FAQs
General
We offer a range of adventures for children up to 12 years old and their grown-ups. We suggest an age range for each type of adventure but this is only a suggestion, and you know your children best. We do find little children get the most out of our sessions once they are walking confidently and can fully explore the woods and older children tend to feel a little too grown up for our activities once they have finished primary school, but basically, we love to see anyone who is keen to roll with woodlice or dig for worms!
In general, our family adventures are aimed at children up to 6 years old, our holiday adventures are for children up to 8 years old and our workshops are for children over 5.
We do hope so. We want Little Wild Things to be as accessible as possible. Please call us to discuss your child’s individual needs so we can welcome you to the woods.
We really hope so – we’re very keen to help overcome reservations and worries about dirt and creepy crawlies and believe that by coming to our site regularly children will feel more confident about trying new things and conquering some of their fears. Please do call us if you have specific concerns you’d like to discuss.
Little Wild Things adventures will have physical, social and health benefits. In our experience, children are intrinsically motivated outdoors, as the natural world stimulates their desire to learn and discover. Our sessions will help them to enjoy physical activity, team-work and self-led play, and teach them to assess and manage risks. We hope to spark their creativity and sense of adventure and help them to build increased confidence in the natural world. Children will also gain respect, knowledge and understanding about the environment.
During an adventure children will be encouraged to explore and play through activities specifically designed to further their interest in the natural world. Activities might include bug hunting, mud painting or den building. Each week we will have a different theme to the sessions. These themes will follow the seasons and make the most of the natural resources surrounding us – whether these be fungi, flowers, puddles or snow!
Sorry but no. We require either pre-school staff or parents to be supervising their children at all times. We hope that you’ll have fun at our adventures too, (and enjoy some delicious home-made cake!)
Yes! And will hopefully love doing it!
You can find out about all our up and coming adventures by joining our mailing list here.
Little Wild Things is a Community Interest Company, meaning we run for the benefit of the community. We use any income over and above our running costs to make Little Wild Things bigger and better for local children and their families.
Booking
Whether you fancy one of our family adventures in term time or you want to bring the whole crew in the school holidays, all of our adventures can be seen and booked using our online booking system. If you would like your child to attend through their pre-school or nursery please contact them directly for information on how to reserve a space. For woodland birthday parties, you can see the available dates here. Please then contact us for a password in order to proceed with your booking.
When booking for your child to attend through their childcare provider, we ask that you book a term of adventures at a time. If you’d like to come to a family adventure you can book adventures individually or for the full term. We like to be flexible, so you can choose to come to our family adventure every week, or just a few times a term, whatever suits you best!
Yes. We ask that you book and pay for all children once they are wanting to join in with the session and with snack time – usually around 18 months. This is so we can plan the resources accordingly and ensure we don’t exceed the capacity of the site. Remember we offer reduced price tickets for families with two or more children.
At our family and holiday adventures we ask you book and pay for all children once they are wanting to join in with the session and with snack time – usually around 18 months. Babes in arms can come along with their older brothers or sisters and enjoy the fun free of charge. Please note that our workshops are for children aged 5 and over and are not suitable for younger siblings.
Sorry but no. We need to know exactly how many children are coming to each adventure so that we can plan our activities and ensure we do not exceed the capacity of our site. You can always check our booking pages to see if there are spaces at the last minute.
No – there is no charge for grown-ups at our adventures. We will ask you to confirm the number of grown-ups attending when you make a booking, so that we can make sure there is enough tea and cake to go around. If you would like to add more grown-ups to your booking please email to let us know.
If for any reason you need to cancel or change your booking please email to let us know as soon as possible. For cancellations or changes a week or more in advance we can give a full refund or move you to another date subject to availability. For cancellations within 7 days of the session, we will do our best to find another wild thing to fill your spot so that we can offer you a refund, but we’re afraid this can’t be guaranteed. We are unable to offer session changes within 7 days of your booked date, but again will do our best to find another wild thing to fill your spot so that we can pass on a refund.
It’s very unlikely but should we have to cancel an adventure due to dangerous weather or staff illness we will contact everyone booked on by both email and phone. It is therefore important that you provide this information for us when booking.
If we have had to cancel a session due to unforeseen circumstances such as staff illness, we will refund the cost of your ticket in full.
If we’ve been forced to cancel due to circumstances beyond our control – namely dangerous weather conditions – we unfortunately cannot provide refunds or alternative sessions. We cancel sessions very rarely and only when it is too dangerous to be in the woods – a little bit of rain won’t put us off!
Good to know
- Old clothes which can get dirty and which fully cover arms and legs.
- Comfortable shoes/trainers or wellies with thick socks.
- A waterproof jacket and waterproof trousers or an all-in-one waterproof suit. Useful all year round for mud and water play.
We have our own fabulous ‘loo’ with a view! This is set up outside the main area and uses a dry composting system. You are also welcome to change your baby anywhere that suits you. Always come and ask us if there is anything you need help with.
You are very welcome to bring a pushchair on the understanding that we are in a woodland and the terrain is a bit tricky. We would recommend a baby carrier if your child is small enough but if not – just think how fantastic your biceps will look after a term of adventures……!
Water, raisins, crackers and biscuits, plus marshmallows and chocolate bread for adventures in which we plan to have a campfire. Please let us know if your child has any allergies we should be aware of and we will do our best to provide suitable alternatives. We also provide Fairtrade tea and coffee and delicious homemade cake for grown-ups at our adventures.
Yes – we have a large assortment of clean dry clothes which can be lent out if needed. We ask that you wash and return anything borrowed as soon as you can.
Sorry but no. To ensure the safety and comfort of the children at our sessions we do not allow dogs on site.
Yes, drive in through the gate and there’s space for you to park off the road and get yourself and your child ready safely. Please make sure you park considerately as our space is limited.
Weather
Yep! We embrace “bad” weather – after all who doesn’t love a good puddle? Our ethos is to be outdoors in all weathers, and we encourage children and their grown-ups to dress appropriately so they can enjoy being outside whatever the season. However, occasionally situations may arise in which it would be dangerous to continue with outdoor activities, as a result of high winds, snow or flooding. The weather will always be assessed and our sessions shortened or cancelled if we believe there is a risk. If weather conditions suddenly became dangerous, we would leave the woodland immediately.
We have two areas covered by large canvases which can be used to shelter from rain as needed. Activities will be moved under the canvases if necessary so everyone can still enjoy being outside even when the weather isn’t great. We also have our yurt which is fully equipped with a wood burning stove to provide some much needed heat in the cooler months to thaw out those chilly toes! In the warmer months, our tree canopy provides plenty of shelter and cool shade.
We run our adventures all year with the exception of the Christmas break.
Safety
We take health and safety very seriously and ensure all necessary safety measures are in place so that everyone can enjoy Little Wild Things. We carry out regular risk assessments for our site and all our sessions and have our trees surveyed annually and carry out any recommended work. We always carry mobile phones for use in emergencies and are fully first aid trained. We are happy to provide copies of any of our documents including our risk assessments and emergency action plan on request.
We will take overall responsibility for the running of the sessions and ensuring everyone is well and happy. Individual children will always be the responsibility of the adults caring for them. At a school or pre-school adventure, school and pre-school staff will be responsible for the children attending, and at all other adventures, parents or carers will be responsible for their own children.
We have full public liability insurance with an indemnity of £10m. We also have the necessary insurance, licenses and permits to cover our minibus. All certificates can be be seen upon request.
Yes, for children attending sessions through their pre-school or school we provide forward-facing high-backed booster seats which carry children from 9 – 36kg (approx. 9mths to 11yrs). Children will be strapped in with the seat’s integral 5-point harness or the main 3-point seat belt according to their height and weight.
We take your family’s privacy very seriously, both when you book with us online and when you attend an adventure in the woods. You can read our full privacy policy here.
The Adventure Fund and Buddy Scheme
The Adventure Fund is a pot of money used to subsidise the costs of attending Little Wild Things sessions for local families. The Adventure Fund is available to any family who would otherwise struggle to attend Little Wild Things sessions and can be used to cover the cost of sessions, outdoor clothing or transport to our woodland site.
The Adventure Fund is supported by local charitable trusts and donors and through our Buddy Scheme.
If you know of anyone who could benefit from the Adventure Fund, or any organisations that might be able to help us spread the word about subsidised sessions, we would love to hear from you!
The Buddy Scheme is a way for families to support the Adventure Fund. Customers and supporters of Little Wild Things who feel able, can buy Buddy Scheme tickets for any Little Wild Things adventure through our booking system at any time. These Buddy Scheme tickets are then passed onto families who would otherwise not be able to attend Little Wild Things.
If you would like to donate to our Buddy Scheme you can do so here.
The Adventure Fund is for anyone who would like to attend Little Wild Things with their child but is struggling to find the money for it. No explanations required, no questions asked.
If you and your family feel you could benefit from the Adventure Fund for any reason please get in touch, either through email or by giving us a call. You will not be asked about your financial situation and do not need to provide any explanation, all we will ask is for you to indicate the level of support you require. We can offer discounted or fully subsidised tickets for any number of children in your family, and for any of our adventures.
The funds will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis and the level of support we can offer will depend on the amount of funding available at that time.
If you have any other questions we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch.