Take a walk on the wild side – #GBwalk at Wicken Fen

It’s time to get out of the car and see what you can find away from the roads and pavements. There is so much more to explore and see on foot and National Trust are kicking off this year’s Great British Walk with some fabulous events around the country.

With over 1000 different walks, events and trails it’s time to put on some comfortable shoes and take a walk on the wild side to discover the world on foot. Running from now until November it’s a fantastic way to get kids out and about with you as a family exploring the world around you.

We were lucky to get a chance to visit Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire and leave the car behind don our walking boots and get to see some of the amazing sites on foot along the board walks (made from recycled Coke bottles!) through the reeds as well as Bug Hunting, Geocaching (something I have never done before and now want to have another go at and find out more), Pond Dipping and a boat ride along the Roman Canal System that forms part of the Fens.

With a unique environment and the oldest National Trust Nature Reserve it was a perfect family outing for us – walking along the board walks J was on the look out for Water Voles after having seen pictures of them inside the visitor centre – but no luck for us this time instead we saw dragon flies, bees – including a wild honey bee nest in a tree with a possible 30,000+ bees inside, butterflies and birds just from the board walk with loud enthusiastic children.

A traditional Wind Pump used to drain the fen wetlands for farmland and peat has been moved to the site and joins highland cattle as attractions along the way.

In the Butterfly Walk we stop to go for a bug hunt using sweeper nets through the undergrowth collecting bugs from the plants – our finds a grasshopper, frog hopper and rove beetle all of which J and T were very proud to find (but not as proud as Rainy Day Dad who went on his first ever Bug Hunt and caught the grasshopper).

With other activities at the sites around the country check out with the National Trust Website and The Great British Walk where you can find out more and get walking this Autumn.

We received expenses for our visit to Wicken Fen as part of the National Trust Bloggers