Following the Zog trail at Wendover Woods

Here be dragons! So far on our visits to Wendover Woods, we’ve found a Gruffalo, Superworm and Stick Man – and with the new Zog trail at Wendover Woods, it’s time for Julia Donaldson’s trainee dragon to join the group.

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The latest activity trail from the Forestry Commission England, the Zog trail is appearing at 24 locations around the country, following on from its TV debut on Christmas Day – and with 100 activity packs sold on January 12 at Wendover Woods alone, the day before we visited, this looks set to be another hit.

Fans of Zog’s adventures ourselves, from the determined but accident-prone little dragon’s early attempts to fly to his first real encounter with a knight (which as with most of Donaldson’s tales, doesn’t follow the traditional fairytale pattern – if you don’t know the story, you can buy it here), we set off armed with wellies and our own dragon to see what it was like.

Check out the new Zog trail at Warwick Castle for 2021 as well

Now that you’ve been shown, you can practise on your own

On our first visit to Wendover Woods, on the edge of the Chilterns in Buckinghamshire, my daughter was only two, toddling along to explore the Superworm trail as I pushed the buggy behind.

The following year, aged all of three and a half, we were back for the Stick Man trail tempted out in the depths of winter for a walk in the woods, just as the trails intend.

Somehow we missed the Highway Rat trail last year and I wondered, at age six, would my daughter be too old for these family activity trails, in the same way that we no longer read Julia Donaldson’s books as a bedtime story?

But some things, you’re never too old for. These days, she doesn’t need any help to read the signs, but from splashing through muddy puddles to spotting dragon signs in the woods, plus a few ferocious rarrrrrrrrghs along the way, we wandered happily for over an hour.

With buggy-friendly paths – some gravel and a carpet of leaves meant it’s not currently too muddy – there were plenty of families with younger kids as well.

So what’s in store at the Zog trail at Wendover Woods?

For anyone who’s followed the trails before, there’s the usual mix of old and new – the basic idea remains the same but with a 2019 update.

After picking up your activity pack at the information point by the café (dragon not included), it’s time to zigzag into the blue – or at least wander into the woods, to find all the signs dotted around.

There’s a Zog mask to wear, a pencil, activity sheet and set of gold star stickers, coveted just as much by six-year-olds (and her dragon, Daffodil) as by Zog in the story.

One nice twist this time is that you also get to spot some hidden extras, using a red-film lens – holding it over the paper or up to your eye reveals animals concealed beneath the picture on top.

There are also simpler puzzles, including counting games, which will also suit littler kids, plus word searches and drawing pictures of what you’d like to be when you grow up.

The signs also give more information on life in the woods (apart from dragons) and encourage kids to spot what’s around them, from colours to animal sounds, homes and even spider webs.

In between, they’ll be flapping their arms like a buzzard and making animal sounds guaranteed to startle any nearby animals back into those homes!

There were a few more unusual activities this time too which I liked – picking up three different sized leaves and blowing them off your hand to see which went furthest (with a January breeze blowing, we had to shelter behind a sign to try the experiment!) and a suggestion that we hug the trees to say thank you for all that useful oxygen.

Watching all the kids around promptly scampering off to cuddle a tree was rather lovely.

There are also various play areas along the way, including a climbing area inspired by an anthill and a wooden fort.

And while the number of main trail signs isn’t that different from previous years, the route took us on a loop through the woods so it seemed longer – certainly than Superworm, which felt like it was over remarkably quickly.

Unlike previous routes, it doesn’t take you past the Gruffalo so you can always make it a longer walk by heading over to say hello as well as trying the other family walking routes. Although after an hour in the January chill, we decided that dragons were enough of an adventure for one day and set off on a quest for hot drinks instead.

The Zog trail at Wendover Woods: need to know

The activity pack costs £3 per pack and the route is easy to follow and suitable for buggies.

We covered around two miles following the loop, and spent around 90 minutes at Wendover Woods, but you could easily spend longer exploring (especially on a sunnier day!). The site is open from 8am to 5pm daily.

Parking at Wendover Woods costs from £2.50 for up to two hours – for those, like me, who haven’t visited for a while, there is much more space 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! There are no longer any free spaces for blue badge holders though.

The site is undergoing a major redevelopment. As well as the changes to parking, plus a new play trail, there are also plans for a new café  – for now, there’s still the current small café with picnic tables outside.

By the time we got back from our walk at just after midday, the queue was already out of the door so either turn up early (it was much quieter when we arrived) or be prepared to wait.

For other locations featuring the Zog activity trail at Forestry Commission sites, you can find the dragon here from January 11, 2019.

• Sherwood Pines, Nottinghamshire
• Fineshade Woods, Northamptonshire
• Salcey Forest, Northamptonshire
• Cannock Chase Forest, Staffordshire
• Hicks Lodge, Leicestershire
• Hamsterley Forest, Durham
• Gisburn Forest, Lancashire
• Whinlatter Forest, Cumbria
• Grizedale Forest, Cumbria
• Kielder Forest, Northumberland
• Haldon Forest Park, Devon
• Cardinham Woods, Cornwall
• Wyre Forest, Worcestershire
• Beechenhurst, Forest of Dean
• Haughmond Hill, Shropshire
• Bedgebury Pinetum, Kent
• Thames Chase, Essex
• High Lodge, Thetford Forest, Norfolk
• Jeskyns Community Woodland, Kent
• Guisborough Forest, Yorkshire
• Dalby Forest, Yorkshire
• Alice Holt, Surrey
• Moors Valley, Dorset
• Wendover Woods, Buckinghamshire

PIN FOR LATER: THE ZOG TRAIL AT WENDOVER WOODS

Images and video copyright MummyTravels

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