The T Rex Encounter at The Lexicon Shopping Centre, Bracknell

[AD] Last week we were invited to see the T Rex Encounter at The Lexicon in Bracknell. Curious to see something different and of course to go shopping in our favourite shopping centre, we arrived there early on Monday morning. We heard the roar before we saw it. Upon turning the corner into the The Avenue, we saw this humungous T Rex in the distance. It looked so lifelike, Tyler and Lily actually thought it was real!

The T Rex is a massive 18 metres long and 8 metres high, with moving eyes, head and tail. It really is wow, you HAVE to see it, and it looks quite amusing right next to H&M and M&S. There are selfie spots in front so you can take the best selfie – very important in this Instagram age!

There is also range of T Rex themed activities throughout the summer holidays, plus dino-themed menus, a Jurassic themed Proms event and special screenings of the Jurassic Park series at Cineworld. Have a look at this leaflet for dates. The T Rex will be up until the 26th August.

We found two Dinosaur Guides dressed in safari attire handing out Dinosaur Hunt trail sheets, and they explained what we had to do.

The mission was to find hidden dinosaurs in shop windows and fill in a sheet. We did it after lunch, and it was a great way to get around the whole of The Lexicon and get our shopping done without the kids getting bored. Tyler was in proper detective mode!

As for lunch, there are quite a few Dino-themed food offers, including TGI Fridays with their ‘Fridays Bucket of T-Rex Bones’, The Bull with their special ‘T-Rex Menu’ and kids eating free with a paying adult. They are also doing Jurassic themed mocktails and cocktails. Bill’s have a Brontosaurus Burger and Stego-sausage and Mash on the children’s menu. We chose to eat at Nandos, with their kids meal of a Dino Main, two Dino Sides and a Dino Dessert or Drink for £5.95.

Tyler chosen a plain chicken burger, two broccoli sides and a milk – and we shared it out on an extra plate for Lily because she never finishes full kids meals. I had my usual of a quarter lemon and herb chicken with chips and garlic bread. And I let the kids have my garlic bread and some of my chips.

As for the shopping, I absolutely love shopping at The Lexicon, because they have all the big brands plus the stores are huge – as big as flagshop stores – so you are more likely to find full ranges here. We started off in M&S and bought Peppa Pig pjs for Lily, a transport pjs for Tyler, as well as a 2-pack of school trousers. I just trust M&S school trousers, they are sturdy and last longer.

After lunch we needed pens to start the Dinosaur Hunt sheet. We popped into Paperchase and the kids went nuts for those 4-in-one biro pens as they could change the colours.

After finding our first dinosaur, we headed to Fenwick, as Lily remembered the toy department from the last time we went there. She was so excited to show Tyler it. We spent about 45 minutes in there, with the kids were playing at the Magnetix table and the interective floor by the till, and the Duplo play area – there is a lot to do in there! And the staff were so friendly, they didn’t mind the children playing at all. The lady even offered to switch on the reading tree to read a Gruffalo story. I let the kids choose one toy each – Tyler chose a Brio bell signal track, and Lily chose a Peppa Pig dot-to-dot book. And she added in a Peppa Pig mashum at the till, and I couldn’t say no!

Next we went to Ryman to buy Tyler’s school stationery from our list. He’s starting Year 3 in September, so it’s the first time he has to have his own stationery. Ryman had everything we needed and they were all on special deals, including left-handed HB pencils. They really help with Tyler’s handwriting, as there are special grooves to help with how he holds the pencil. As a left-hander myself, I know the pain of writing! The only thing I didn’t get was a pencil case as Tyler wants a London Underground one, so I have ordered that online. Shopping with Lily is where it costs me money, she wanted a ruler and a highlighter like Tyler, even though she doesn’t need them! I also bought two Crayola colouring packs, as they were on 3 for 2 with the colouring pencils, and the neon one looked interesting. I might bring it on holiday with us.

In The Entertainer the kids bought a few small toys – a neon van that Tyler has been clutching in his sleep ever since we bought it, and some Paw Patrol surprises eggs which were down to 99p. And finally we went into the massive Primark and bought two sets of fitted sheets and pillowcases (I love having coordinated sets) and a Trolls nightie for Lily.

The last thing we did was post our completed Dinosaur Hunt sheets in the letterbox by Pattiserie Valerie, after an early dinner at McDs, before heading home. We had such a fun day hanging out at The Lexicon. It is the most beautiful shopping centre, I love it. And the addition of the dinosaur activities makes it fun for the kids. It’s such a genius idea.