Every time we go to visit the family in Hastings, I ask the Madhouse kids what they'd like to do and it's always a foregone conclusion that they will unanimously come up with two ideas : the amusement arcades in the old town and the top end of Alexandra park by the reservoir to go squirrel hunting.
I love the wild, natural woodland walks in this part of the park, that contrast with the more structured flower beds in the first part.
We usually see dozens of squirrels straight away but this time, they'd made themselves a bit scarce, but the kids still had fun climbing trees and discovering twisted fallen tree trunks.
It wasn't too long before the first squirrel put in an appearance though and we'd come armed with peanuts to try to tempt them down from the trees.
We managed to get quite close but it was nothing like the tame squirrels eating out of our hands on our last visit. (If you haven't seen our little video, click through to have a look.)
The next stop was the swannery and the fishing lakes, including this one completely covered with lily pads.
Cue lots more clambering around in the natural woodland playground.
We'd planned on feeding the ducks but they were all being chased off by a flock of seagulls, so we fed the huge fish instead. This proved to be quite entertaining because they leapt out of the water and put their big sucky mouths up to the surface to grab the food !
There was also a heron on the far side of the pond and a big cormorant drying out its wings in the sun.
We had a final attempt at finding some squirrels ...
... and this time, success ! They came down a bit closer to grab the peanuts that we threw out.
All that was needed to round off the perfect walk was a visit to the play area.
It looks lovely there, much better choice than the amusement arcade! I love the picture of the herring with it's wings spread
ReplyDeleteI love the way Hastings always offers the best of both worlds - touristy stuff but also nature walks :)
DeleteHow lovely to get so close to the squirrels. Every time we go to look for some in Kieder we never see them.
ReplyDeleteIt's a pretty safe bet to know you're going to see some, but some days they are tamer (or possibly hungrier ?) than others !
DeleteWhat a lovely woodland walk that must have been! Wow those trees look amazing, my girls would love climbing them. I'm glad you managed to find some squirrels in the end that were friendly. Xx #countrykids
ReplyDeleteIt's a pretty safe bet, we always manage to spot at least a couple ! :)
DeleteWhat a fab day out for you all, it really does look like one of the kids favourite days out. It's a shame the squirrels weren't as friendly as they have been in the past but at laest you still managed to get up close. That lily pond must've been beautiful to see.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing with me on #CountryKids.
In some ways, it's a good thing because if they came down all the time, they'd take it for granted and it wouldn't seem so special. They're always braver in the colder months, maybe because there is less food around for them to eat naturally.
Deleteoh our family love Alexandra Park and have spent many happy days there. its so huge and beautiful with several parks and ponds. and only about 6 miles away from us. have you been on the miniature railway yet?
ReplyDeleteI haven't been on it since I was a kid ! I should take my own kids on it though, Pierre would love it !
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