Radipole Nature Reserve

A trip out this weekend gave me an idea for a new little blog...

My youngest had been on a school trip this week to Radipole Lake Nature Reserve in Weymouth. She came back very excited and waving a voucher for a free bag of duck food.

Well that was it; the thought of the duck food and we jumped straight on the train.

Now you would be right in thinking starting a blog seems an extreme reaction to a gentle afternoon out. It got me thinking. A place right on our doorstep and I'd never thought of going there. I didn't know anything about it until today and I'll certainly be going back. There must be loads of places like this. Places I don't know about. Places I know about and you don't yet...

So a little visual tour for you...

We were greeted by this lovely little thatched visitor centre where we duly collected our free duck food and I was delighted to find there was no charge here.

(Note to self - cost all outings.)

So Emily enjoyed feeding the ducks and then Dan the most helpful assistant ever suggested the girls borrow rucksack packs to get the most from the walk. What a fantastic idea. They borrowed binoculars, bug magnifiers, bird and bug ID charts etc and we set off.

A great flat walk suitable for pushchairs too interspersed with decked areas for 'spotting'

 

and a great picnic corner with wooden creatures to sit on.

Once we were all walked out we returned to the centre and were delighted to find a little café area. Icecreams and cake were duly purchased and if you stick with this little blog you'll soon see food is often a feature of Emily's excursions.

The centre has been refurbished following a flood last year and is stunning. Big curved floor to ceiling glass overlooks the lake with a telescope.

My girls loved the interest drawers and loved being able to handle the exhibits. Dan showed them the difference in the animal skulls and how to tell how old a deer is as well as patiently helping them identify the grisly contents of seagull pellets!

 

Last stop was pond dipping.

 

Everything was provided and again free of charge. Dan showed them what to do and helped them identify the contents of their nets.

Emily Button left with a useful leaflet of other RSPB reserves and an events list from which I'm determined to take her to something this summer.

 

Emily says...

a great educational afternoon out,

enough to entertain for 3 hours,

free entry,

and a café!

 

link - http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/r/radipolelake/