Tong Garden Centre has joined forces with Yorkshire Muddings Forest School to offer children and their adults a new unique outdoor play session hidden in a secret woodland area on site.

The venture at Grass Hoppers hopes to welcome an additional 2,500 children through the woodland doors in its first year.

Founded in 2021, Yorkshire Muddings will be open to the public on 14th June, and activities will include mud kitchens, nature crafts, bug hunting, risky play areas, large loose parts play to ignite children's imaginations, hammock swinging, and every session ends with a story and a toasted marshmallow on the campfire.

Matt Lowry, Manager at Grass Hoppers said: "We're thrilled to be able to make use of a woodland space that was previously unloved and a bit forgotten - the vision that Yorkshire Muddings had for the land was inspiring and we're really excited to be working with them as they continue to promote the benefits of outdoor play.

"We're always looking for new ways to encourage families to get outside and to build on the success of our own play offering - Yorkshire Muddings has built a strong brand based on celebrating the joy of play and we know this partnership will be a great addition."

Sessions run at Grasshoppers on Wednesdays and Fridays and are suitable for confidently walking children up to age seven within term time and children up to age 11 in school holidays.

Sessions cost £12 for the first child and £6 per child thereafter, non-walkers and adults go free.

Tong Garden Centre occupies a 19-acre site in Tong village. It is one of Yorkshire's biggest independent garden centres with 11,600m2 of retail space and parking for up to 700 cars. It is part of the Yorkshire Garden Centres (YGC) group that also owns Tingley Garden Centre and the former Stephen H Smith's Garden Centres in Otley and Harden, Bingley.

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Photo: Left to right: Susannah Holroyd, Matt Lowrey and Victoria Filtness at Tong Garden Centre