Check out a fantastic pair of titles for budding nature and outdoors lovers from National Trust Books

Here's a fantastic pair of books for budding outdoor explorers and nature lovers. Get outside and get muddy!
We're National Trust members and if there's one thing that rounds off a weekend perfectly, it's piling into the car and driving out to one of our nearby National Trust properties (we particularly love Waddesdon, Cliveden, Stowe and Basildon - which are thankfully not too far away from us). You can read all about our adventures on my wife's fantastic days out blog "Can I Walk, Mummy?"

We love the National Trust books that have started popping up in the various NT shops we've visited so we were delighted to be able to take a look at a pair of new titles.

First up, a great addition to the "50 things to do before you're 11 ¾" range - this time with a brace of activities designed for night owls. "The Night Time Adventure Book" has a rather helpful glow in the dark cover (which comes in very handy if you're fumbling around in the dark trying to find your torch!) and is full of amazing things to try when you're out and about, from (safely) making camp fires to using all of your five senses to identify and track the nocturnal animal species that live out in the countryside and sometimes even on your urban doorstep too!

A fabulous fact-and-fun filled book!

Here's something else we can't resist whenever we go on our nature rambles - pond dipping! Has there ever been a cheaper and more fascinating way to keep kids entertained for hour after hour? All you need is a waterproof tray (an old ice cream tub will do), a net and a bit of patience and care and you too could become an expert pond explorer.

In Alice Licken's fantastic "Pond Explorer" you'll learn to quickly identify various pond dwellers including toads, frogs, dragonflies and a whole host of other amazing creatures living just on or underneath the surface of your local pond.

Lots of stickers and activities are crammed into this book to give little ones a fabulous head start on their way to becoming intrepid pond explorers. As ever, the book takes great care to mention the safety aspects of pond dipping so always make sure you supervise your little ones (and a good stout pair of wellies is always a good move!)

Both "The Night Time Adventure Book" and "Pond Explorer" are available now from National Trust Books.