The Welly Walk is a children’s adventure trail in the fields and woodland at Bolton Abbey. My kids haven’t particularly taken to going on walks with no particular purpose, so the Welly Walk provided the perfect enticement to take them along the wooded path next to the river. We went there this weekend and had a complete blast.
The wooden stepping stones that start off the walk were a perfect antidote for those of us that weren’t brave enough to cross the river on the real stepping stones at Bolton Abbey. Mind you, Emilia did give them a good go, but her legs couldn’t quite stretch far enough so she made a well considered retreat. (Unlike a couple of poor chaps ahead of us who ended up falling in…!)
There are lots of different things to try along the adventure trail, like balance bars, slides, climbing, and crawling through spider webs. Emilia (5yrs) loved them all and Robin (almost 3yrs) could do most things, with a little bit of help.
At one point, you can pay £3 to try climbing a tree (with proper climbing gear etc.). Emilia hasn’t done anything like this before, and she was really excited.
She gave it a great go and got over halfway up this enormous tree before dangling down – well done her!
Be warned; there are steep parts to the pathway through the wood, and there are also some steep drops to the side of it. The path is more than wide enough, but Robin loves to hurl himself down hills at the fastest pace possible so it felt a bit hazardous for us at times(!).
The Welly Walk starts at the stepping stones and ends at the Cavendish Pavilion – so bear in mind that you need to walk back as well. It’s quite a long route for young children (and not passable for pushchairs) but you can bring a picnic or go to the cafe at the Cavendish pavilion for a break if you want to. Also, bring some spare clothes if it’s wet, as the kids are going to get properly muddy!
Plenty of people made the most of the sun while we were there, and there was a festival atmosphere along the river (and – weirdly – in the car park too) with people setting out tables, tents, BBQs and games…
Bolton Abbey is such a beautiful area and the Welly Walk us gave a whole new way to enjoy it.