Family day out: The Superworm trail at Wendover Woods
Superworm is superlong, Superworm is superstrong, watch him wriggle, see him squirm, hip hip hooray it’s Superworm – and his very own woodland trail. Following on from the success of the Gruffalo walks around the country, the Forestry Commission has added a new Julia Donaldson theme to the trees this summer… with the Superworm trail.
I hadn’t actually come across Superworm before – we love all Donaldson’s books and have loads at home, but there are so many I haven’t begun to complete the set – but a walk in the woods sounded a good plan regardless.
And at Wendover Woods in Buckinghamshire, our nearest Superworm trail, there’s still a Gruffalo looking out to the horizon so I figured Minnie would have fun finding him even if she was unimpressed by worms.
For another Forestry Commission trail inspired by Julia Donaldson’s books, check out our review of the Zog trail at Wendover Woods
I needn’t have worried. I think she was more excited by the thought of searching for super worms than scary gruffaloes, not to mention scampering like a fox under the trees.
And when we discovered that the activity packs on sale contained a mini Superworm book (plus a leaflet of activities and piece of string), it made no difference that we hadn’t read it before.
Instead Minnie was regaled with the tale of the valiant Superworm and the evil Wizard Lizard (I do love Julia Donaldson) over an egg sandwich from the cafe before we headed out to the trail.
One thing the pack didn’t contain was a map. Once you’ve found the beginning of the trail and its 10 signs, it’s very easy to follow but I wasn’t the only visitor who needed pointing in the right direction to find the start.
The extra activities in the leaflet are fairly general so you could also save those for a later walk in the woods – spotting colours, for example – but each board also has its own specific task so there’s not much point buying the pack if you have the book.
There are also three options to complete, aimed at different age groups which was a nice touch. The trail is aimed at 3+ although I suspect most two and a half-year-olds would have as much fun as Minnie. In fact, it’s quick and simple enough I suspect it’s better for the younger end of the age range.
The trail itself is around half a mile long, so if you’ve got older kids you’ll whip round it at speed. With den building, plenty of sticks to collect and those tasks en route, it took us somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes without rushing or dawdling.
Along the way I also discovered I have no idea what an earwig looks like. Tricky when we had to spot one in Axel Scheffler’s fab illustrations. I’ve since checked and feel slightly wriggly.
The path winds through a quiet stretch of woodland which was lovely even on a slightly chilly April morning (compared to the unexpectedly sunny Easter). In summer, I imagine it’s gorgeous.
And at the end, having posed by the sign proving she’d completed the Superworm trail, we found the Gruffalo, purple prickles and all. Minnie swore his tail was moving, to the amusement of a much more sophisticated five-year-old, and wouldn’t be enticed close enough to touch.
The bench with carved owls and a badger head got the thumbs up though, especially when she discovered the steps letting you climb on it.
Before I knew it, we had to head back to the car as my two hours’ parking had unexpectedly flown by. We could easily have stayed much longer, and not just for the rather lovely looking cake in the cafe. Hip hip hooray for Superworm!
Need to know: Superworm trail at Wendover Woods
Parking costs from £2.00 for one hour and there are machines dotted around the main car park.
There has been some major redevelopment work since I wrote this post in 2015, with much more space to park and you now pay on the way out at machines. No more remembering to take change and having to wander back and forward between the car and ticket machine along little muddy lanes. Hurrah! But there are no longer any free spaces for blue badge holders.
There are toilets, a cafe, picnic benches and a BBQ area on site, as well as a playground.
Gates open at 8am and close between 5pm and 9pm depending when you visit – see the website for more details.
The Superworm trail has now closed but there are regular family-friendly trails, including many linked to Julia Donaldson books, at Wendover Woods.
The Julia Donaldson trails run at multiple Forestry Commission sites around England – we also found Zog in the Forest of Dean
Images and video copyright MummyTravels
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What a fantastic place to explore…..It looks like a great day out x
Was lovely – very tempting to go back again on a sunnier day and explore more of the woods.
Ahh brilliant, that you’ve got to do this already. And that the guffalo is still there to see! Can’t wait to do this now later on in the year
Absolutely – we ran out of time to do the Gruffalo in the end, so glad we didn’t miss him entirely. Learned from my mistakes and am hot off the starting post for Superworm!
Oohfab! I must look up our nearest when we come home in September!! X
Definitely – the toddler will love it, I bet and the path at our one was very buggy friendly…
Oh we loved the Gruffalo trails, so will definitely look out for this one near us too! Thanks for linking up with #TriedTested
I was so annoyed with myself to miss the Gruffalo trails last year, but this is fun for little ones too and we had our bonus Gruffalo anyway. 🙂
Thank you! I didn’t know about the Super Worm trails! I’m off to check our closest one now! #TriedTested
My pleasure – hope you have fun 🙂
I’m envious we turned up to do superworm at our local forest, Delamere, and they didn’t get the superworm trail. They had had both Gruffalo Trail’s so I assumed they would have superworm. We had to tell the kids we were doing the stick man trail. #traveltales
Oh no! I’d assumed they were all going to be the same ones as well – but nicely inspired alternative with stick man 🙂
This is a faveourite book of ours so I’m getting excited. We love the forest trails and gave been to several. Looks like a great day out!
Definitely – and I agree, the forest trails are such a great idea.
i shall look out for this at our local woods, and when we go down to Cornwall later in the year. Looks brilliant.
It’s a lovely day out – good thought to check out the others for holidays too.
We love it at Wendover Woods and are going back on a school trip later this month. I never tire of it and you really must read Superworm – it is one of our fave JD books #CountryKids
I think we’ll be back to the woods this summer too now I’ve explored – and Superworm is a new hit 🙂
We have been big fans of the Gruffalo walks to will definitely look out for this.
Lovely to see you on #TriedTested this week x
It’s worth a wander, I think! And my pleasure as always 🙂
This looks like lots of fun – we are forestry commission ambassadors so CANNOT wait to visit our local Superworm trail. We loved the Gruffalo trail so I am hoping Superworm will be just as good, if not better!
Thanks for linking to #traveltales – I’ve pinned this post to our pinterest board. Hope to see you next month 😀 – Sam x
What a fun job! I bet your kids will love the different activities.
Aww you know, I wish there were trails like this when I was a kid – they look so much fun!
Tell Minnie I watched the video and I’m pretty sure I saw the Gruffalo’s tail move too – that little boy didn’t know anything! *wink*
I know – I remember lots of walks in the woods with my parents, but no gruffalos sadly. And I’ll have to watch the video again… eek! 😉
The Superworm Trail’s been yet another great trail designed alongside Julia Donaldson’s books, it’s great that you all enjoyed yourselves. It’s great that you could get the activity pack with the Superworm story in so you could introduce Minnie to the characters a little before setting off on the trail. Thanks for linking up with me on Country Kids.
Absolutely – I’m already hoping they extend the Room on the Broom trail which has popped up in Yorkshire! We’re still reading Superworm as a result too.
My son loves doing trails! Sadly we dont have the Grufallo nor this one here. But I wish we have as it looks so much fun to do like this trip of yours! #countrykids
They’re such a good way to encourage kids (and parents!) outdoors – was really fun if you’re ever nearby.
So much fun! I love the Julia Donaldson books! I wonder if there is somewhere doing this nearer to us, the girls would love it! #countrykids
They are great aren’t they – there are 20 around the country. Hope there’s one near you too.