Tatton Park‘s newest garden trail opened this Easter and is staying in the garden till 3rd September.

Step into the enchanting world of the Tiger Who Came to Tea to celebrate 100 years since the birth of Judith Kerr, one of the most beloved authors and illustrators of all time.

We picked up a trail pack (£2 each) at the Garden Entrance, If you’re a National Trust member entrance is free. If not then its £8 per adult and children aged 4-15 are £6.

The girls put on their paper tiger masks straight away and set off to explore the tea-party trail in the sunny gardens.

There are large colourful boards dotted around the garden with parts of the story on and a little question or challenge. All the boards are marked on the map inside your trail pack so don’t worry if you cant find one as the map is quite easy to follow.

You get a crayon with your pack, as you go along the trail you will come across numbered poles with a shape on the top. Use your crayon to do a rubbing onto your sheet.

Add all of Sophie’s teatime favourites to your trail sheet before the hungry tiger eats them all is the challenge. There are a few places to stop and play including Sophie’s kitchen. Make sure you get a photo with the tiger at the kitchen table which is full of yummy food.

The trail only covers part of the garden and is a nice circular route so isn’t a massive walk if you have people with little legs. However we were with slightly older children between 8 ans 11 so once we had finished the trail we did carry on for another couple of hours exploring the rest of the gardens including the Japanese garden and playing in the maze.

My 11 year old said she would have loved the trail to be longer which shows she was enjoying it. I agree with her, it could have had more boards as there is only 6 to find and they didn’t include the whole story which could have easily been created, especially as its in the garden for such a long time. The final board where you find a big tin of Tiger Food is at one of our favourite parts of the gardens, in the Tower Garden. This makes a perfect finishers photo backdrop.

Don’t forget to collect your reward sticker as you exit the garden.

From the 25th July you will also find “Mog” the forgetful cat in the Mansion and in the maze on the farm. This is all part of the Judith Kerr 100 years special event.