Bewilderwood
Horning Road, Hoveton, Norfolk NR12 8JW
Just outside the pretty Broadland village of Horning, there
are weird creatures lurking in the forests and swamps. Some of them bask in the
reeds, waiting for unsuspecting small children to come by; others have built
small houses in the trees, where they hide until it’s quiet, only emerging to
pick up litter, which they hate. Welcome to Bewilderwood, a homespun fantasy world that is one of Britain’s most unusual
attractions for children. Based on series of books by local author Tom Blofeld,
it brings the reedy, watery environment of the Broads to life for kids – both
as a land
of make-believe based on the characters in the books and
an overgrown adventure playground full of rope bridges and ladders, zip wires
and tree houses. You get around by way of walkways and forest paths, and a boat
takes you around a tiny broad where Mildred the lisping vegetarian crocklebog
blows water at you. It has its drawbacks: in summer it’s hugely popular and
there are queues for more or less everything. But its mixture of spooky fantasy
and adventure has something for kids of all ages, from toddlers to daredevil
teenagers, and there’s a wittiness to the whole thing that is refreshing and
fun. Plus it has an admirably sustainable policy on all aspects of the park’s
management.
