'Mummy, my heart will never forgive me!' - treetop adventures at BeWilderwood
Sliding and zip wires at BeWilderwood plus St Annes kite festival this weekend
Hello readers, how has your week been? There’s a definite ‘end of the summer vibe’ in the air - conkers are falling in the park, we’ve picked blackberries and made crumble and school starts back next week.
What places are your faves for visiting in autumn? Let me know as I’d love to try out some of your recommendations.
Could I also ask a favour? Please could you forward this newsletter to one friend/family member/colleague/neighbour who you think might like it? I’d love to grow our little community even more. Thank you!
This week’s adventure… BeWilderwood
BeWilderwood is a treetop adventure park set in a forest near the village of Cholmondeley, Cheshire. It’s billed as a ‘curious treetop adventure’ with treetop slides, mazes and zipwires. I’d seen lots of families posting about going there on Instagram, so we decided to give it a go.
Things I loved about BeWilderwood
It’s really natural. Almost everything is made from wood and set in the treetops which helps to remind you that you’re in the middle of a forest, and makes the atmosphere calmer and less frantic than a theme park.
There’s nothing electric or noisy. Well, apart from the millions of kids. But this goes back to the point about it feeling natural and unspoiled. There aren’t loads of noisy rides, or music blasting out or arcades blaring. You just hear people, the breeze and the birds, which I loved.
Sliding sacks. You put your feet into a green sack to slide so your shoes don’t slow you down or make you stop. This means it’s a brilliant slide every time which the girls loved.
Something for everyone. The bigger slides and zip wires are height restricted so not suitable for toddlers, but there are lots of smaller options and playgrounds that little ones will love. They even have a cute little zip wire with a basket so smaller kids can have a go as well as the bigger ones.
It’s thrilling. My 8yo adored the slides and charging through the maze (my reperted cries of ‘everyone stay together!’ going largely unheeded). She zoomed down one particularly steep slide faster than she expected and staggered off, clutching her chest and panting ‘mummy, my heart will never forgive me!’ But in comparison to the tame slides of our local parks these were leagues ahead, and she was straight back on for more.
The decorations. As this is a new park everything still looks shiny and exciting, there aren’t any tired places or things that could really do with a renovation. Bright colours and cute little touches (like fairy doors on the trees) made the girls excited about their visit from the moment we stepped inside.
Things to be aware of before your BeWilderwood adventure
The queues. Man, this place was busy. I appreciate we went in peak time in the summer holidays, but we had to queue to get on everything, and the zip wire queue was getting on for half an hour. There’s also a craft tent which we didn’t even bother trying to get in as the line was so long. If you can manage to go outside of peak time then grab the chance.
The story. The whole park is based on some obscure children’s books about Boggles and Twiggles. I reckon I must have read approx 48406938475 kids books and I’ve never heard of this one, which led to lots of questions about who characters were and what they were doing, none of which I had any idea of.
My 4yo was given a badge at the end which said ‘I love Mildred’ - we still have no idea who Mildred is, but she liked it well enough, which is what matters.The drive. Google Maps reckoned 1hr 5mins for us from Bolton, but allow a chunk more wherever you’re coming from as BeWilderwood is in rural Cheshire, far from a motorway, and we ended up behind tractors, stuck at traffic lights, and overall it took a while to get there.
We paid £58.50 for our three tickets (both girls were over 105cm in height so full price, it’s less for little ones). We were there from 10.30am till 4pm when we left, exhausted but happy.
I’d definitely recommend BeWilderwood for a treetop adventure, and to enjoy a day out in the forest with plenty to do. It’s less intense than Go Ape, and if you can, go out of season to avoid the queues.
One to try… St Annes Kite Festival
This weekend (3 - 5 September 2021) the St Annes Kite Festival is back. We went here a couple of years ago and it was brilliant.
There are a huge variety of kites to see, from massive animal shaped ones to tiny stunt kits, all being flown on the beach by kite enthusiasts from around the UK.
There’s plenty to look at, along with donkey rides, a funfair and other seaside attractions.
Fingers crossed for decent weather.
That’s it for this week. Thanks as ever to everyone who got this far, you’re all the best.
See you next week,
Jenna