A sunny afternoon at Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve

As the sun’s beating down outside for once, we thought we’d make the most of it and go out into the sunshine.

The weather’s been so dismal lately. September and it’s only just getting hot? What’s that all about?!

So off we went to feed some ducks, and have a wander around the countryside.

Where better to do it than here?

Fairburn Ings is on the outskirts of Castleford, and is great for feeding the ducks and looking for birds.

Take a walk down the little footpaths to the bird hides, where you can sit inside and watch all the wildlife outside.

The walk down the paths is a great opportunity to teach the small ones the Country Code, and to respect the countryside with little things like shutting gates behind them, for example.

Don’t forget to shhhhh in the hides, as you don’t want to scare all the birds away!

Take binoculars with you for some serious bird spotting, or you can buy some at the visitor centre.

Go down the little path towards the hides…. don’t forget to shut the door after you! 🙂

Then, when safely hidden away in the hide, peek out towards the water….

Best of all, it’s completely free to wander about. If you park in the visitor centre car park, you have to pay to park the car, but the Ings and hides and everything else is completely free.

It tired out the littlest’s legs anyway, which is always a great idea. Hopefully he’ll sleep well tonight after all that walking and fresh air…..