Families across Gloucestershire are invited to Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, this winter to find The Gruffalo’s Child, who has followed The Gruffalo out of his comfortable cave for a forest trail adventure.

The Gruffalo’s Child activity trails are the latest initiative organised by Forestry Commission England in conjunction with Magic Light Pictures, following the success from this year’s Gruffalo’s Forest Tour, which was supported by Julia Donaldson and Axel Sheffler.

During spring and summer 2014, more than 10,000 children met the Gruffalo himself and hundreds of thousands followed the Gruffalo activity trails through Forestry Commission England woods and forests.

From December 1 until February 28, 2015 a self-led Gruffalo’s Child activity trail will be located at Westonbirt, continuing the nationwide celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the book’s publication.

While following the trail route, children and families can take part in activities based on their favourite book’s characters.

The trail will lead children and families through the arboretum using activity boards to help them discover nature and woods during the winter time.

In addition, there will be activity packs available for £1, which will include a foraging bag, a fun-packed activity leaflet, a colouring-in sheet and a special Gruffalo's Child sticker. These special packs will encourage children to learn more about the behaviour of animals and how they search for food, create shelters and prepare for the cold winter months.

Ian Gambles, Director of Forestry Commission England, commented: “The Gruffalo’s Forest Tour this summer was an outstanding success and we welcomed an unprecedented number of children and families to the forest – many for their first time. We are looking forward to providing new reasons to visit with these great activities for The Gruffalo’s Child.

“The trails will be an amazing adventure, encouraging visitors to make the most of the winter season in our beautiful forests alongside one of the all-time favourite book characters.”

Later this winter, several uniquely carved wooden sculptures of The Gruffalo’s Child will be placed in selected forests around England.

Visit www.forestry.gov.uk/gruffalo for details of the trails and to sign up to be the first to hear about the new sculpture locations.