeenyTravelUKUncategorized

What to do on a weekend in London with kids

I’m a massive fan of London. London without kids is fun. London with kids is even better. Anything you fancy doing, London will have it, and a lot of the best activities for kids in London are free too. Because there is such a lot to do, I’ve split this blog post up into themes – so whether you have a dinosaur fan, book worm or outdoor explorer you’ll find the best of London for the family.

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June 28, 2018 7 comments
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World Wildlife Day adventures
ActivityAdventureNatureParksWildlife

World Wildlife Day adventures

On 3rd March, it’s World Wildlife Day, held to celebrate the world’s plants and animals. This year the theme is ‘big cats- predators under threat. Unless you are lucky enough to live in Africa or Asia, you’ll only see them at safari parks. Much as we’d rather just see big cats in the wild, the parks listed below are all fantastic ambassadors for conservation, and many also have successful breeding programmes. We think anything that gets younger explorers interested in wildlife conservation is a good thing.

If you don’t want to go to a themed place to see wildlife, we’ve also rounded up some of the best places to see UK wildlife in their natural habitat too.

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March 2, 2018 0 comment
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An easy ramble at Painshill Park, Surrey
AdventureAge rangesExploreGardensParksPrimaryTeenyWalking

An easy ramble at Painshill Park, Surrey

Painshill Park is an pretty 18th century landscaped garden and lake based near Oxshott and Cobham in Surrey.

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February 5, 2018 1 comment
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for families who like to explore

The Smaller Explorer is a blog for adventurous families. I search out the best of what's out there that's fun for kids AND adults (and maybe a bit of a break from the norm), plus provide lots of achievable ideas for exploring and having adventures in the UK and overseas.

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the smaller explorer is an online magazine for adventurous parents. We search out the best of what's out there that's fun for kids AND adults, plus provide lots of achievable ideas for exploring and having adventures in the UK and overseas.

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