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What better way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon with the family… than walking (and scootering) along the River Tees, a surprisingly scenic route towards Newport Bridge and back, soaking up the atmosphere on the white water course and finishing off with the children having fun on Air Tykes (the mini Air Trail course perfect for 2 – 4 year olds) oh and to top it off… a well-earned ice cream!
We parked at Tees Barrage car park and headed towards the Barrage footbridge. We immediately stopped to look at Air Trail and the brave people climbing high on the structure. Max, 4, exclaimed “oh my word, I am NEVER going on that… it looks too scary”! I told him there’s actually a mini course for younger children which he and his sister, Grace, 2, can go on after our walk.
We crossed the footbridge and headed on the cycle path towards Newport Bridge, which you could see in the distance, it looked very far away! We passed lots of families, some of which were looking out for seals and other wildlife.
The children both scooted along the lovely smooth, tree lined cycle path adjacent to the River, stopping every so often to look at the views and to pick a flower or two. Newport Bridge was getting closer so we were almost half way!
After crossing Newport Bridge, we headed back towards the Barrage, passing Portrack Marsh and more families, cyclists and dog walkers all enjoying the sunshine. It was nice to arrive at the white water course and see some kayakers tackling the rapids. We then crossed the wooden bridges over the course and Air Trail was now directly in sight.
The children were excited to try the mini course; they got harnessed up and were ready to start exploring! They loved balancing along the wooden beams and rope bridges and after about 20 minutes there was only one thing on the children’s minds… ice cream!
They both picked an ice cream from Air Trail’s kiosk and we all sat on a picnic bench directly under Air Trail and looked up and watched everyone bravely climbing up the high ropes course and whizzing along the zip lines.
Max, feeling brave after his first try on Air Tykes, said, “When I’m 5… I want to go on big Air Trail!” Well that was a change from the previous hour!
We had a fun and (cheap) afternoon and will definitely be back, maybe to try the infinity loop which includes walking along the cool looking Infinity Bridge, which I’m sure the kids will love!
