We visited Bewilderwood, in Norfolk, and discovered a family-friendly treetop adventure designed to fire young imaginations
Nestled in the Norfolk countryside, a stone’s throw from the Broads, is a portal to another world.
Step inside Bewilderwood Norfolk, in Hoveton, and you will find yourself stepping inside the fantasy world of Twiggles and Boggles who live in the trees and marshes, with their walkways and mazes high among the trees.
Our one-day adventure at Bewilderwood started by steering our daughter Clara and her friend Kinsley away from the gift shop (with promises of ‘later’) and towards a wooden jetty to join a short queue.
Within minutes we were stepping inside a colourful green boat for the journey into Bewilderwood.
As we set off on the calm waters, our guide Karen talked about the world we were about to enter, with its tree and marsh-dwelling enchanted inhabitants.
She told us not to be scared, to which Clara boldly retorted: “I’ll never, ever get scared, not in a million years.”
Clara soon regretted those words when – as we passed Mildred, the Scary Lake-dwelling crocklebog – the creature snorted a sudden spray of water from her nostrils into the air beside the boat.
Clara leapt six feet into the air and screamed with shock at the watery outburst, rocking the boat as the other occupants laughed at her reaction.
Soon we were stepping on to another jetty and the two girls were running towards the woods, pausing only briefly at a signpost directing us ‘this way, that way, sky, the wrong way’.
Within seconds we had spotted a series of ‘Wobbly Wires’.
“I’m going on those,” bellowed our bold six-year-old as we scurried to find the entrance to the zip-wires.
Kinsley was less keen on zip-lining, but was perfectly happy to watch as her friend leapt off the platform and flew through the trees, barely allowing us time to shout ‘hold tight’ from the sidelines.
Having tried all the zip wires at least once, we moved on to investigate the rest of the site and all of its included activities.
We made our way to the ‘Broken Bridge’ and tackled its various obstacles, before heading to the face painting pavilion (Clara emerged with an appropriate leaf design, while Kinsley was emblazoned with flowers).
Then, we were just in time for the noon story performance at the Storytelling Stage, featuring eye-catching puppetry and plenty of interactive elements which were enjoyed by the packed audience of children and adults.
We had used the sit down as an opportunity to open our packed lunchess – there are also plenty of picnic tables throughout the site – but my husband and I were in dire need of a caffeine boost by this point.
When the story finished we headed straight to the Cosy Cabin for two lattes – spying an ice cream seller in the cabin next door, which we made a mental note to return to later in the afternoon.
Then the girls wanted to head to the Tricky Tunnels
Next, we tackled the Sky Maze, gathering words painted on feathers throughout in an attempt to crack a code and claim a prize badge later.
Having completed the challenge we walked up to the Towering Treetop Tangles, where the girls and my husband played their own version of catch crossed with hide and seek, as I watched their energy in awe.
I was most entertained to witness my husband sneaking around the wooden structure, darting to and fro to escape the youngsters like some kind of plump ninja (which he won’t mind me saying, as we laughed a lot on the day when the phrase was coined).
By the time they stopped for a drink, all were out of breath and clammy with sweat.
We cajoled the girls off the Treetop Tangles structure with the promise of an ice cream and headed back to the cabin.
Having recuperated somewhat, we headed to the far side of Bewilderwood to use the toilet facilities and enjoy some crafting activities in the Big Hat craft tent
Then it was time for some more climbing, a run around the Mudlde (yes – that is how it is spelled) Maze and a session on the Slippery Slopes.
As Clara sat at the precipice of the tallest slide, Kinsley shouted up: “How do you feel Clara?”
She responded: “I’m a little bit scared but I am also SO excited.”
And then she launched herself down the steep slides time after time – even Dad joined Clara on the slopes – while Kinsley and I happily watched in the dappled forest sunshine.
By now everyone was starting to feel a little jaded after the day’s exertions, but the girls insisted they wanted to return to the Towering Treetop Tangles for another adventure with the ‘plump ninja’.
And so we headed back for yet more chasing and hiding.
Before long, Kinsley and I broke off to enjoy the 3pm storytelling session (and a little rest).
When we met back up with Clara and Dad we decided to walk two tired little girls along the Treacherous Trail to the park’s exit…via the promised detour through the ‘Bizarre Bazaar’ gift shop.
Put simply, Bewilderwood is a series of unique giant wooden structures dotted through the trees. There are swings, slides, zip wires, bridges, bird’s nests – and more.
Everything is set up to encourage play, interaction and to fire those young imaginations.
“I don’t think there was anything like this in the 80s, but I would have loved this as a child,” said my husband emphatically during the day.
So would I. How lucky are the children of today that places like Bewilderwood exist?
And so, having exhausted the delights of the Bizarre Bazaar and with paper bags filled with a few goodies, we eventually headed back to our car exhausted, but having thoroughly enjoyed our wholesome escape in another world.
Tickets – available here – range from free (for children under 92cm) to £21.50.
Bewilderwood is open 10am-5pm on selected dates until October 29.
Our Bewilderwood tips:
- Dress appropriately – we took wellies ‘just in case’ and wore layers, as the weather warmed up throughout the day
- We took a picnic and found plenty of wooden tables dotted throughout the site
- If you don’t take your own food, snacks, light meals and refreshments are available from two outlets
- There are toilet facilities before the entrance and another three toilet areas – although one was closed the day we visited – dotted throughout the main camp
