A break in the clouds saw us head off to explore the magical quest that is the Enchanted Story Trail. Armed with a map of RHS Wisley, our mission was to discover the secret hideouts and burrows of a host of curious characters. From tropical treasures to plant-loving pirates, it promised festive magic at its most charming.
POD enjoyed Foraging for Father Christmas in the garden so we knew she’d love it.
Sometimes the best laid plans don’t quite work out the way they were intended! After queuing in the 
Glasshouse and reaching the front to discover there was another 20 minutes to wait, we cut our losses.
We’d been cooped up indoors for a couple of days so unperturbed we opted for a walk instead.
We re-visited the Christmas Display while we were in the Glasshouse then headed back outdoors. It was wet from downpours the day before but the sun appearing made for a beautiful day. The grounds looked as wonderful as they always do at Wisley.
POD was delighted there were so many muddy puddles to stamp across and jump into. No puddle was left untouched as she took it upon herself to test each one.
It was only a matter of time before she got muddy – not that it deterred her!
She got to sit in an ancient tree that looked like it had eyes. Despite perching above Daddy, she loved it and would have stayed for some time given half a chance.
After giving a tree a hug, POD adopted a large chair as her throne for a time where she issued orders and waved her arms around. Daddy played peekaboo with her from behind it.
She then occupied herself under a tree investigating the acorns, chestnut husks, leaves and sticks that lay beneath it.
When she stretched to remove a dead leaf from the branches you could really see how much she’s grown these past months. Hard to believe she was three on Christmas Day!
Looks so much fun! I especially love the photo of her on a tree-trunk and it looks like the tree has eyes! Isn’t that amazing? Hope she had a lovely three-year-old’s birthday 🙂 x
We had such a good time Dean! Those days are the best, the ones where the plan doesn’t work but it really doesn’t matter. POD had a wonderful Christmas Day birthday thank you – hope you enjoyed your day too x
Oh I love all the puddle jumping, tree climbing, tree hugging fun!
Thank you – POD had such a good time exploring 🙂
Oh the tree with “eyes” makes it look magical. Love the throne chair for Pod too!
#countrykids
Thank you Kriss – it was a wonderful tree we came across. She was in it before we realised it had eyes!
Love the picture of POD in the tree, and splashing in the puddles! Looks like a lovely walk, and POD certainly liked her throne 🙂
It really was Sara – a record level of puddle splashing and getting mucky 🙂
I do hope POD had a fantastic birthday! The photos from your visit are lovely and POD looks like she had a fab time splashing in puddles, climbing trees and exploring. Thanks for linking up and sharing your christmas fun with Country Kids.
Thank you Fiona – POD had a wonderful birthday. She was shattered with it being on Christmas Day but had a great time. Thank you for hosting Christmas outdoor fun – we’d be lost without it 🙂
gorgeous shots! she is such a cutie!
Thank you Sarah 🙂
Puddle jumping is always so much fun. Z now knows where the puddles are on our walks (even when dry). Lovely photos as always. Hope you have an amazing 2014 🙂
Good skills from Z on the puddle front – I”m sure POD does that too! Happy New Year 🙂
Hugging trees is a wonderful thing to do, adults should do it more! What a great place, and great trees 🙂 Beautiful pictures as usual lovely x
Thank you lovely – we had such a fun walk 🙂
You can have so much fun in a garden, mine love being outside!
That’s very true Kizzy – we love being outside. Maybe not today with that pouring rain 🙂
Looks like a fab day in the end anyway, despite it not quite going to plan. Lovely photos 🙂 x
It was a really good day Jocelyn, funny how that happens 🙂
Such lovely photos as ever. You always seem to visit such beautiful places!
Thank you Sarah, that’s a lovely thing to say. It is nice living so close to so many wonderful places 🙂
Looks like a lovely day. Love the photos, especially the tree hugging 🙂
Thank you Karen – was a little random the tree hugging but lovely all the same. We had a great walk 🙂
Love your little tree hugger! She’ll be shinning up trees on her own before you know it 😉
She’s a funny fish isn’t she! Amazing how comfortable she was up that tree 🙂
Lovely pictures. We’d love to go to Wisley, but never quite got round to it.
You really should Erica. We got membership last year and we’re there a lot. It is only 10 minutes drive from our house though 🙂
What gorgeous photographs. I love winter walks, especially where there some big trees to hug! It looks like a great place to visit.
Thank you very much. There’s nothing better than being outdoors – we love it. Tree hugging is pretty cool too 🙂
Beautiful photos and looks like a fun day out. Kids just love puddles don’t they?
Thank you. They really do love puddles – POD got so muddy the other day and just carried on 🙂
hope she had a great birthday on xmas! love the tree climbing pics 🙂
Thank you Anna. POD had a lovely birthday, she was exhausted but it was fabulous 🙂
Oh I went to Wisley with m,y mum for my birthday at the end of July and I loved it! It’s one of those places you need visit regularly throughout the year.I’ll have to go back with with my kids one year.
You must go back if you’re near Aly. We’re really close to it so we got membership and its paid for itself many times over. It’s been incredible seeing it through the seasons 🙂
aww she looks like a real adventurer! love this! x
Thank you very much, she loves being the little adventurer 🙂
Aw a return to my favourite place – RHS Wisley! POD looks right at home there, love the pic of her hugging a tree 🙂 x
It’s just fabulous isn’t it Suzanne. Thankfully very near to home too! It was a great impromtu tree hug, so glad I had my camera in my hand 🙂
This makes me want to go and hug a tree – right now. I hope she never loses that connection to Nature. All the best for the coming year.
I dare you – go on, go on! We’re in Surrey now so I hope she doesn’t lose it for a while at least. Best wishes to you too for the New Year 🙂
Lovely post. I took our crowd to Wisley once – we had a lovely day.
Thank you Afra. It’s near us so we go quite a lot – fabulous place 🙂
What a shame you had to ditch the line – queues suck! But the walk looked great, and I do love that photo of her hugging the tree, Just adorable!
It’s such a shame we were really looking forward to it – toddler just wanted to escape it! We’re at Wisley a lot though so we hope to go another time. The tree hugging is great – pleased I was holding my camera 🙂
I love visiting country homes and discovering all they have to offer, this looks fabulous, throne chairs, trees with eyes and puddles too.
We do too Mari although we tend to be outside rather than in! We hope to visit the actual homes in 2014 now she’s three 🙂
Don’t blame you for cutting your losses – looks much more fun outside. Hope Pod had a great birthday and Christmas.
It was one of those days where we just made the most of it. After being cooped up indoors there’s nothing better than getting outside for some fresh air. POD had a lovely birthday and Christmas thank you – hope you all had a wonderful time 🙂
This looks like so much fun. Wisley isn’t too far from us and I know people who have been and recommend it – must make the trip at some point!
You really must Laura – it changes with the seasons too so always different. They have lots of events on as well. We had a great time just ambling around being silly 🙂
It doesn’t feel like there has been much sunshine but you managed to find it – lovely bright photos!
Thank you – we sneaked out in-between those rain clouds! The day before and after were just miserable so we were lucky. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Happy New Year 🙂
Sometimes, a walk can be such an adventure. And trust children to make the most of everything! Lovely photos you caught there 🙂
It really can Tarana – POD had the best time! Thank you 🙂
She’s adorable! I absolutely love to see children outdoors at this time of year too, what an adventure!
Thank you very much – was one of those days that could have been a disaster but was brilliant!
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That looks like a lot of fun x x
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