Easter entertainment ideas

Easter is a lovely time. The weather is getting warmer, the days longer, the spring flowers are blooming, and you can really start looking forward to summer. After the long winter, the Easter holidays are always welcome, and it’s good to get away for a spring break. The South West offers plenty to do at this time of year, whether it is walking, cycling, horse riding or simply having fun. 

Most children are swamped with Easter eggs and parents sometimes wonder just how many more they are able to consume, so why not let your children hunt for eggs this year while burning off some energy and perhaps learn a few facts about wildlife at the same. 

Because Easter is early this year, some schools are not taking their break until April, and to cover the entire holiday period we have included a bumper package of events starting from around the middle of March.

Below are some activites taking place in Devon and Cornwall

Devon

Torbay
Occombe Farm is holding an Easter egg hunt around the Nature Trail from Good Friday 21st March to Easter Monday 24th March from 9am to 5pm. Just follow the clues and don’t worry if you don’t get them all right – everyone receives a prize of Fairtrade Easter eggs for completing the course. Pick up a clue sheet from the Farm Shop. Occombe Farm is in Preston Down Road (just off the A380 ring road). Cost £3.50.

Paignton zoo’s Easter Egg Hunt also takes place from Good Friday to Easter Monday. Follow clues that will lead you around the zoo and answer a series of questions. Those with the right answers will be rewarded with a handful of candy-coated chocolate eggs and be entered into a prize draw. Tel 01803 697500 for further details or log onto www.paigntonzoo.org.uk.

Teignbridge
Trek across the dunes at Dawlish Warrren Nature Reserve on Sunday 13th April with one of the rangers and hunt for the famous Warren Crocus, which is found nowhere else on mainland Britain. Meet at the Dawlish Warren Visitor Centre at 11.30am. Cost: adults £3, children free. For more information call 01626 863980.

A children’s treasure hunt and Easter ‘eggtivities’ takes place at Hackney Marshes Local Nature Reserve on Thursday 15 April. Cost £3 per child. Booking is essential, call on 01626 215751.

More information these and other events from www.teignbridge.gov.uk. Click on Leisure and Green Spaces then Countryside and Wildlife then Places to Go.

Haldon Forest has its own Easter Egg hunt from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. Follow the clues to find the Easter eggs hidden in the forest by the Easter Bunny. Solve the puzzle to claim your prize.  During the school holidays from 7th to 11th April, 10 am to 12.30pm children can join the Haldon Junior and learn how to track animals, build shelters, light fires, watch wildlife and build bird boxes with the Haldon Forest Park Ranger team.

More information on www.forestry.gov.uk – search events. Haldon Forest is signposted off the A380 from Torbay, or from the A38 turn at Exeter Racecourse and follow the signs for Haldon Forest Park.

Greenway
Become Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple as you hunt for Easter Eggs in the garden of Greenway, Agatha Christie’s former home from Good Friday to Easter Monday, 10.30am to 4.30pm. Cost £1.50 per child.

For details of this event and Greenway‘s spring walks and cruises, Phone 01803 842382 or log onto www.nationaltrust.org.uk, click on Events, then Find an Event and click on Greenway to search.

Galmpton Fossil Detectives Walk
Martin Summers is a local geology and wildlife expert and is organising a fossil detectives walk on Sunday 9th March to find out how South Devon was formed out of tropical seas and volcanoes. Discover corals, shells, crinoids (a star fish type of fossil) on Dart beach. Meet at Galmpton Touring Park, at 10.30 am and return at 2.30pm. Hot soup and rolls provided – bring a mug. The touring park is signposted at the top of the hill off the main Galmpton to Greenway Road from Galmpton village. Adults £4, children £2.

Paddle the Dart by Moonlight
Help paddle a canoe down the Dart by the light of a three-quarters moon. Meet at Longmarsh Slip by the Malsters Arms, Tuckenhay, at 5.15pm on Sunday 16th March. Paddle down to the Ferry Boat Inn, Dittisham, where you stop for supper while waiting for the incoming tide to take you back. On the way you stop for hot chocolate over a riverbank camp fire before returning at 10.15pm. Buoyancy aids provided. Suitable for children. Cost: £17 per person (supper extra).   Book with Canoe Adventures on 01803 865301. Log onto www.canoeadventures.co.uk for more canoe trips.

Ewes, lambs and lunch
Walk through the pastures at at Collaton Down Farm with farmer Phil Bond and see 500 ewes and their lambs. If you are lucky you might see a lamb being born. After the walk you can enjoy a barbecued lamb and mint burger (or veggie burger) with salad. Sunday 20thm April 11am to 1pm. Adults £3, children £1.50, plus £3 for lunch. Collaton Down Farm is off the A3122 Totnes to Dartmouth road. At Collaton Cross turn left or right depending upon which direction you are coming from for Collaton Down. This is just a track and the farm is a few hundred yards down on the left. Book on 01803 861384.
 

Cornwall

Newquay
Newquay is particularly active this time of the year as the resort is gearing up for the summer surfing season. Roll up for the Easter Fete on Easter Sunday and Monday, 23rd and 24th March and join in the egg and spoon race, Wild Times Art Club, Lion and Bunny Race and plastic duck races. The Easter Egg Trail runs from 21st March all through the school holidays until the 12th April.

As a bonus to Blue Chip clients, the zoo is offering £1 discount on normal entry price per person for up to six people up until April 30th on production of the Blue Chip invoice or booking confirmation. Special events are not discounted and the offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer including the family ticket.

Hunt for mini cardboard chicks from Good Friday to Easter Monday at Dairyland Farm World, Newquay, and win Easter egg prizes. Log onto www.dairylandfarmworld.co.uk  for more information about the centre. Farm World are offering a discount for Blue Chip clients on production of the Blue Chip invoice or booking confirmation.

Cardinham Woods, Bodmin
At Cardinham Woods near Bodmin, from 11am to 4pm from Thursday 20th March to Sun 6th April you can hunt wooden eggs containing quiz questions along a three kilometre riverside route. The answers form a crossword which you have to unjumble to reveal a password. Those with the correct password win a prize.  Quiz sheets cost £1.50 from the Woods café by the car park. For younger children, mini-wooden eggs will be hidden in the play area, and there may be other play activities over the Easter weekend from 21st to 23rd March. More information from the Forestry Commission on 01208 72577 or log onto www.forestry.gov.uk and click on Explore, Experience and Enjoy, then Places to Go.

Bodmin Jail
Turn Ghostbuster and hunt out the ghouls in Bodmin Jail in a Paranormal Ghost Walk with two professional Paranormal Investigators on Saturday 22nd March from 10.30pm to 7am. Bring warm clothing and a torch and a camera for shots of those spooks. Tea and coffee is available throughout the night, and you are welcome to bring your own snacks or refreshments. Cost £65.00 per person to include full English breakfast with a vegetarian option. Bodmin Jail is in Berrycoombe Road, Bodmin. Book on 01208 76292.

Padstow
Roll eggs down Duke Street in Padstow on Sun 23rd March at 12 noon in aid of the RNLI. Bring your own egg painted and decorated. First egg home wins a prize for its owner. More information from Padstow TIC 01841 533449.

Eden Project
View a carpet of spring flowers from all around the world at the Eden Project Bulb Mania, which should be in full bloom for Easter. Phone 01726 811911 or log onto www.edenproject.com.

Bude
If you’re not a surfer, don’t worry, Bude is full of activity this time of year. From Friday 7th to Sun 16th March the Festival of Science & Arts is held at the Castle Heritage Centre. This year the theme is ‘Light Catches’ and will consist of a series of artworks constructed out of the various materials which reflect light. Tel 01288 357301 for information.

Walk n’ Talk with the Beach Ranger Service at Bude Canal on Sunday 23rd March from 11 am to 3pm as part of National Science Week to explore the coastline, learn about the wildlife and what more we can do to protect it.

Learn about the small mammals found in our wetlands from the Cornwall Wildlife Trust by exploring Bude Canal and the waterways and visit the mink rafts on the way. Meet at the Castle Heritage Centre Castle classroom, at 11am on Wed 26th March. Ends 3pm. On Wednesday 2nd April from 10:30am to 12:30pm and 2pm to 4pm you can make straw creatures to float in Bude Canal to try and combat the blue-green algae. For both these events meet at the Castle Heritage Centre Castle classroom.

On Friday 4th April from 11.30am to 1pm you can join the Bude Canal team for a walk exploring the regeneration work that has been carried out so far and learn about the new developments. Meet outside the Tourist Information Centre at the Crescent Car Park. Booking essential for all these events on 01288 350907.

Camel Trail
Each Wednesday from now until April you can join a group of local enthusiasts on this easy two-mile walk along the Camel Trail, listed as the third most popular tourist destination in Cornwall after Land’s End and the Eden Project, and learn about the wildlife. Meet outside Country Wise, Eddystone Road, Wadebridge, Cornwall at 10am and return at approximately 2 pm. Bring a snack and drink. £2 donation. More information from Padstow TIC on 01841 533449.