Holt Country Park

 Holt Country Park in north Norfolk is one of our favourite places to visit but it has a tendency to get really muddy. It had been dry for a while but as Autumn was approaching we decided to head there one weekend before the rain arrived.

It must have been a while since our last visit as the BFG and Sophie statues were surrounded by lots of foliage and Sophie was hard to spot!

After a picnic lunch we started off on our usual trail through the park. At the visitor centre they have a handy trail sheet which awards you points for spotting things like wildlife and climbing the tower. We had done the sheet many times before so we didn't bother this time.

The boys were fascinated by this bird 'walking across the water'. We also spotted lots of dragonflies but my camera didn't work fast enough to catch them.

At the top of this mound we were amazed to see wild ponies for the first time. We knew that they lived on the common but had never spotted any before today.

Harry was a little freaked out at being so close to them so it was hard keeping him quiet so that he didn't spook them!

It was a real struggle for me to get to the top of the viewing tower because of my hip but the views are definitely worth the pain. 

Charlie makes sure that he takes his binoculars and bird identifier book whenever we go out now. 

When we got down to the bottom of the tower we noticed that the ponies had started walking up the path we were on. It was lovely to see the majestic creatures walking so close to us. 

Charlie was sizing up this Christmas tree for our living room!  

There a re a number of sculptures throughout the park and the boys always stop here and have a chat with them. 

"Let's have a nice close up of you Harry". I didn't mean that close!

This was the path that used to be really boggy and almost impassable so it's great to see that they've added some shingle to create a new path.

You can't come to the woods without doing a bit of den building. I have no idea why Harry is saluting though...

Charlie made out that his legs were tired so Molly gave him a piggy back. Lazy so and so!

The children have always loved to run down this spiral path. It's a bit of a shame to see it so overgrown with nettles..but that's nature for you.

At the end of the trail we had come full circle and spent a short while in the small play area near to the car park. It was a lovely few hours out in the sunshine and fresh air. Parking is just £1.50 a day and we took a picnic so it was a cheap day out. Although it was a beautiful day the park was quiet and we didn't encounter many people.