Dear Mummy, my family took a stroll through the deep, dark wood… after years of trying to track the Gruffalo down armed with new information from the Forestry commission we headed to Bolderwood in The New Forest. The Gruffalo is a much-loved children’s book and we’ve been on many hunts to find the Gruffalo, more recently at Mottisfont with The National Trust. We love nothing more than reliving the tale from the book and it always makes our adventures into the woods more exciting.
However this trip was different, you see we were using a Gruffalo Spotter app that made the characters from the story appear in the forest right in front of us! Magic Light Pictures and the Forestry Commission England have brought the Gruffalo characters to life. When you point the app at special markers around the trail, you can interact with the characters, thanks to augmented reality technology. You’ll see the characters blending in with the scenery around you! The app is free from the App Store, Google Play and Amazon so you can download it before your visit.
At first my folks had some reservations, the whole point of heading into the countryside was to get away from technology and soak up nature. We can see how the app would add to the experience by taking pictures with the various characters and saving them to our photos, unfortunately on our visit my mummy’s phone battery and signal was playing up so we didn’t get to take many photos with the app, however it was nice being off grid for a little while 🙂
What we loved more was the Spotters Activity Kit available for £3 at the Bolderwood visitor centre. It kept us amused for ages. Inside there was an evidence collection bag, 5 animal activity and facts cards, a Spotter’s Guide, stickers of the Gruffalo characters, a special magnifying glass, ruler and a pencil. The trail is easy to complete without this pack or the app by following the signs however I liked collecting the stickers in my guide-book and we liked completing the challenges along the way.
I stashed all my finds and goodies in my Gruffalo rucksack from Little Life, which was the talk of the forest as all the other visitors wanted one. Even my travel companion, a miniature Gruffalo Key Ring from Aurora World caused children to shout that they found the Gruffalo.
We walked around the trail which is about 1.8 miles long with signs along the way (three for each character of Mouse, Fox, Owl, Snake and of course Gruffalo). The Forestry Commission are brilliant at putting on these trails and it’s a great way to get families out walking. Along the trail were signs with spinning wheels to give you a clue as to who you might spot next.
I loved the dens that people had made and were still left for others to hide in. We played for some time tree climbing on fallen trucks. The signs dotted around helped me remember the characters in the book. The Gruffalo Trail is free to do, we only had to pay for our car parking which was a donation.
Bolderwood is a lovely place to stop for a picnic, there are picnic benches, BBQ areas and a large field for you to lay your picnic rug on. There was also an ice cream van, which was perfect as I had a lolly as a reward after our long walk.
You’ll be able to visit Bolderwood, Alice Holt or Moors Valley Country Park to take part in the Forestry Commission’s Gruffalo Spotters trail around Hampshire and beyond, searching for clues in the forest. Look out for Mouse’s tiny footprints, Snake’s slithery trail and the Gruffalo’s huge footprint, along with other characters from the popular story. View our little video to see what we got up too…
The trail is open at Bolderwood until the 3rd September and the are 26 trail locations around the UK. If you’ve missed this event don’t worry, visit forestry.gov.uk/gruffalo for further information on future events.
Love Bella x
Disclaimer: We were sent a Gruffalo rucksack from Little Life and a Gruffalo Keyring from Aurora World as companions on our trip into the forest.
dearmummyblog.com 
It looks like a great day out, especially for Gruffalo fans.
#countrykids
I love your Gruffalo back pack, how perfect is that for enjoying the trail and having somewhere to stash all those forest floor treasures. I have mixed views about the app. I think it creates fun photos but I suspect little ones get far more out of seeing the live carvings rather than the ‘take a picture place’. Either way the woods look lovely and plenty of den building spots and picnic places to enjoy too.the activity pack sounds like a wise £3 investment.
Thank you for sharing with me on #CountryKids
These Gruffalo trails are so great at engaging the younger ones and like you say getting families all out and walking together. That backpack is fab too. Mich x #CountryKids
I love the woods and I think these Gruffalo trails are a great idea. Thanks for linking with #ExplorerKids
Sarah
This is such a fun day out. My toddler adores the Gruffalo. I know he would love this! #countrykids
Oh wow, this looks absolutely wonderful! I would love to do it.
Thanks for linking up to #ExplorerKids
Oh someone in my office has JUST done this with their family at Delemere. It sounds like so much fun if you get the right weather.
I love this – my youngest girl is a Gruffalo fan and I just adore how there are now lots of Gruffalo places for them to hunt and explore!
Your kids seem to have to had a lot of fun with their gruffalos
A much loved book in our family! Love that this has become a theme and an activity, definitely somewhere to visit soon x
Oh my gosh that gruffalo backpack is simply adorable! I love how adventurous you all were.
This looks like a fad day with the kids and I’m sure many kiddy Gruffalo fans will love this 🙂 x
Haha! This looks like so much fun! I cannot wait until my daughter is a bit older so we can go on trips like this.
I love this so much!! They have a Gruffalo spotting trail at Haldon Forest near Exeter too and I think it’s such a fab idea! Makes me wish I was a kid again! 😀 xx
This sounds absolutely amazing, we are massive Gruffalo fans here and my guys would love to visit somewhere like this x
I loved the gruffalo as a kid, I’d have loved doing something like this, sounds like lots of fun x
This sounds like SO much fun and little Bella looks like she’s enjoying herself! The gruffalo backpack is adorable!
That sounds like an awesome event to attend. All the fun adventure you get to experience there and that little gruffalo plushie looks adorable.
I must have been living in a cave, as I had only heard of the gruffalo for the first time a couple of weeks ago. This looks great for kids that are fans though.
The spotter app is such a good idea! What a way to introduce kids to nature using technology! Sounds like a day full of adventure in the woods 😀
What a fabulous day out, Bella!! I loved the Gruffalo story and wish my children were small again so I could go Gruffalo spotting with that App! I also love your rucksack; it is perfect xxx
Sounds like you had a wonderful day Bella! I would have loved this as a child and would love to take my nephew Gruffalo spotting!
I love these Gruffalo adventures – That rucksack is just adorable too. I agree with a mix of using technology and just plain old getting stuck in and dirty in the woods!
We have done this at Moors Valley but I didn’t realise it was at bolderwood too. I can feel a visit coming on
This has just reminded me I need to take my little girl to the Gruffalo tail near me! Thank you for this blog, looks like you had such great fun! xx
Omg this is awesome!! My two would love this!! I’ll be having a look to see when they will be back!!
Guffalo trails seem so much fun! I love nature when I am with other people! It’s so much fun!