Englefield Estate's festive Snowman Trail is back
The countdown is on for the return of Englefield Estate's popular festive Snowman Trail.
The event will return after its successful launch in 2021. Children from a number of local schools, along with Scout and Brownie troops, have been busy designing the 18 wooden snowmen to line the route through the estate woodland this Christmas.
Visitors will be able to follow the trail from Tuesday, December 20 until Thursday, January 5 and families are encouraged to share photos of each of the snowmen they find on social media.
All of the snowmen can be found in the woodlands around Mortimer, Mortimer West End, Silchester and Burghfield Common. The location of each one will be marked on a printable map, available to download from the Englefield Estate website at https://www.englefieldestate.co.uk/community/public-access from Monday, December 19.
Englefield Estate's forestry manager Rich Edwards and his team have been working over the past few weeks moving the snowmen to schools and local groups, so they can finish their designs in time for the opening of the trail.
Each five foot wooden snowman was hand crafted using timber sustainably sourced from the estate. Last year's snowmen are being recycled to make the trail as environmentally friendly as possible.
Mr Edwards said the trail is an opportunity for Englefield to spread some seasonal cheer, but also a way of encouraging families to get out and make the most of the estate's woodland walks.
"Maybe it's a chance for people to explore a part of the estate they wouldn't usually visit or perhaps have never visited before," he added.
"We were so pleased at how popular the Snowman Trail proved to be last year, in the way families could spend time outdoors together. It is a great, fun and healthy way to connect people with the countryside."
Leading the design of the snowmen are Burghfield St Mary's Primary School, Garland Junior School, Mrs Bland's Infant and Nursery School, Mortimer St Mary's Junior School, Mortimer St John's Infant School, Silchester Primary School and Sulhamstead and Ufton Nervet Primary School.
This year, the estate also invited the 1st Ufton Nervet, 1st Burghfield and Sulhamstead Scout Groups and 2nd Silchester Brownies to join in. Mr Edwards joined the Brownies to help them paint their snowman.
He added: "We have seen some really brilliant artwork from all the children involved. They have clearly had a lot of fun bringing their designs to life."
Children and families visiting the trail are encouraged to share their photos by tagging Englefield Estate on Instagram (@englefieldestate), Twitter (@EnglefieldUK) and Facebook (/EnglefieldEstate), using the hashtag #EnglefieldSnowmen.
