It can be very hard to find family days out when you have an under one year old. Lots of kid friendly places don’t really cater for the crawlers and the non movers, and I for one will spend ages trawling the internet for ideas and reviews of places we want to go before deciding if it’s worth it for us and whether or not there will actually be things for Darcie to join in with. She is now 14 months but we first started going to Paultons park when she was around 7 months and so I thought writing about our experiences could help someone with an under one who is deliberating about going.
We are lucky in that we live only fifteen minutes away from Paultons Park and we have season tickets which means we can go for just a few hours if that’s all we have time for. For anyone travelling from further afield, I would highly recommend making a day of it to get your moneys worth. The tickets are quite pricey so if you are at all local it is definitely worth getting a season ticket as you get a years worth of visits for the cost of three day tickets. Children under one meter are free. If you are planning on making a day of it, you will have no problem filling that day as there is a great variety of things to do in the park. One of the main attractions for families with young children is of course Peppa Pig World, but there are also plenty of rides for older children, a dinosaur themed section, water rides a soft play area, a train, play parks, wildlife and lots of different places to eat. There is also ample grassy areas and gardens for kids to run around and for you to have a picnic.
Starting with Peppa Pig World, most of the rides are suitable for under ones. There are usually bigger queues in this part of the park than elsewhere so I would recommend either arriving early or saving this bit for later on in the afternoon when the park has quietened down. There are 7 rides in Peppa Pig World, most of which you can take any age baby on as they are sit on rides and you will be holding them. Our favourites are The Windy Castle and The Big Balloon Ride. There is a splash park which is great on those really hot days and for any avid Peppa Pig fans they have a meet and greet with Peppa and George regularly throughout the day. For any crawlers there are play parks with AstroTurf down which is a crawling and exploring experience that I think Darcie would highly recommend if she could! The soft play area is great for all ages and there is an area for the really little ones inside too.
Other rides throughout the rest of the park that you are able to take younger babies on include a The Dinosaur Tour, The Viking Boats and The Expedition Express Train. There is also a trampoline area with individual trampolines which is safe to take your baby onto and the Rio Grande Train which goes around the whole park. If rides aren’t your cup of tea, there are areas all around the park with exotic birds that I won’t even try to name, flamingos, meerkats, a tortoise and penguins. I believe they are currently working on a new animal experience too, which looks to be good once it is all set up. Another firm favourite of ours is the main play park where there are plenty of swings for all ages as well as lots of other play equipment.
The whole park is as family friendly as you would hope and there are places to leave your pram all around the park while you go on the rides or the train. It is definitely our favourite family day out and Darcie always has a fun time. It’s nice to have found somewhere that actually has attractions for under ones as well as plenty for older children too. I’m sure we’ll be going regularly for many years to come and I would highly recommend it to anyone thinking of taking their little ones along.
