The Grange Easter Egg Hunt in Beddington Park

Our first proper Easter egg hunt was a resounding success and I was very impressed with the event organised by the Grange restaurant in Beddington Park, Carshalton last year.

We have done Easter hunts around the house before, following clues and finding plastic eggs or wrapped gifts, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect from a large scale event in the park.

We joined a short queue and each child was given a sheet with 40 little Easter pictures – different coloured eggs, chicks and so on – with an empty box next to them. We had to go around part of the park and find the corresponding pictures, which were on a small plastic sign attached to trees, hidden in bushes or on the end of a bridge, and then draw in the space on our sheets the shape that was next to the Easter picture on the sign.

I was a little worried that with 40 to find it would take ages or we would miss some, but the hunt was just the right level of difficulty – we sometimes had to help the children (aged 4 and 5) but mostly they spotted the signs themselves and excitedly ran towards them. There was one place we realised lots of people had missed a sign – a bridge where you could go over it or around it and there was actually a sign on both routes!

At the end, we turned in our completed sheets and the girls were able to choose an Easter egg from a selection of five or six – all very large ones which they were thrilled by as none of their Easter eggs at home were that big!

It was very good value for money as it cost £1 per entrant; there was free parking and we took a picnic to eat in the park during the hunt, as it started at 11.30 – a slightly odd time and we nearly didn’t go as I knew the girls would want lunch by 12, but it was a lovely day so we packed a picnic.

It was lucky that we had gone early as the Grange had advertised that they had 120 sheets (and therefore 120 eggs) and it was first come first served. We arrived at 11.20 and found they had already started handing out the sheets even though the event didn’t start until 11.30 – and after an hour they had run out. It was lovely seeing so many families in the park walking around looking for eggs and a great way to spend Easter Sunday.

Beddington Park is a beautiful setting and the area near the Grange is particularly nice, with a rose garden, the river, some tiny bridges and stepping stones and bigger bridges to cross as well. We thought the egg hunt was really good and plan to go again this year – the entry fee has gone up to £1.50 and they do say they have more eggs than last time but we still plan to go early to make sure!