Notgrove is a great place to bring children of all ages and young minds in older bodies too!

It's a great place to get back to basics and perhaps re-live some of your childhood memories that may have been lost over the years for the children of today.

Here are a few simple but fantastic things to do with the little ones without any technology in sight!

• Collect an egg and cook with it! We have noticed just how exciting children find it to go and see if the hens have laid any eggs. It is also a great way for them to learn where food actually comes from. To be able to take it home and actually eat it is even batter!

• Go on a 'fairy finding walk'. We are surrounded by fabulous woodland walks in Notgrove and the surrounding villages. Why not look out for fairy doors and elf hideouts. Knots in trees and twisted roots are the best. They particularly love to be by the streams. Perfect fairy gardens and play areas are found there! Villages to head to other than Notgrove- Guiting Power, Temple Guiting, Sherbourne woods, Turkdean and most definitely Batsford Arboretum!

• Make a boat and sail it! Ok, so this probably sounds a little extravagant. I don't mean something that will carry you across the Atlantic but maybe one made out of your 'findings'. Head to one of our local fords and see what apparatus you can find. Sticks, branches, leaves and bark always make great boats. Build your boat and have a race. Take pooh sticks to that next level! You will find perfect fords and water splashes in Lower Harford (a nice walk from Notgrove), Guiting Power woods, Kineton has THREE and the stunning Lower Slaughter too!

• A must do- Splash in the puddles and get dirty! If you cannot splash in them then definitely break the ice. This is great fun and very therapeutic!
• Pet our animals and learn what they are and what they do. We take it for granted that we know what a goat is and looks like. We love to tell the children about our animals and their 'role' in the world. Did you know that Alpacas are used to fend off predators?

• Go on an adventure and find footprints and fossils. Figure out who they belong to and where they go. We have lots of wildlife around us and it's always great fun when you find Huge prints in the mud and even teeny tiny steps too. Watch out for the lesser spotted 'Harry' prints though!!! You never know where you might find them! Deer, Muntjacs, foxes, pheasants.... can you find any more?

It is all very simple stuff but keeps those blossoming minds entertained and fills them up with fresh air, exercise and a bit of healthy fun without them realising it. Plus after all of that running around they should hopefully sleep well!