On a recent visit to Moors Valley with the kids, I spotted a new trail for us to do.

Moors Valley is a family favourite country park, with a play trail, nature trails, two play parks and a picnic area, all available for just the cost of parking. There is also bike hire, Go Ape and a miniature railway for an extra charge.

We love the Julia Donaldson trails that have been at Moors Valley over the years and the new one is the Gruffalo Spotters Trail.

To really make the most of the trail, download the Gruffalo Spotter 2 app (available on Google Play and App Store) before you go, as signal in the forest can be a bit ropey.

The trail is free to do, but I highly recommend buying the Gruffalo Spotters Trail activity pack, available from the visitor centre for just £3.50.

Inside you’ll find:

• Gruffalo mask and paws
• Activity leaflet
• Crayon and pencil
• Nature spotters game and instructions
• Stickers

If you are trailing with a younger child, be aware that the trail starts by the Play Trail and is around 2km in length. We found the clues quite far apart for little legs, so take a pushchair.

At each stop there are fun family activities where you learn about each animal from the story. Lilah is at the age where she named what she could see, but there are extra activities for older children to try.

There are also rubbings to and games in the booklet to complete and other characters to look out for as you go!

At each stop there is a footprint to scan with your app, which brings the characters to life right in front of your eyes.

Lilah loved watching the characters appear on my phone, but was too young to understand the challenges e.g. Mr Fox curled up and went to sleep, so you had to jump and wake him up, or flap your arms like a bird to make Owl fly.

The app allows you to record the experience, and screenshot the photos so you can look back at your day of fun.

The trail ends at the picnic area, where all the wooden characters are waiting to greet you.

Lilah loved seeing the characters from one of her favourite stories.

She was especially taken with the Gruffalo’s purple prickles.

Now is time to visit Moors Valley as their winter parking charges apply and we paid just £1.70 for four hours on a weekday. Parking does cost more at the weekend – find out more here: https://www.moors-valley.co.uk/visitor-information/car-charges/.

Have you done the Gruffalo Spotters Trail yet?

• bournemouth
• country park
• days out with kids
• Dorset
• family travel
• gruffalo spotters
• moors valley
• review
• trail
• travel