Bit of a random one when you’re driving in the middle of a busy suburb and come across a woods. I was shitting it a bit and thought I’d put the wrong sat nav in again. Needless to say I was relieved once we saw the little brown sign saying Oxhey woods sculpture trail. Well it actually only said Oxhey woods if we’re splitting hairs.
Oxhey Woods Sculpture Trail
So I’ll be honest from the off. Its a bit too far just to visit these woods unless you’re happy to spend all day pissing behind a tree. However there’s shit loads more to be done in the area too. In fact its not far from the amazing Denham country park and there’s also Ruislip Lido which we still haven’t visited yet.
If you’re in the area or live any closer though then Oxhey woods sculpture trail is bloody cute. If we lived closer this would definitely be our go to woodlands. The sculpture trail itself wasn’t that big either so its a great one for smaller legs. The woods themselves are much bigger and you can easily social distance once you’re there.
The car park wasn’t that big but thankfully it wasn’t that busy either. Even better news was huge sign saying free parking. Whoop love a freebie day out. Thankfully the kids were in good spirits….. mostly because Elliot slept the hole way there (Little shit was up at 5am).
We had our trusty back pack with us full of a picnic. We all know hungry kids are the worst type of kids. I could say the same about me too though. We weren’t greeted with the most pleasant sight as we first walked in. An over flowing bin and loads of litter dumped by it didn’t fill me with confidence.
Exploring Oxhey Woods Sculpture Trail
Once we got over the oversploading bin of shit it was plan sailing in fact I don’t think there was much if any other litter I could see while walking round. I just don’t get why people can’t just take their shit home if the bins full.
Anyhow I took a photo of the map because we basically always get lost or take a wrong turn. It didn’t take us long to come across the first sculpture. The boys had warmed up, each had a stick and were raring to find the next sculpture in between twatting each other with the sticks.
What they did come across was a huge and I mean hugggge fallen tree. It was pretty impressive and they were both up it quicker than rats up a drainpipe. They stayed there playing for some time before another family came along and it was our turn to move on.
The whole way round you will likely come across loads of bird feeding stations which i thought was super lovely Especially coming into the winter. Not that we saw any birds mind. Not with those two walking fog horns raring round!
Painted Rocks And More Sculptures
Something else that kept the boys happy were the amount of painted rocks they found too. They were so chuffed as it seems to be an activity that has pretty much come to an end where we are. I had to reign them in from taking them all though. They ended up with one each. I ended up with a sparkly green hand from where the paint hadn’t dried on one.
One of the sculptures had broken. Or at least hope it had broken naturally and not vandalised and thrown in a pond. Luckily enough it was a frog so it didn’t really look too out of place.
There was a large open space with a few dens scattered about which was really nice (saw loads of painted rocks here). We managed to get back onto the sculpture trail here. This part of the woodlands was a bit busier than the rest of the woodland but to be fair it wasn’t that bad at all.
Some of the sculptures were really cool especially the giant xylophone which the boys spent ages running up and down on with the sticks they’d found on the floor (at least they were no longer twatting each other with them now). It was a fairly small loop and it didn’t take us long to have done the full circle. We ended up having lunch in the car before deciding to bugger off home again and make a roast.
Oxhey Woods Sculpture Trail Stats:
Distance from Bicester: 1 hour
Sat nav: Watford, Northwood WD19 6UL Click to load sat nav
Wheelchair friendly: Yes
Equipment upkeep: 7/10
Cleanliness: 8/10
Facilities: Nothing here other than the woods and a car park
Age range: All ages
Safety: 9/10
Fun factor: 9/10
Dog friendly: Yes
Pushchair Friendly: Yes
Bikes and Scooters: Bikes yes but I think you’d struggle with a scooter
Conclusion
Oxhey woods sculpture trail was a lovely little walk. It kept the kids entertained the whole way around with plenty for them to see. Their favourite part was either the huge tree that they could climb or the giant xylophone.
Would I go again? Probably not. That’s only because its too far from me. If if was nearer say 30mins away then yes we’d be there a fair bit I’d imagine. It would be great if we had something similar closer. In fact I’m sure we’ve been do a few places but my brains gone to shit because my kids wake at 5am every morning!!
If you do decide to go the kids will probably love it. It might be worth popping over to another place nearby to bulk out your day too.
AOB
I’m always after more ideas for places to visit so do feel free to message me on Facebook HERE
Check out Denham country park in the are too which we loved HERE
If you fancy buying me a cuppa to show your support/appreciation you can do HERE
