Are you brave enough to meet The Gruffalo? (July 2014)

Are you brave enough to meet The Gruffalo? (July 2014)

Those brave enough to enter the deep, dark wood at Moors Valley Country Park, near Ringwood on Friday 11 July could well meet up with The Gruffalo. He’s making a special visit to the Park as part of The Gruffalo’s 15th anniversary celebrations and will be in the woods from 3.30 – 6pm.

Internationally recognised, The Gruffalo is the star of Julia Donaldson’s children’s books and has become a firm favourite with both children and adults alike since the first story was published in 1999.

As well as the special live visit, Moors Valley is also one of a handful of locations in the UK to host a giant wooden Gruffalo sculpture. Carved from sustainable timber, and only recently unveiled, the eight foot giant is one of 15 different sculptures that can now be found in forests throughout the UK following a special collaboration with the Forestry Commission. With his “terrible tusks, and terrible claws, and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws” this literary giant is a great addition to family photos.

Another well-loved Julia Donaldson character will be joining the fun later in the year with the opening of a new ‘Gruffalo’s Child Trail’. The activity trail, featuring the adventures of the Gruffalo’s Child as she ignores her father’s warning about the big bad mouse, will open on 3 October and be in place until the end of February 2015.

Education Ranger Katie Davies said, “We are very excited that Moors Valley is able to play such a big part in The Gruffalo’s 15th anniversary and we know that children particularly enjoy meeting the ‘monster’ from the prize-winning books. Come autumn, the Park will provide the perfect winter woodland setting for The Gruffalo’s Child as she tiptoes out into the wild snowy night.”

For further details visit the website www.moors-valley.co.uk or contact the Rangers on 01425 470721.

ENDS

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Editors’ Notes:

More information on the wide range of events and activities taking place at Moors Valley Country Park and Forest can be found at www.moors-valley.co.uk

High resolution images are also available to download from the press images gallery.