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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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Family-friendly mountain climb at Pen y Fan, Wales
AdventureAge rangesClimbingEnvironmentMountainsTeeny

Family-friendly mountain climb at Pen y Fan, Wales

Pen y Fan is Wales’ second largest mountain and the highest mountain in southern Britain, standing at 886m above sea level. It’s a popular National Trust location, with over 250,000 people tramping up to the peak each year. At the top you are rewarded with dramatic steep slopes and valley scenery and with the right conditions, you can see right across the four counties of Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Glamorgan and Somerset. We chose to climb Pen y Fan with our toddler and preschooler as part of our four-month challenge. Here’s how we go on.

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May 30, 2018 4 comments
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Book review: Amazing Family Adventures by Jen and Sim Benson
AdventureNational TrustUK

Book review: Amazing Family Adventures by Jen and Sim Benson

Our book review of Amazing Family Adventures by Jen and Sim Benson.

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March 12, 2018 1 comment
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Explore

Antique heaven in Petworth, Sussex

Petworth is the antiques heart of Sussex (can you tell I like antique rummaging yet?) It’s also a beautiful small town that has the added bonus of the National Trust’s Petworth Park on its doorstep; a park that seems even grander than Richmond Park.

We visited when the little guy was about 10 months old. I know this as it was mid autumn and a glorious vest and shorts day. Days like this are even better than hot summer days I think, as they are unexpected. I remember sitting lazily in the sunlit gardens at Petworth Park, Freddie content, and thinking ‘this is what happy feels like’.

To earn my rest I trogged round the shops with Freddie in a sling. I managed about an hour before he became too heavy (I’ve always wondered how people manage toddlers in slings? Please tell me the trick. I’ve always wanted to be that mum who carries their kid not pushed them, without success). I would suggest (now that Freddie is a very active 18 month old) that a trip to Petworth shops is only really doable with a immobile baby.

Petworth is an upmarket place. I realised this as soon as I saw the first price tag of £500. Hmm don’t think I’ll be bringing much back. But it’s enjoyable all the same and the stuff for sale is good for inspiration. Plus most of the shopkeepers loved Freddie and he seemed pretty happy to be nosing around too!

I unfortunately didn’t take many pictures (too intimidated!) but here is a list of the key shops.

Antiquated

Anthony Short

Chequers Antiques

David Swanson 

Garden House Antiques

John Bird Antiques

Lantiques

Petworth Antique Centre

Phoenix Antiques

Tudor Rose Antiques

Woodcock Antiques

You can walk round in an hour no problem. There are also some fab places to eat, though we chose to have a picnic in the park.

Back to the park…(and this place is GREAT for older children) as we all know National Trust is a beacon to parents across the land. Even without all the extra kid friendly stuff they put on, just having some safe outdoor green space to run around is worth paying the membership for. Freddie was too young to enjoy the NT for himself at this point so it was a selfish visit for moi.

The park consists of formal gardens and a 700 acre deer park. It was the deer park that captured my heart, probably partly to do with the weather being so blooming glorious for October. Sublime rolling hills as far as the eye could see with a backdrop of Petworth House – a massive 17th century mansion. For the green fingered out there, the gardens were fashioned by Capability Brown. And for the artists, Turner then immortalized these gardens into his famous paintings. If you have time to go inside the mansion, you would also be rewarded with an epic collection of art from Turner, Blake, Reynolds and van Dyck.

Coming here made me realise how much there is going on culturally outside of London. Yes, you may to look for it and drive here there and everywhere, but it’s oh so rewarding when you find somewhere special like Petworth.

February 5, 2018 0 comment
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AdventureExplore

Woodland wonders at Box Hill, Surrey

Who needs soft play?

Box Hill isn’t all bikes and lycra you know. It has an amazing natural play trail that follows two mile’s worth of wooded path. At the beginning there’s a natural play area with carved out trees to run through and wooden boulders to climb. Further on, there are dens made out of branches to explore and build up further, and a wooden bridge to clamber across. Finish up with a play and a picnic in the meadow that overlooks the view of the surrounding countryside.

Even without all the magic wooded play stuff created by the National Trust, woods are ace for kids (and even babies) to play in and explore. Freddie was as absorbed in stacked stones as he ever is in lego, and as happy collecting and sorting sticks as he would be in plastic stacking cups.

And Box Hill also has loads of meadow space to have a picnic and let kids run wild a bit. There’s a handy car park at the top of zig zag road (love that name) with a cafe, shop and toilets.

Freddie and I have visited Box Hill a lot since we moved out to the Surrey Hills. I like the buzz around it. I don’t know if it was so popular before the 2012 Olympics but it’s always busy now, and there are always lots of MAMILs (middle aged men in lycra) about as well as the usual National Trust suspects (read many families and larger percentage of grey-haired folk) so it’s a lively mix of people. I like going as it reminds me a bit of being in London. That sounds silly but it’s the vibe about the place. It’s full of promise, and feels like a place where things happen, even though it’s deep in the countryside. If I’m feeling a bit lonely I like coming here as you always end up having a chat with a friendly dog walker or mother. Nothing being than a walk in the woods, admiring the view and settling down for a cup of tea and a bit of cake to raise the soul.

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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