When we won tickets to BeWILDerwood from the fantastic blog Mud Mud Marvellous Mud I knew we had to go this season. The perfect opportunity came during October half term so we could experience The Glorious Glowing Lantern Parade. We had been concerned that it may be too scary for Adam but it turned out to be a magical experience.
BeWILDerwood has always been a brilliant day out but taking Adam turned it into a fantastic experience. We had an action packed day. We arrived at 10am and Adam did stop running, climbing, sliding and laughing until we left at 5.40pm. He never stopped running – this was a typical view of Adam:
We were excited to see the new features since our last visit. ToddleWood on the hill was perfect for Adam to play independently and he spent hours on the slide. The SkyMaze was simply amazing. It is made up of spiral staircases, zigzag beams, tunnels, walkways and bridges. It stretches half a kilometre and is over 8 meters tall. Trying to keep up with an energetic 2 year old is tricky as there are so many twists and turns. You could usually spot Adam as he kept saying “wow” and “I did it!”
Adam showed no fear crossing the ‘Broken Bridge’ high in the trees. Unfortunately he wouldn’t go on any of the larger slides as they required sitting in a bag which Adam wouldn’t do. Next time though!
As dusk started to descent we made a lantern from the resources provided. It was wonderful to see families working together to produce their lanterns. Once it was dark we gathered together near the bonfire to listen to a story and then lit our lanterns (using the glowstick inside). We then followed the lantern parade through the wood which was lit with pumpkins and spectacular laser-lights whist smoke machines created the perfect spooky atmosphere. Watch out for Thornyclod and make sure you shout “Boo” at him. Words can’t describe the magical experience. Adam was completely captivated by it all despite being tired.
We had thought Adam would enjoy BeWILDerwood but we hadn’t expected him to love it as much as he did. He was in climbing heaven. I hadn’t planned on blogging about our trip to BeWILDerwood but had to share with you our wonderful time on The Glorious Glowing Lantern Parade. It certainly added an extra dimension to an already perfect day. We shall no doubt be visiting BeWILDerwood several times next year when it reopens in February 2015. Next time we will be able to tell you more about the story behind BeWILDerwood, the characters of this enchanted world and all of the other treetop adventures on offer. We can’t wait until our next visit!
Are you looking for other toddler friendly days out around Norfolk: Then take a look at our Adventures of Adam around Norfolk posts:
Adam was 2 years and 5 months old.
This looks so fun, the SkyMaze particularly! #letkidsbekids
Looks fantastic!! My mother in law cannot wait to take Isabelle to Bewilderwood, but of course she is still a little young so maybe next summer.
Wow thats all that I mumbled upon seeing that boat! What an awesome place!!! #LetKidsBeKids
Wow, that looks amazing fun. What a great place and experience.
Thanks for linking #LetKidsBeKids
Bewilderwood looks such a great place for a day out with children. No wonder Adam had such a wonderful time. I love the lantern idea, this would be brilliant for nighttime walks here at Coombe Mill too, I might just borrow the idea! Thank you for sharing on CountryKids
We visited Bewilderwood back in June when we were on holiday up in North Norfolk. It was a great place but absolutely heaving as we visited on Father’s Day! I think you’re right that going somewhere like this for a themed one-off event is really magical – glad to hear your son really loved it! 🙂 #countrykids