One of the best places in Surrey to see the bluebells is Hatchlands Park which is managed by the National Trust. This time of year has traditionally been a bit special as their ancient woodland is visited by fairies. In the past we’ve seen them flying about the trees and they’re always good fun to find. Although POD thought for a time think all woods had fairies living in them, she’s since discovered that’s not the case.

The fairies are no more this year but Hatchlands Park still had some magical treats in store. POD was looking forward to seeing the fairy houses we’d heard about but she was rather taken by the spacehoppers on the lawn when we arrived. Staying on one however was another story! The next few minutes mostly comprised of POD bouncing twice then lying on the ground laughing. There was more fun en route to Willow Wix as she found a partially hidden den which provided a great lookout point for watching people pass by.

It wasn’t long before we spotted one of the fairies houses though, a tiny blue door at the base of a tree. POD knocked gently hoping to find someone inside but the fairy living there must have been asleep. She did check the entire trunk to make sure there weren’t any fairies hiding from her.

I love this time of year, the trees smell fabulous and it’s great to see the primroses popping up.

While admiring the surroundings, we spotted another fairy house – this time higher up. There was no reply when POD knocked so she presumed this fairy was out shopping.

We missed a couple of fairy houses on the way into the bluebell wood as we got sidetracked by all the beautiful cows.

At the Willow Wix Wood, we were back on the fairy house trail.

The smell of the bluebells and the wood chip after the rain we’d had earlier was just divine. It was great to see the purple carpet again, it looked amazing. The staff at Hatchlands Park have done a fabulous job making it look wonderful too.

It wasn’t long before we discovered a few more fairy doors.

POD was convinced if she did a bit of magic herself they might appear!

I adore this look of joy on her face, just priceless.

After leaving the Willow Wix Wood, POD and Daddy thought it would be really funny to hide from Mummy while she was taking photographs of the bluebells. Both jumped out from behind a tree and POD let out the biggest roar ever – this is her scary face!

Another fairy door and more knocking. It was great to see POD check all the doors even if the fairies were sleeping or shopping. She does seem to think they’ll be back next time though so we might have to smuggle one in!

POD then embarked on some running around before attempting to do some star jumps. These mostly consisted of gurning and leg bending with little in the air action!

On walking back to the house we met a few more chums. This chap was especially friendly although we didn’t get too close. Horns are horns whatever size they are!

Another fabulous visit to Hatchlands Park. Next time we must stay longer and eat their cake. It’s very good.

Linking up with #whatsthestory here on PODcast and #CountryKids at Coombe Mill.

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