Countryside Adventures: How to Entertain Your Kids in Nature
The countryside offers a perfect backdrop for family adventures, where children can explore, learn, and have fun away from screens. From exploring forested walking trails and discovering wildlife to enjoying simple, playful activities in the open air with family, nature provides endless opportunities to spark curiosity and creativity in young minds.
At
Rhyd Y Galen Caravan Park, we believe that one of the best things you can do for your children is engage them with the world around you, but sometimes it can be difficult to figure out where to start, and how to turn what they would call a ‘boring walk’ into an unforgettable family experience that they’ll take with them. So we’ve created this list of some of our favourite activities that allow the whole family to get stuck in.
Scavenger Hunts
When you’re on a walk, or as a separate daytime activity, try creating scavenger hunt style challenges for your little ones that keep their brain engaged and help them connect more with the world around them.
These are some of our favourite ideas for scavenger hunts that will keep you all entertained:
- Scategory Scavengers: Find items that begin with the same first letter
- Seasonal Scavengers: Collect signs of the season. For example, autumn could be a crunchy leaf or an acorn
- Shaded Scavengers: Find items that are the same colour, or find the full rainbow
- Sensory Scavengers: Find items that give you a sensory experience, such as soft things or things that smell nice to you
- Story Scavengers: Tell your kids to find 5 different items then return and create a story that mentions all of them
- Treasure Hunt:
Create a list of natural objects to collect, for example: Find a leaf, a flower petal, a branch, a stone
Play Wildlife Wanderers
It’s very natural for children to be fascinated by creepy crawlies and the animals around them so why not get them truly invested in the world around them by turning them into little wildlife wanderers.
Challenge them to look closely at the environment around them, and make a note of all the bugs, birds and bees they spot along the way. This can be a hugely educational experience, and coming into contact with insects in this way can encourage them to see all the positives in the natural world.
There are so many ways that this can be done to create new experiences and engage young minds.
If you have younger children, we would recommend finding visual aids like the Wildlife Trust’s
Swatch Guide Books that include images of different types of wildlife and their names. This includes butterflies, birds, fungus and minibeasts. Or, you could bring a sketchbook and ask them to draw what they see.
Sometimes something as simple as a tree can be bursting with life, you just need to encourage them to look a little bit closer.
Make Yourselves a Hideout
If you’re a frequent woodland walker, or a fan of Winnie the Pooh, then you will be very familiar with the log den. But, you don’t have to keep walking past them and wondering who made them, how they got there, and whether you’re okay to go investigate.
Because you can make your very own log den with your children. It’s a great time for them, and a fantastic way to unlock your inner child. And, just like erecting a tent, it is a really great team building activity to bring you closer as a family.
But where do you even start, we hear you ask.
Well, these are some of our top tips combined with the tips of other explorers on how to build the best woodland hideout for returning to, time after time:
- Choose the right materials: You need the right building blocks on hand, so make sure you’re surrounded by logs, branches, mud and fallen leaves.
- Leave the woods undisturbed: Although logs and twigs are the best material for building your den, make sure that you’re scavenging for already fallen branches and not snapping them off trees. This helps to keep important homes for bugs and birds intact and thriving.
- Find the right spot: Or, in other words, find a good tree. Having a sturdy tree to build around can really anchor your branches when you first start to build, and give you something to keep everything in place whilst you hunt for more.
- Work as a team: Stacking logs together might not seem like an activity you need a large hoard of helpers for, but when you work together, you’ll find that your creation falls down a lot less during the process. But don’t worry if it does fall down, just show the kids that all you need to do is pick the logs back up and start again.
- Choose a technique: Make sure you’re all on the same page about the design of your log fort. Are you building a teepee? Are you aiming for the ultimate Eeyore-style haven? Do you want to make more of a square pen with a roof?
- Get your hands dirty: One of the best bits of building a den is getting your hands in the mud and smothering it over the wood so you can attach leaves for waterproofing. Mud really is nature’s glue.
- Find ways to make it wildlife friendly: If you fancy adding a little hideaway within your hideaway for hedgehogs and other small animals to find shelter, then don’t be afraid to incorporate this into your design.
Enjoy your den: Building the den is itself a satisfying experience, but it's made so much better when you can snuggle up as a family inside once it’s standing proud. If you set out with the aim of making a den, we recommend bringing a story book or a picnic so you can spend some time in your new home away from home.
Pack a Picnic
Speaking of picnics, what’s an outdoor adventure without a light snack, or even a full meal?
Before you dismiss this idea because you don’t have a picnic hamper or thermal mug, picnics can really be whatever you want them to be. As long as you have some tupperware and an old blanket or towel, you can pack some food away to scoff down in a shady spot.
And the kids will love it.
But wait. Before you start packing in the sandwiches and fruit, look for ways that you can make the food a little more exciting, to really sell the experience. Of course mini sausages and scotch eggs always go a long way, but we love seeing families packing mini pies, shaped sandwiches, pasta shaped salads, welsh cakes and muffins.
We often find that the more selection you have, the more fun the experience can be. Plus, you’ll have plenty of leftovers for future lunches and easy snacks if you’re camping.
Family Sports Day
Family sports days are practically perfect if you’re on a camping or caravanning trip and need ways to entertain your family at the campsite on quieter days.
All you need to do is pack some compact or foam sports equipment and keep it on hand to grab at a moment’s notice. Or, go the full hog and plan an elaborate sports day style activity rota and turn it into a challenge.
Because there’s nothing like a family bonding day that channels your inner competitive spirit.
You could try:
- Footballs
- Frisby
- Tennis rackets
- Badminton bats and shuttlecocks
- Plastic hockey sticks
- Cones and hula hoops to create a relay course
- Rubber eggs and spoons
- Plastic bowling
And, hopefully, once your kids have exerted themselves by running around all day, they’ll have a fantastic night’s sleep whilst you all rest and recoup for your next adventure.
Pack all the clothing essentials
Now of course, the activities are what make the experience stimulating and memorable, but having the right equipment is what makes them comfortable and relaxed.
Of course, you will be prepared for everything, but making sure you have a few extra layers, some wet wipes and maybe a fresh set of warm clothes to change into if the weather is set to be drizzling can make all the difference.
Likewise, it’s always a good idea to have the welly boots on hand so the kids can really get stuck in and mucky without you needing to worry about soggy socks or muddy trainers.
At
Rhyd Y Galen Caravan Park, we have all the amenities you need to keep your family engaged amongst the breathtaking Welsh mountains. Our
caravan park,
campsite and
glamping accommodation are a beautiful base for exploring everything North Wales has to offer, whilst making sure that your children find their footing and channel their inner explorer along the way.
Book your getaway online today.
