How one special park can make all the difference on long car journeys with kids.
Let me tell you about the Magic Park…
Some of you may be unaware of the Magic Park. That is sad, because the Magic Park is one of the most incredible places in Britain. But you need to believe in magic to be able to see it.
There is only one Magic Park, but every day, it changes its location. One day it might be in Aberdeenshire, the next in South Wales, the next off the A34 between Oxford and Southampton.
Not only does it change its location every day, but it changes its shape, size and vibe. One day it’s a small suburban park with a little playground, the next a great country park with walking trails and big rocks to clamber over. Sometimes there might be a great slide, sometimes you might see gorgeous dogs being walked, sometimes there might even be deer grazing.
The only way to know where the Magic Park is every day is via an app that parents have on their phones. They can check each morning and, if you’re lucky, the Magic Park might be somewhere near you.
The Magic Park and long car journeys
Or, more likely, the Magic Park will be just off the route of the long drive you’re undertaking. Incredibly often it can be in just the right place after you’ve been in a car for a couple of hours and everyone needs a break. This amazing stroke of fortune tends to hit precisely when children in the back seat start getting tetchy and need to burn off some energy.
The best days in the Magic Park
I regard the Magic Park as one of my greatest ever creations. On several occasions, it has stopped a gruellingly long car journey tipping over into back seat fighting. And the fact that it looks different every day means that parents don’t have to be too precise in describing where they’re stopping. It means you can stop at some scraggly, littered playground in a small town for 15 minutes, and get away with it.
At best, though, it means you can go exploring along walking trails, enjoying the different-coloured flowers and picking up Really Good Sticks. Rumour has it that unicorns also live in the Magic Park. I’ve never seen one myself, and no-one’s ever managed to get a photo, but you might just catch a glimpse of one’s tail, flitting through the trees…
The Magic Park is a bit like Santa in our family. The kids probably don’t believe in it any more, but don’t want to state that outright. Just in case. But that magic has more than done its job over the years.
