TIME TO EXPLORE

On a hot sticky morning my mum and her partner, along with Leo and I, set off in search of the beautiful Kew Gardens. A tremendously magical open space, perfect for a boisterous toddler! Once through the line we were met face to face with what appeared to be Treebeard, from Lord of the Rings. While everyone else was excited to have their photo taken with him, my usually fearless toddler was not. We had a glorious morning filled with many memorable moments but I am sure that catching a glimpse of the “Treeman” will be the moment that stays in Leo’s memory the longest. I didn’t even get a second to snap a quick photo as Leo took one look at the man and started shouting “Nooooo I don’t like it!” while scrambling madly to return to the safety of his pram. It took a lot of coaxing and reassuring that the Treeman had gone home and didn’t have keys to get back in. Eventually Leo was ready to set out on foot to explore his magnificent surroundings.

Once paths had been sufficiently strutted down, flower beds had been gazed at and we had ran in and out of the Waterlily House a few dozen times, Leo was ready to rest by the duck pond. My little man is a delightful little chatter box, exclaiming every time a duck came by, and reminding all of us that we were not allowed to join them in there for a swim. Feeling a little bit peckish and worn out from the heat, we went off to hunt down the prefect shady spot to snack in.

Toddlers tend not to sit long and mine is no different, as soon as his food was devoured, Leo persuaded us into a game of hide and seek. How can I say no to that cheeky little face?!

We arrived at the tree top walkway, something I was quite happy to use my toddler as excuse not to climb up the 18 metre high structure. However, Leo had other plans. He headed straight for the staircase exclaiming “I too excited to wait!”. My 2.5-year-old climbed up like a champ not even blinking an eye that we were in fact higher than the monstrous trees that surrounded us, whilst I trembled inside and gripped on with dear life to the railing.  

 One of Leo’s favourite parts of Kew Gardens is exploring the forest. He loves strolling amongst the “big big heavy trees!”, collecting pine cones as he goes along and finding mini Leo sized trees, announcing that they belong to him. We came across a little miniature castle called Toad Hall, perfect for running around and around, and pretending tigers live inside!

After all that running and exploring, someone was tuckered out and ready for a shoulder ride back through the many trees and gardens, towards the gate. Not before checking that the treeman was nowhere in sight and would not be joining us on the train ride home.