16 Super Spaces To Explore With Kids This Summer

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We have had a lovely summer so far

Filled with birthdays, parties and Edspire Edventures

I have been documenting our Edventures over on Instagram

If you are not already following me there

I would love you too

We have discovered some beautiful places to explore

And special spaces to play

In and around Kent

Here are 16 of our favourites

16 super spaces to explore with kids this summer

Buttercups Goat Sanctuary, Boughton Monchelsea

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William had one request for his birthday to visit @buttercupsgoats and cuddle some goats. So yesterday with some of our lovely home ed friends we headed to The Goat Sanctuary just 10 minutes from our house. Here we found shade and plenty of goats to befriend. We paid a donation to enter the sanctuary and £1 per bag of food. For the goats. The children could choose to feed them carrots, crackers or pasta. It was so hot but such a special experience and as we are so local I think we will be spending a lot of time here going forward as William absolutely loves goats. It is such a lovely little place with yummy cake and great coffee. The goats all have names and stories and have been rescued or retired here. They loved the attention from the children and the children really loved just sitting with them and talking to them and stroking them. William’s dream day out! I love my super special goat whisperer son x

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Blooming Green PYO Flowers, Boughton Monchelsea

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We have recently discovered @bloominggreen just down the road from our house. It is a wonderful flower farm where you can go and pick your own flowers. It is popular for weddings and special occasions. We were very lucky to go there with a small group of home ed friends as part of an art club we attended last term. We spent the morning there and because we had the place to ourselves the children were able to explore at their leisure. We all picked flowers for pressing and decorating our homes and in our case to use in our play! The children were running round bare foot and Edie loved feeling the mud between her toes. The children played hide and seek among the blooms. All the children aged 2 to 12 loved picking their own flowers. Bea especially enjoyed it! We took some of our flower themed books and toys from @threadbear.design with us and read and played while enjoying the beautiful surroundings. We will definitely be going back over the summer and highly recommend a visit for anyone in Kent who likes flowers. They have open days with coffee and food and they have a little gift shop too. A lovely local small business that is fun to support x #lovewhereyoudwell #lovewhereyoulive #kent #maidstone #flowers #pyoflowers #pickyourownflowers #letthembewild #letthemexplore #letthemexplorenature #explorenaturewithchildren #natureplay #homeed #homeeducation #homeeducationuk #edspireedventures #playfullearning #childhoodunplugged #myhappycapture #treasureeverymoment #magicineveryday #maketheordinaryextraordinary @visit_maidstone @visitkent #daysoutwithkids #daysoutwiththekids #daysoutkent #daysoutinkent #kentdaysout #mywildlings

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Milebush PYO Farm, Maidstone

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We had such a lovely morning just me and my big girls ticking another outing off our slow summer bucket list. We headed to @milebush_farm_pick_your_own to pick strawberries and raspberries. We had a lovely time finding the perfect fruit including delicious golden raspberries. We also met some very friendly farm animals. It was lovely to have a slow morning in the sun with my big girls. The staff at the farm were lovely and the fruit was delicious and very reasonably priced. A very Kentish summer Sunday morning! #slowsummer #kentsummer #lovewhereyoudwell #lovewhereilive #lovewhereyoulive @visit_maidstone @visitkent #kent #maidstone #edspireedventures #fruitpicking #pyostrawberries #fruitfarm #childhoodunplugged #letthembewild #daysoutwithkids #daysoutwiththekids #daysoutuk #daysoutinkent #daysoutkent #kentdaysout

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Spot Lane Nature Reserve, Bearsted

Rarebreeds Centre, Woodchurch

Unicorn Theatre, London Bridge

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We made a new discovery today. A magical new discovery. @unicorn_theatre Unicorn is the UK’s theatre for young audiences. A creative environment in which children and young people can be challenged, engaged and inspired. Today we watched a brilliant production devised around Aesop’s Fables. It was a fantastic show and made me long to be back in the theatre myself. The modern storytelling was very much like the shows I used to create with friends and fellow drama students many years ago. We loved the show, the acting was amazing and we were hooked on the performance from the very first action. After the show we had a tour of the theatre. Esther loved meeting the costume designer and has come away so inspired. The children then attended a drama / storytelling workshop. They were incredibly nervous going in without me but they did it and were so pleased with themselves that they did. They loved the workshop, made a new friend and learned some new drama techniques. I so incredibly proud of them. We all want to make Unicorn Theatre part of our home education routine going forward. The upcoming season has a whole host of inspiring shows lined up and we want to see them all! The children are very keen to do as many workshops as they can. When I was growing up I loved for theatre. For plays, auditions, rehearsals, writing scripts, acting, directing … I am so glad that my children seem to be staying to share that love. Bring on the drama! Thank you Unicorn Theatre for a wonderful afternoon. Everyone we met was super friendly and helpful. We will be spreading the word about your wonderful work and we will be back!

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Benenden Park, Benenden

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Today we spent the day at Benenden Village Park while the older children took turns dancing with @charlottehudsonschoolofdance in @benenden_village_hall The new playground is brilliant and has lots to offer children of all ages. A range of swings, a tractor with trailer for imaginative play, an obstacle course, a toddler climbing and sliding tower and a play frame with two slides for the bigger kids. There are trees that provide shade and twigs and leaves and other treasures for nature play. The huge field has football goals and plenty of space to run and play. We are at Benenden three times a week for dancing so the playground is a favourite. We were there for five hours today and Edie had a wonderful time. We did take books to read and toys to play with and a picnic to make a real day of it. We are going to be testing some more of our local parks this summer in a bid to get out of the house every day without spending too much money. Parks have so much to offer a large family like ours #somanywaystoplay And for me I like a park near good coffee, good free parking and accessible toilets too! #parklife #edspireedventures #daysoutwithkids #daysoutwiththekids #daysout #daysoutkent #daysoutwithkidsinkent #daysoutinkent #kentdaysout #benendenplay #benenden #wealdofkent #kent #playmatters #activekids #outdoorplay #letthemplayoutside #parkplay #playground #playgroundplay #dancemoms #dancemums #toddlerplay #preschoolplay #playideas #playoutside

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Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire

Jeskyns Community Woodland, Fairy and Elf Village

Jeskyns Country Park, Gruffalo Sculptures

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Last night we went on a Gruffalo Hunt at Jeskyns Community Woodland. We were actually at the country park primarily to visit their fairy village. We also enjoyed exploring their two natural playgrounds and saying hello to Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler much lived characters from The Gruffalo. It was more of a meet and greet than a hunt. We are used to roaming the wilds of Bedgebury and searching for the characters. Here at Jeskyns they are all laid out around the play area. Perfect for play, perfect for little legs and pushchairs but disappointing for my wildlings who were geared up for a romp through the deep dark woods. Jeskyns is wild and wide open. Wildflower meadows and woodland rather than forest. The play areas are lovely and the children had fun exploring them. The little cafe at Jeskyns is lovely and the coffee is good. Jeskyns seems perfect for dog walkers and young children. The fairy village is lovely and we had a magical afternoon and evening lost along the trees and in our imaginative play. It just wasn’t @lovebedgebury #edspireedventures #jeskynscountrypark #thegruffalotrail #thegruffalo #juliadonaldsonandaxelscheffler #juliadonaldson #axelscheffler #bookishplay #bookinspiredplay #childrensbooks #childrensbookstagram #toddlerplay #kentdaysout #daysoutwithkids #daysoutwiththekids #familydaysout #daysoutkent #daysoutinkent #kentkids #kent #letthemplay #letthemexplore #littleexplorers #letthembewild #letkidsbekids #letthembelittle #childhoodunplugged #livingfortilda

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Westgate Gardens, Canterbury

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Today I had a rare day with my rainbow babies. Age 5 and 2 they are fast becoming the best of friends. Perfect playmates, partners in crime. Today I was told by two different total strangers that I make beautiful children. That these little rainbows are beautiful. One lady was so pleased that the girls beamed at her when she smiled at them. I was also told I should try for a boy next time. Then I explained I already have a gorgeous boy and proudly shared that I am in fact a mother of five beautiful children. The very lovely lady then told me I looked too young to have so many children. She totally made my day. I had a lovely time with my babies today. We were #livingfortilda and we carried our #matildamae with us not only in our hearts but also in the girls dresses. Pretty Tilly dresses from @olivierbabyandkids Such pretty classic timeless dresses. I love them and love that they share my star baby’s name x

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The Gruffalo Trail, Bedgebury Pinetum

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Hello! Happy Monday! We had a wonderful wild and windy weekend. On Saturday we went to @lovebedgebury for a Gruffalo hunt. The children were so disappointed with Jeskyns Country Park that going to Bedgebury felt very much like coming home. The Jeskyns Gruffalo Play Area is perfect for toddlers for bigger Gruffalo fans Bedgebury offers more adventure and a chance to explore the forest and really hunt for the characters while making unexpected discoveries along the way. I know that some people have complained to Bedgebury that The Gruffalo sculptures are too hard to find but we love that they are so spread out and that the hunt leads you to parts of the forest you might not otherwise discover and explore. We have been members at Bedgebury for years and no two visits are ever the same. We often do The Gruffalo trail here. We tend to do it when Daddy can come with us as unless you have a true off road buggy and a strong pusher the route is not great for buggies. We always go armed with food and have a picnic midway, often in the magical dell where Owl can be found. We love roaming and rambling through the woods. We love that no matter how busy the pinetum is you can spend a whole day there and not see another soul. We often take books, toys and art materials and set up little camps throughout the day. Bedgebury is definitely one of our happy places. The cafe is great and the play trail is brilliant especially during term time when it is less busy. We are planning on doing some of our science lessons here throughout the autumn term. Have you been to Bedgebury? What do you like about it best?

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Lympne Loop Walk

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Today we went on a walk known as the Kent Safari or the Port Lympne Loop. This 2.7 mile walk starts in the village of Lympne walks past Lympne Castle and the old Roman Fort down to The Military Canal. The route you take follows the perimeter fence of @portlympnepark safari. You can hear the commentary from the passing trucks and get up close to some beautiful animals. And all for free! It is all public footpaths and bridleways. Parts of the walk are very steep and it is not suitable for buggies or wheelchairs. Edie was carried a lot of the way. But oh my goodness! What a way to spend an afternoon. We saw so many animals including antelope, bison, zebra, rhinos and my most favourite animals giraffes. Scroll through the pictures to see the video of them walking past us. It was amazing! A truly wonderful experience! We love Port Lympne but at over £100 for a family of six to visit it is not something we can afford to do. The children LOVED today. We were able to sit and eat our picnic watching the animals. When not looking at the animals the sea views are breathtaking. This is a truly awe inspiring place to go for a walk and we will definitely be doing it again. It is only 30 minutes from our house. The children now all want to go into the reserve and see more of the many animals at #PortLympne and learn about their conservation work and breeding programmes. But while we are saving our pennies we will always have our memories of today and a chance to take friends and family on this Kentish Safari #kentwalks #walksinkent #daysoutwithkids #daysout #giraffes #animalpark #portlympnehotelandreserve #kentishsafari #kentsafari #kentdaysout #daysoutkent #daysoutinkent #daysoutwithkids #daysoutwiththekids #walkinginkent #myhappycapture #kentlife #kent #edspireedventures #maketheordinaryextraordinary #magicineveryday #childhoodunplugged

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Sightseeing in London

Bayham Abbey, Lamberhurst

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We had a wonderful afternoon at Bayham Abbey playing Sardines and Hide n Seek. We had the ruins of the old abbey to ourselves. It is such a beautiful place to be. I did a wonderful creative history and writing workshop here with my Year 5/6 pupils when I was teaching. It was lovely to go with my own children. Edie thought we were in another land! This is a very special place that we will be using more over the coming year. Would be a brilliant space for some Harry Potter themed dramatic play and poetry writing. I feel a plan hatching for the autumn term!! @englishheritage #bayhamabbey #oldbayhamabbey #englishheritage #historicalplace #kent #daysoutwithkids #daysoutinkent #daysoutkent #kentdaysout #daysoutwiththekids #familydays #childhoodunplugged #letthemplay #letthemexplore #letthembelittle #aweandwonder #maketheordinaryextraordinary #magicineveryday #treasureeverymoment #littleexplorers #curiouslittleexplorers #play #harrypotter

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Bodiam Castle, East Sussex

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If you are looking for a fun family day out before school goes back, have a look at Bodiam Castle. There are armour and weaponry talks, Knight training missions, a mini trebuchet to fire, costumes to try on and even hay bale hurdles! There are ducks and giant fish in the moat, the castle to explore and towers to climb. There is ice cream and coffee and plenty of space for free range play in a beautiful historical setting. @nationaltrust @bodiamcastlent #daysoutwithkids #daysoutwiththekids #daysouteastsussex #bodiamcastle #bodiam #kent #daysoutinkentandsussex #daysoutkent #daysoutinkent #kentdaysout #edspireedventures #summerholidays #summerholidays2019 #familyfun #nationaltrustsussex

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Where have you discovered this summer?

Where should our Edventures take us next?

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