I posted last week about the Cadbury’s Easter Egg Hunts in conjunction with the National Trust and our plan this weekend was to try to do two or three over the Easter weekend.
On Friday we took part in the trail at Kingston Lacy and the kids had such a great time we couldn’t wait to try the rest. The plan had been to visit Brownsea Island but hubby didn’t get home from work until 1pm so we decided to leave that for another day as it really does need a whole day on the island to get the best out of it, so we decided to try somewhere we had always wanted to go – Golden Cap.
My first tip with a day out to Golden Cap is to program your satnav at home. I roughly knew where it was and mistakenly thought I’d fire up the satnav as we got close – there is no signal at all and no signposts either so we went sailing past it. Hubby did some hasty map reading and we eventually found a narrow country lane which we climbed (very slowly), battling for space to let cars through coming down the other way. As we parked I did breathe a sigh of relief, it was a nerve-racking experience!
We found the National Trust Office and went to get our egg trail booklets only to find that the trail only ran on Easter Saturday and not all over the weekend like the Cadbury’s website stated, however they suggested we do the Smugglers Trail instead so we bought our trail pack for £2.50 and set off in search of the clues.
It did take us a couple of minutes to get our bearings and then we were off, busy collecting the “rubbing” rewards on each post. The scenery was spectacular and some of the terrain was challenging, especially for little legs, but taking away the chocolate reward didn’t seem to phase the kids at all – they were all eager to find the next clue.
Eliza was wearing the most sensible footwear, wellies, as we soon hit an exceptionally muddy part of the trail and even she got stuck at one point in a particularly sticky part.
The trail of 8 clues took us around 90 minutes and then it was time to visit Golden Cap itself – the highest point in Dorset at 191 metres (627 ft). It is walkable from Stonebarrow Hill for adults, but we thought the mile and a half walk would be too much for Eliza and Isaac so we decided to cheat and drive around to the closer car park.
Isaac spotted a playtrail straight away but we persuaded him that we would do that at the end if his legs weren’t too tired and set off through the woods.
The first part of the walk is mostly flat but as you get closer to Golden Cap itself it does get quite steep and Eliza especially needed some encouragement.
Isaac and Kian shot off up the steps, whereas Daddy took Eliza up a little more slowly and she was very proud of herself when she was told she had climbed 66 steps once she had reached the top. It was worth it though – the views were spectacular, even on a hazy day.
From the top of Golden Cap you can clearly see West Bay, Burton Bradstock and Eype to your left and Charmouth and Lyme Bay to the left. Even the kids enjoyed looking at the views and spotting places we have already visited on our travels around the county.
The walk back to the car was slightly less challenging as down hill and Eliza decided to leap down all the steps which didn’t help my nerves much! I honestly thought that they would be desperate to fall in the car for a rest once we reached the car park, but the lure of the play trail won and they had fun balancing and playing with the musical toys for 15 minutes before we headed home.
Looks like you had a great time despite the lack of chocolate! I’ve been meaning to visit the area for ages, your puts has spurred me on to do something about it.
This place looks great even without the choccie. We love National Trust properties but didn’t manage the Easter hunt this year as went to a friend’s house to do theirs instead. x
This is why I love Dorset – the views are just breathtaking. I know when we’ve been down there, the sat-nav hasn’t been able to find some of the places we wanted to visit, so we had to refer back to an old fashioned map!
A lovely post, and somewhere new for us to go when we are back in that beautiful county. x
That looks like great fun, & a great day out 🙂
It does look lovely – I meant to go to one of the National Trust Easter events, but life kind of got in the way.
Great photos as always Kara and I love Eliza’s leaping!! I like that you can do the rubbings as you go along, my three would enjoy that.
beautiful pictures, I have never been to Dorset, would love to go one day
Wow, what stunning views! Looks like a beautiful place to visit x
Lovely photos! I’m so glad they weren’t too disappointed about the absence of eggs and you all had a fab time anyway!
What a lovely place to visit! Looks like you had a lovely day out x
What a great fun you guys had! Those smiley faces tells all 🙂 Beautiful memories to cherish in the future with such a lovely photos!
Looks like you had similar weather to us on Saturday, but good enough to see the views! I’m impressed you actually had a *real map* in the car, without a mobile or satnav signal we would be properly lost!
What a wonderful and fun filled experience with some amazing scenery to enjoy too.
Wow what an amazing looking time, that place looks stunning as well! x
Amazing views and it sounds like you all had a wonderful day. The kind of place I would love t visit
Lovely photos! It looks like a fantastic place to visit! xxx
Lovely photos – looks like everyone had fun!
A lovely day out and well done Eliza for wearing wellies. the view at the top is wonderful and definitely worth it though the approach road sounds rather like coming to Coombe Mill! Slightly annoying the Egg hunt wasn’t on but it sounds like it really didn’t matter in the end, just as well you have adventurous kids who are happy to adapt. Thank you for sharing with me on Country Kids.
Looks like a beautiful trail and I can understand why it was nerve wrecking going up to narrow road. They always scare me. Looks like you all had great time even with the sticky mud.
I love the way children take such great delight in treasure hunts. Fab shots of them running over the wooden stepping stones.
What a stunning part of the world. I was back in the UK for a family wedding last week in Bournemouth, due to a “situation” with our hotel, I was up at the crack of dawn taking photos on the beach and it was just gorgeous. England can be so very beautiful! 🙂
What a stunning part of the world. I was back in the UK for a family wedding last week in Bournemouth, due to a “situation” with our hotel, I was up at the crack of dawn taking photos on the beach and it was just gorgeous. England can be so very beautiful! 🙂
Looks great! Easter weekend was really like the starting gun going off to signal outdoor activities becoming prominent in all our family lives again and it’s great to see.
This is perfect for us, we’re coming to Dorset in the summer for two weeks and I would love to follow your advice and visit Golden Cap – noted the SAV tip though 😉
Thanks so much for linking to #TimeTraveller I have really enjoyed reading this post.
wow what an amazing adventure and certainly filled with magic moments! .. thanks for linking up 🙂
It sounds amazing and your photos are beautiful.
looks like the perfect family walk! perfect Easter activity 🙂 x