Back at the end of March, when we had that spate of glorious weather, I took the girls to Chew valley lake. What a fabulous spot! I have to admit, we’d been before – I think it was last summer – and I’d found it a tad disappointing. Being the height of summer, the hedgerows around the lake were covered in leaves, meaning most of the prime picnic spots had very restricted views of the lake. Coming back in the spring though, was a different story. With the plants just beginning to come back into bloom, the lake was clearly visible from most spots and was stunning with the sun glistening on the water. Not only did we enjoy a picnic with a view but we discovered a host of other great things too!

We’d been to Chew Magna for a performance by the Dragonbird theatre (I’ll be reviewing this separately) and had packed a picnic. I was expecting us to lunch and go, crossing my fingers for a successful nap in the car on the way home (the baby not me), but we were having such a lovely time that we decided to make an afternoon of it. We stayed for a good three hours in the end. We parked up in the main visitors car park, where you’ll find the Salt Malt fish and chip restaurant. The lake and its facilities are part of a Bristol water site so there’s a charge for parking, but it’s a very reasonable £2, whether you’e there for an hour or the whole day (up until 6pm; I believe it’s free after that point). The car park is adjacent to the lake, and the grassy banks surrounding it provide the perfect spot for a picnic (as I said, the views are lovely in the spring, but in summer it can get a bit overgrown). The restaurant was pretty busy when we were there but there were less people picnicking so it gave the girls plenty of space to run around. There are toilet facilities right next to the restaurant and there’s also a pretty cool play area.

There are some lovely, short walks beside the lake too, which allow you to view the lake in all its glory. You can walk straight from the main car park along a gravel walkway that lines the lake offering great views (the only downside is that it’s riddled with flies – that could just be the time of year though). This walkway links the main car park with a secondary car park (it’s about a 10 minute walk between the two). From this secondary car park you can take one of two extended walks. The first is the Grebe trail, which is 1.2km long (10-15 minutes) and starts and finishes at a wooded picnic area. The trail follows a surfaced path which is ideal with a pram. The second trail is the Bittern trail; this one is slightly longer at 1.5km but is unsurfaced so you’d probably need a sling rather than a pram to tackle this one.

All in all, this is a great day out and the best bit is, it only cost us the price of parking! If you’re not up for picnicking, the fish and chips at Salt and Malt are darn good (it’s been shortlisted in the Fish and Chips awards as ‘Fish and Chip Restaurant of the Year’) and if you spend more than £7 in the restaurant then you can get £1 back on your parking (nice little tip there!)