Last weekend we finally visited somewhere I have wanted to visit for ages, Fineshade Woods, to do the Stick Man trail. Fineshade is about 20 mins from where we live and yet we had never been, bonkers! So with the sun shining we donned our wellies and headed off for a walk through the woods to rectify that. 
Stick Man is one of Monkey’s favourite books so he was dead excited to follow the trail. He excitedly ran to each of the signs and was excited by every picture from the book. Hubs also used the opportunity to help with Monkey’s reading by helping him read the signs, which Monkey found great fun. 
He also loved doing the activities at each point. I thought they were great too, building nests and towers and dens out of sticks! It was nice seeing those left over by others too and the kids had a fab time playing in a den left behind by previous explorers! 
For her part LM adored exploring the woods and yep the mud. She was straight in to any muddy puddle she could find and was so happy! (She got covered though as you can imagine!) 
On the whole we had a lovely time and lots of fun as a family. Then when LM’s welly got stuck in the mud and she stepped out of it covering her leg in mud we took as it a good time to end our visit and head to the lovely top lodge cafe for a hot drink and yummy food. 
There are some fantastic play areas at Fineshade too and though we had to cut short our visit because of a very muddy LM we look back to returning soon!
What you should know about visiting Fineshade Woods.
Fineshade is easily accessible and well signposted from the A47 between Peterborough and Uppingham.
Pay & Display parking is in operation, £1 for an hour or £3 for the day, coins only at the moment so don’t get caught out!
You don’t need an activity pack to complete the Stick Man trail but it does add to the fun. The pack cost £3 and is available from the cafe where the staff are so friendly and helpful.
Stick Man is one of our favourite books too. This trail looks really good fun 🙂
#triedtested
I love stick man, What a great trail #triedtested
Super excited as I have just found out the Stick Man trial is on near us. Can’t wait to go!
We did this trail at Whinlatter – when it was covered in snow. Such fun for the kids, especially after they had read the book and seen it on TV. #toddlerapprovedtuesday
It looks like you had a fantastic time! Monkey seems to be really engrossed in all the activities and loving it. Shame about the muddy foot, but that is definitely a sign of a great trip out!
Thanks for sharing with #LetKidsBeKids
Looks like a great day. We have a Room on the Broom trail near us it’s so much fun for the kids.
Oh this looks like fun. My 4yo loves the Stick Man, he would love to do this.
#TriedTested
What a fantastic place to explore, those stick man trails look really good. Also great that there is a cafe to warm up in at the end. #whatevertheweather
We love Stick Man! That looks absolutely fantastic, what a great trail and lots of fun 🙂 #whatevertheweather
I have never heard of the stick man book…is this like a gruffalo book that I had never heard of until my girl was born? Sounds like a great trail #whatevertheweather
Fab post! Stick Man is my favourite book to use at work with my Pre-schoolers and its a definite favourite here at home with the Peachicks! All little people love going out into the woods and den building & making their own stick men with sticks & pipe cleaners!!
We have a Stick Man trail not so far from us which we’ve not taken advantage of yet, the weather has been rubbish up till now. I think we’ll pop over at Easter.
Thanks for sharing your review on #TriedTested this week x
Looks like a lot of fun! We’ve done the Gruffalo’s Child & Superworm Trails – will have to give this one a go!
#TriedTested
the forestry commission sites are lots of fun for family days out and now that they have trails around them appealing to children it makes them all the more special. the original Gruffalo trail was the inspiration for me creating our wild life trail and Welly walk at Coombe Mill, it is surprising how a few signs and an activity sheet can transform a walk for little ones. It looks like there was something to keep each one of your children engaged from the activity book to the signs and even the muddy puddles. Sounds like a visit to the cafe at the end was just what was needed to round off a lovely visit. Thank you for sharing with me over on #CountryKids
The stick man trail looks like so much fun! It is my sons favourite book, we read it nearly every night! Julia Donaldson is such a fantastic writer! Looks like you have a wonderful time #Whatevertheweather
I love this post!!! I really, really, really want to go on a stick man trail. Evie is obsessed with the book and every stick we find at the moment is Stick Man. I love that they give you a little activity book too. I think little trails like this really encourage little ones to be outside. Thank you so much for linking to #whatevertheweather x
Ohhh we love Stick Man…I didn’t know there was a trail near us! (Well I say near…its an hour and a half away but that is close enough!
Thanks for sharing on #ToddlerApprovedTuesday
It looks like you had a fabulous day. We love Stickman too – unfortunately there aren’t any of the trails anywhere near us. #TriedTested
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It looks like an excellent trail! You definitely have LM in the right clothes for the muddy puddles! We love dens too, they are great fun to build, it looks like your two had a great time building and playing in them.
Thanks so much for linking up to #Whatevertheweather 🙂 x
This looks so cool! What a lovely bunch of photos you have, you all look like you’re having such fun. We have a Stick Man trail at our local woods but haven’t been yet, but I think we should judging by your pictures x #whatevertheweather
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