Forestry England have been putting on a Julia Donaldson book character trail at many of their forests for as long as I can remember. These trails change every January and they usually run in Delamere forest, Gisburn forest, Grizedale Forest and Whinlatter forest in the North West as well as in many other forests across the whole of England.
Stick Man Trails
These Forestry England trails are fantastic for young children. The walks are usually about a mile long and the trail is usually suitable for pushchairs (do check for each forest though).
The trail will follow Stick Man on his journey as he tries to get home to the family tree. You’ll be able to take part in lots of fun stick-based activities, discover tree-mendous facts and learn about forest wildlife along the way.
Once you’ve helped Stick Man find his way back home, there’ll be a wax rubbing to complete in your adventure passport and the chance to take a picture with Stick Man in the family tree.
Along the trail you will find brightly coloured boards to keep your children entertained and walking to find the next board. On these boards you will find have simple, fun activities for children.
Each forest has 9 interactive activity panels and 6 spotter panels. There will be a variety of activities from building with sticks to learning about the forest wildlife, birds and nests. It’s the perfect way to get children walking, exploring nature and enjoying Stick Man storytelling.
You can purchase an activity pack to go along with the trail at each forest which works in conjunction with these boards.
Open to all
These trails are running from February 2025 to January 2026. The exact start and finish dates have not been announced yet.
Delamere Forest, Delamere CW8 2JD
You can purchase an activity pack from the visitors centre of your chosen forest for £4. The activity pack includes:
The passport system encourages children to explore every part of the trail, creating a sense of achievement as they collect stamps and discover new aspects of forest life at each stopping point. This hands-on approach makes learning about nature engaging and memorable for young adventurers.
No booking is required for this
Email: info@forestryengland.uk
For more information about Forestry England search Forestry England in this directory.
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