Hunting for fairies and elves in Black Park

Woods are magical places full of fairies and elves hiding. My girls love looking out for signs of the fairy-folk when out exploring. They loved hunting for fairies last year on a trail at Black Park. When I saw there would be another trail this year, I knew we had to do it again.

 

Jessica looking closely at a fairy door - "Hunting for fairies and elves in Black Park"

 

My girls never cease to amaze me with just how much they remember from previous days out. As soon as we reached the stream near the visitor centre, they were looking out for the troll which had been there on last year’s trail. This time though, he must have stayed asleep under his bridge as there was no sign of him.

 

As much as we loved last year’s trail, it was good to see that this year’s one was going to be quite different. Our quest this year was to help make Fairy Willow fly again after she broke one of her wings. We would encounter Fairy Willow’s friends along the way, who all had suggestions for ways to make her feel better.

 

Jessica and Sophie looking closely at one of the fairy doors on the trail in Black Park

 

Elf Acorn thought Fairy Willow would like a new pair of shoes. We found a small stick that looked like a fairy’s foot and made a little shoe from a leaf and a long piece of grass. As we made our way along the trail, we spotted a “fairy tunnel” at the base of a tree. The girls decided to leave the shoe there for Fairy Willow to find later on.

 

Jessica holding a tiny stick with a "fairy shoe" made from a leaf with a long blade of grass wrapped around it

 

Fairy Summer thought a new dress would help make Fairy Willow feel better. Once again we got creative with some leaves, grass and sticks . We made a couple of dresses that would be perfect for a fairy and left them on a nearby log.

 

Jessica and Sophie in their fairy wings reading the sign for Fairy Summer's stop on the trail

 

I loved watching the girls getting creative with things they could make for the fairies at each point along the way. We made a tiny wand from a twig and a leaf and a hat from an acorn cup.  The girls carefully placed each of their creations where the fairies would be sure to find them.

 

Jessica wearing a princess dress, fairy wings and teddy bear ears standing by one of the fairy trail points in Black Park

 

The girls also loved the fairy doors that they spotted along the way. They knocked at a couple but sadly none of the fairies seemed to be at home.

 

Sophie wearing a ladybird spotted dress with wings looking closely at a fairy door in the woods

 

It was a novelty for me not to have to fill in the trail sheets at all. Jessica is getting quite confident now when it comes to writing and Sophie wanted to be like her big sister and do it all by herself. It left me free to just watch them enjoying the trail and take lots of photos of them having fun. The trail was buggy-friendly throughout although Jessica managed a fair amount of walking too.

 

Jessica and Sophie sitting on a log and writing on the activity sheets for the fairy trail

 

At the final stop, we had to say the magic words to give Fairy Willow a new set of wings. We made our way home via the visitors centre, where the girls picked up some popping candy as a reward for finishing the trail.

 

For me, it was just lovely to get out and enjoy a magical walk with my own little fairies. There is so much wonder to be found in a walk in the woods and a little imagination goes a very long way.

 

Jessica in her princess dress and fairy wings looking at the ducks in the lake at Black Park

 

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

11 thoughts on “Hunting for fairies and elves in Black Park

  1. I love reading about your adventures with the fairies, the girls have such a wonderful imagination. It’s great that they varied the trail this year from last years, it gave the girls a whole new world to discover which is perfect. I love the idea of creating fairy dresses from nature, i might have to try something like this for an activity hour soon. The girls look like they had a magical time exploring the forest with you.

    Thanks for linking up with me on #CountryKids.

  2. Aww! What a magical adventure! It looks like they were dressed perfectly to look for fairies. It looks and sounds like they had the best time. #CountryKids

  3. Oh wow! What a great story to have as a trail. I can imagine how much the girls wanted to help after hearing the tale.Love crafts that use natural materials. I bet they barely noticed how far they walked. Pretty dresses too. #CountryKids

  4. Such a lovely post – fairy hunting is so magical with children with such wonderful imaginations. Your girls look so sweet dressed up as fairies too. I love reading about your adventure with them. You always seem to be having so much fun together.
    #countrykids

  5. This is so lovely. We love going to our local countryside park that has a fairy door trail – my near 7yr old still believes and we embrace that so much. Such a fun thing to do

    Just popping over from Country Kids
    Laura x

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