Sundown Adventure Land

[Hulababy]

Name: Sundown Adventure Land

Location: 6 miles from the A1 Markham Moor and sign posted 3 miles from Dunham on the A57; about 1 hour from Sheffield centre or 40 minutes from M1, junction 31

Age range: young families; 1 - 8 or 9 IMO; DD was 22 months and adored it. There were older children there but I would have thought that they'd get bored.

Price: £6.50 for 2 years and over (including adults); under 2s are free; car park is free

Duration: Whole day, especially if warm

Just thought I'd start us off on the new board with this place. We visited here yesterday - 20th Feb. Just me and 22mo DD went and had a fab time together. Everything is specially aimed at little ones so all the attractions are child height with easy to work levers and buttons. There are things to see, climbing areas, houses to explore, sand pit, train/tractor/sliegh/boat rides, indoor soft play, under 5s Little Tikes area (indoors), play areas, etc. All is themed - so things like story book land, farm/animals, smugglers cove and a wild west area.

There are lots of picnic areas outside, but not indoors. There are 2 or 3 cafe areas though, but these were busy and mainly fast food type of things. Didn't seem expensive though - cup of tea (to warm up!) only cost me 70p.

It really was a lovely day out and DD can't stop telling daddy about it.

22mo DD's comments were:

"That was good, that was"
"Exciting mummy"
"I am happy mummy"

[hmb]

We love this place!. There is (or was last summer) one under cover picnic area, just in front of Captain Sandy's Cove! It is improved on every tear, so it is worth a re-visit. In the last 4 years there have been several improvements, the tractor ride, the lolly pop castle and the fairy tale lands are all new! Dd is now a mature 7 and she still begs to go!

We must live vlose to each other Hulababy!

[Hulababy]

We are in Sheffield hmb.

I remember the place as Pet's Corner from when I was little and there were real animals. Long time ago now

[Hulababy]

Yes, I rememebr now hmb - you are right; there is a covered picnic area where you say. We missed it before lunch time though.

[Marina]

Name: Godstone Farm

Location: Just off the A25/A22, about two miles from Junction 6 of the M25

Age range: 1-10/11 I'd have thought - the adventure playground especially for the upper age range 4-11. Loads for 1-7, certainly.

Price: £4.80 per child over 2, each child brings ONE free adult. Small extra charge for playbarn.

Facilities: Plentiful (if chilly in winter)clean loos and washing places and clear signs about the importance of washing hands after touching animals. Baby-changing facilities.
OK cafeteria with masses of highchairs, seating not great for breastfeeding mums. Nice bookable party room for children's parties.
Mostly easily pushchair accessible but further reaches of the large car park are steep/stony.
Animal barns and outdoor enclosures with good assortment of happy-looking farm animals large and small. Smaller pens for supervised children to climb into and meet rabbits, guinea pigs etc.
Small covered tricycle/pedal car covered circuit for 5s and under.
Amazing hillside outdoor adventure playground - a day out in itself.
Also excellent indoor playbarn.
This is a perennial favourite with ds, now aged 4. It's really well-run without being slick or impersonal and great value for money! We love Godstone Farm.

[bundle]

name: British Wildlife Centre (sorry to use their blurb - british-wildlife.com but only have dim recollection of details..)
This place is a bit draughty (& most stuff outdoors)and we went on a wet miserable day but if your children are bloodthirsty, then look no further than this place on the A22 (between Blindley Heath and Newchapel, 10 minutes south of the M25 junction 6. The nearest train station is Lingfield on the London to East Grinstead line. From there you?ll need a taxi, which will cost about £4.50)

the main attraction - the animals. These are all species of wild mammals, birds and reptiles living in Britain today. Unlike many animal attractions, most of our animals are wild and live in enclosures that reflect their natural habitat.

We saw nearly all the animals being fed eg foxes were given little fluffy yellow chicks (!) and inside there was a rat run (literally over your head through see-through gutter-pipes ). the staff were really good at fielding questions from children/parents and it was a refreshing change from more 'corporate' places.

Coffee Shop
Hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, snacks and an enticing selection of confectionery to keep you going.

Picnic Area
Bring your own lunch, have a snack or simply take a break in our outdoor picnic area.

The Story of the British Wildlife Centre ? there used to be a working dairy farm here with a prize-winning herd of Jersey dairy cows. Find out about them and how the farm became the wildlife centre.

Nature Conservation in Britain ? covers the challenges of conserving wildlife in Britain today, including the complex issue of mammal reintroductions. We also have a small but growing collection of natural history objects and curios including deer antlers, wasp nests, snake skins and mammal skulls and bones...

[bundle]

oooh - I just remembered the best bit, we saw some sleeping badgers (inside a sett which has one clear perspex wall, the mummy was cuddling the baby one!aaahhh)

[Hulababy]

Shall we do new places on different threads? Then it might be easier to do searches at a later date?

[bundle]

sorry, messed it up

[Hulababy]

No, not at all just me being akward Thought it might maake it easier for people viewing at a later date that's all. If you agree then you could alsways just copy and paste your post here onto a new one, or leave it as it is - up to you!

[rosiesmumof4]

my chiildren love sundown adventure land too, the only snag there is they apparently do nothing to control their awful wasp problem in the summer - i don't ever go between mid-july and end sept now as my children, and friends have been stung so many times just wandering around. Otherwise it's fab 9not sure it's worth queing for father christmas either takes hours but the boys enjoyed it) It is aprticuarly good when it's quiet which is another reason to avoid the summer hols.

[gingerbear]

bump

[gingerbear]

bump for ebbie, there is a link in this thread.