Last weekend we headed to Hatton Adventure World for a fun filled day at their adventure farm. We were given £20 in Hatton vouchers to pay for lunch, and free admission, in order to try out the park.
We were fairly lucky with the weather, with a short rain shower coinciding with our lunch time, so when we arrived at the park we headed straight for the climbing frames. Georgie is a little monkey and loves to slide and swing, so we had loads of fun on these. The little funfair rides and bouncy castle looked good too, but as the girls were a bit under the weather still Georgie wasn’t feeling quite brave enough to go on them!
The number of things to do and see at Hatton mean that it will be a long time before your child is bored, and there is loads to do for all ages too. Georgie was a bit young for the bigger adventure playground areas, and I’m sure the maze, pony riding (for an extra charge) and panning for gold activity will appeal to her as she gets older.
After Georgie had slid down every slide there, it was time for an easter egg hunt! This was really well organised with a rallying point a short walk from the field the hunt was in, so that the kids were grouped together to hear the instructions before being let loose on the egg hunt. The aim of the game was to find five little flat eggs on the ground, each a different colour, and then swap them for chocolate eggs at the end! Georgie popped her little chocolate eggs into her pocket and then she and Lydia ate them throughout the day.
The rain was just starting after the hunt so we headed into “Snorty’s Barnyard Restaurant” for lunch; the restaurant was typical cafe style food with plenty for kids to enjoy. They had a good range of hot & cold food available at reasonable prices, and the cakes looked fantastic. We all had sausage, beans & chips and it was really nice – the sausages were plentiful and very tasty.
The new soft play centre is located within the same building as the restaurant which is great as it means that adults can dawdle over their food and drink while their kids can run off and enjoy the fantastic soft play and slides. Georgie and Lydia both enjoyed the big wavy slide and Georgie had a whale of a time in the 2-4 years suitable soft play area.
After she had climbed & slid around that area a few dozen times she tried out the big kids bit on her own while Lydia enjoyed the baby area. The shallow ball pool was great as the little ones could move around in there and play with the balls without sinking. Lydia spent ages in there whilst Georgie clambered about to her hearts content.
Once we were all soft play-ed out, we headed back outside to enjoy more of the adventure park. James had a go at driving a remote control tractor, which Georgie enthusiastically joined in with (despite not actually having a tractor to control herself), and we headed into the performance area to watch the puppet show. It was a fairly traditional Punch & Judy show which Georgie really enjoyed, and was quite fun for us adults, too. The performer was really good and got everyone involved with the yelling and screaming, adults and children alike. Georgie started out cuddled up to me and slowly crept closer & closer to the stage, ending up sitting with all the other boys & girls.
In the afternoon, we checked out the animals and went on the Timewarp Tractor ride which Georgie enjoyed. Holding a guinea pig and stroking the goats were highlights of the afternoon, as was using the ingenious model tractor gadget to feed the pigs.
Just before we headed home we wanted to catch a bird of prey show, so we headed to the birds of prey area for the 4:30pm show. We were the only ones there so ended up having a 1-on-1 session with the falconer, who was really excellent with the girls. Georgie got to hold a Kestrel and a Barn Owl, which was an amazing experience for her! I was very proud of her as she was chatting with the falconer and with the birds, and stood so nicely while they were on her arm.
The exit to the adventure world area is, of course, through the toy shop. I was pleased to see loads of traditional slow toys on sale here and Georgie was in Bigjigs heaven – she has never seen so many Bigjigs toys in one place before! We let her choose a toy as an early birthday treat, and headed home with a happy little girl clutching a wooden Flying Scotsman. It was a lovely day out, and we will definitely revisit in future for a treat.
Looks a fun place. Shame we live to far away.
This looks like a fantastic day out! On a different note, your pushchair looks fab! x
Hatton is certainly popular and I can see why, fun for all ages and no concern that the children will become bored as there are both in and outdoor activities for them to enjoy. How great that you had the bird of prey show and expert to yourselves! Thanks for linking up and sharing with Country Kids.
It’s a great place to visit isn’t it, we never managed to do everything when we went last year #CountryKids