A fun yet cheap day out at Carding Mill Valley

Altogether my SIL & I have 6 children ranging from age 3 to 12, on average 2 years between each, so during the summer holidays we try & find the odd day out for them that will cater for all age ranges, & wont cost us an absolute bomb.

Last tuesday, when the weather was a tad mixed but still warm we decided to grab a quick picnic & take the kiddie winkles to Carding Mill Valley, which is part of the national trust. We quickly discussed what we'd each got in that could be shared on the picnic & got ready.

It cost £2.00 to park for 2 hours & £4.20 for all day. We parked up by the top car park, along side the stream that runs all the way down the valley. We then walked for literally 2 minutes past the car park, along the stream, which lead to a patch with a couple deeper parts of the stream (when I say deep, I mean only upto a 4year olds knees) and some lovely clear patches of grass along side, with no one around!! I have to admit, I did think people a bit crazy, the stream along side the car park was busy with children & adults yet 2 minutes walk away it was lovely and peaceful .... except for our little ones of course.

The older lads set about building dams to make one of the pools a little deeper. The two youngsters (Kai 4 & layla 3) were happy to paddle & throw stones in to make the water splash. Nik (my Sister In Law aka SIL) & myself busied ourselves laying down blankets, watching the kids & I even went for a paddle myself ..... water was fffffffreezing but I soon got used to it & when the sun came out it was delightful.

Picnic was water to drink, egg mayonnaise sarnies, ham sarnies, crisps, choc bar, frubes & strawberries - all of which we'd just quickly grabbed/made. We were nicely full after it & the kids were happy to play again. The bottles left from the drinks soon became water squirters & a water fight broke out.

When this was banned due to them getting a bit over zealous with squirting each other they explored the surrounding area. Kai found the slopes were perfect to slide down on his bum, he got a good speed up doing it

& was soon joined but not only the other kids but Nik as well.

Jai found a boulder in the water & I jokingly told him to pick it up to put on the dam .... he took me seriously. He & Zack managed to roll it half way up the stream which was no easy task.

We decided to pack up & see if the stream led to Lightspout Waterfall. It was quite a walk ... Zack & Luis being they're usual selves had to do it the hard way by literally walking in the stream to follow it. We followed the path that got a bit thin & rocky at times. Thankfully it did lead to the waterfall, which wasnt much more than a trickle, but we put that heavily down to the dry(ish) weather we've had. It did have a lovely lil pool at the bottom of it , & by this time the weather was roasting.

Along side the waterfall the path continues up rather steeply which the older lads followed before making their way round the back of the waterfall & down the rather jagged, steep descent over the otherside (this was not an official path).

The walk back was easier, once in the car it didnt take my 2 long before falling asleep.

I thoroughly recommend taking a visit to a stream with the kids if you can, on a hot sunny day its the perfect, cheap way to cool down.

Carding Mill Valley ..... a bit more information.
National Trust - Carding Mill Valley
BBC Shropshire, panoramic view.