Gruffalo Trail - Brentwood

Gruffalo Trail: A Delightful Family Adventure

For those seeking an engaging and memorable outdoor experience, the Gruffalo Trail at Thorndon Lodge presents a truly wonderful destination. Located at Address: Thorndon Lodge, 29 Brentwood Rd, Ingrave, Warley, Brentwood CM13 3RE, United Kingdom, this country park offers a captivating journey through a beautiful forest environment, specifically designed to delight children and families. With a dedicated focus on accessibility and family-friendly activities, it’s consistently praised for its welcoming atmosphere and stunning natural setting.

About the Gruffalo Trail

The Gruffalo Trail is a self-guided walking route that weaves through the heart of Thorndon Lodge’s woodland. It’s based on the beloved children’s book by Julia Donaldson, where a clever mouse outwits a series of predators. The trail features cleverly placed statues and illustrations of the Gruffalo and other characters from the story, encouraging children to explore and actively participate in the narrative. The trail itself is approximately 1.5 miles long, making it suitable for families with older children who enjoy a moderate walk. However, the engaging format and the presence of the Gruffalo characters make it an enjoyable experience for children of varying ages.

Location and Accessibility

Thorndon Lodge is conveniently situated in Ingrave, a village within the Brentwood district of Essex. Its Address: Thorndon Lodge, 29 Brentwood Rd, Ingrave, Warley, Brentwood CM13 3RE, United Kingdom provides easy access via road networks. The park boasts excellent accessibility features, including a wheelchair-accessible car park and a wheelchair-accessible entrance, ensuring that individuals with mobility challenges can fully enjoy the experience. Furthermore, the trail itself is designed to be accessible for most users, with relatively even surfaces and gentle slopes.

Key Features and Amenities

The Gruffalo Trail is more than just a walking route; it’s a well-equipped family destination. The park offers a range of amenities designed to enhance the visitor experience:

• On-site services: Refreshments and snacks are available on-site, providing convenient options for hungry visitors.
• Hiking: The trail provides a fantastic opportunity for hiking and exploring the natural surroundings.
• Picnic tables: Dedicated picnic areas with picnic benches offer a pleasant space for families to enjoy a meal outdoors.
• Public toilet: Public toilet facilities are available for the convenience of visitors.
• Good for kids: The trail is specifically designed to be good for kids, with engaging activities and characters to discover.
• Kid-friendly hikes: The trail’s length and format make it ideal for kid-friendly hikes.
• Dog park: A designated dog park allows canine companions to enjoy a run and explore off-leash.
• Dogs allowed: Dogs are welcome in the park, enhancing the outdoor experience for pet owners.

Contact Information and Website

For further information and updates, visitors can consult the official website: Website: essexwt.org.uk. There are no listed phone numbers available, but the website provides comprehensive details about the park, including trail maps and opening hours.

Visitor Opinions and Reputation

The Gruffalo Trail consistently receives positive feedback from visitors. Currently, the company boasts 1530 reviews on Google My Business, reflecting a strong level of public engagement. The average opinion is 4.6/5, indicating a generally highly satisfied visitor base. The reviews frequently highlight the beauty of the forest, the engaging nature of the Gruffalo Trail, and the park’s suitability for families with children. Visitors appreciate the well-maintained facilities and the welcoming atmosphere, further solidifying its position as a popular country park and tourist attraction.

Additional Points of Interest

Beyond the Gruffalo Trail, Thorndon Lodge offers several other points of interest for visitors to explore. The surrounding woodland provides ample opportunities for nature walks and wildlife spotting. The park's serene atmosphere makes it an ideal location for relaxation and enjoying the outdoors. The enclosed picnic areas are particularly appreciated for their ability to provide a safe and sheltered space for families to enjoy a picnic.

👍 Reviews of Gruffalo Trail

Naomi

5/5

Wonderful country park!
Decent sized pay & display car park.

The forest is absolutely beautiful with dedicated enclosed picnic areas with picnic benches.
This place is perfect for dogs to run free, a nice stroll, family day out.

We came here for the Gruffalo Trail. The main characters are dotted around the forest. You can buy a trail map for 70p at the gift shop. It has all the characters on it so is quite a cute souvenir too.

Will definitely come here again!

dan M.

4/5

Great place and loving day out, biggest issue are there no clear sign to show what way to go, and maps have to be purchased in the cafe. Cafe was well priced and food good.

J. Q.

5/5

Came here over Easter holiday, and it was busy but there were still plenty of parking spots. The parking lot toll isn’t the best. I don’t think it worked when we were there.

The drive from east London was pretty pleasant and easy. The field is safe for kids to run around. There is a sensory area for kids to smell and touch the plants. Unfortunately there is no slides and other playground facilities.

My yoyo pushchair was good enough here. There are enough picnic benches around here. Fee free to bring your own food.

Liliya S.

5/5

The trail is well maintained and accessible to toddlers and buggies. The wooden figures are really well done and there are plenty of felled trees and lean to-s, offering good opportunities for tree climbing and "hiding out". The cafe seems very nice as well, although I only tried the coffee.

Clive

4/5

Nice place to visit. Only never I could say is to be early has parking is painful. Children can’t get lost too. Parking you pay but it’s a small fee for a nice walk around.

Mollie G.

5/5

Absolutely loved the Graffalo Trail, and the sensory garden, 100% recommend, only have to pay for parking, the trail is free!

Jenny J.

4/5

It was nice, lovely wood, lovely area. Few niggles.

Firstly, without buying a map which was hard to do seeing as I couldn’t take my dog into the building, it’s not clear on where to start the trail and as we walked round, again without a map, it wasn’t very obvious where to go to follow the trail. Signs on the trees or little Gruffalo inspired arrows would have been handy.

Secondly, lots of dog poo bins which is great, however I did not see a general waste bin which I found hugely bizarre seeing as they have multiple picnic benches and lots of people appeared to have picnics. The dog poo bins were full of general waste, even though signs said “please take general waste home with you” I wasn’t surprised that people had put their general waste in the dog bins.
However! It was fun once we did spot each of the characters and the kids loved exploring and climbing on the tree trunks and tree stumps, you could have a real good explore around the woods as there were multiple walks/paths to take. The Gruffalo trail itself only takes about 20/30 minutes.

zoe S.

5/5

As a family, we like coming here, we enjoy the Gruffalo trail, and enjoying the Woodlands, often spending a few hours just walking around, finding squirrels and enjoying the sensory garden. Car park is typical overpriced charges. I dont like to be tied down to 1 hour or 2, so then the next option is 4 hours which is over £5. I feel 2 hours in the woods I will be clock watching, so need to pay over £5. Try to avoid the ice cream van, my 2 chose an ice cream, £4.50 each. So before even leaving the car park I had spent over £15! Silly me! But its half term, so children won today.