Saturday 29 August 2015

Summer Holiday: Stockeld Park, Wetherby

I stumbled upon this place a few months ago when we were looking for something to do.  Me and the kids think Mr Bloom is great and as he was appearing I tried to persuade him to make the 3h journey (each way) on public transport to go.... he wasn't amused and put his foot down.   So when mum asked me for places I wanted to go when we were camping at Sheriff Hutton I immediately thought of here, in a car it's only an hour from mine.

If you haven't been and you have small children it's definitely one to put on your to-do list, the boys (and us) had the most amazing time.

The park is split into 8 zones (9 if you count the cafe) and we explored most of them, this isn't a trip that takes a couple of hours, we were here from 12-5 and could easily have stayed another hour if we'd had the time.





Enchanted Forest

The enchanted forest is huge and every corner you turn brings a new surprise.  As dream world collides with woodland there are mysterious characters to discover, unique interactive sculptures, music (I use the term loosely) to be made and some fantastic adventure playground areas.  We likened it to walking trough Enid Blyton's enchanted forest, convinced that we would come across the Faraway Tree at any minute.  The magic and enchantment comes alive, just what stories are those fairies telling each other, who lives in the shoe and what happened to the tea-pot?

The playgrounds are not supervised (or patrolled) and there seems to be no age restrictions implemented, this meant a lot of the time was spent with the boys being pushed out of the way by teenagers, who unfortunately seemed to move on the minute we did.  I'm not convinced they had parents with them - at least not ones who seemed to give a monkeys what they were doing.

Here are some of our highlights

        

Could this be the way into Narnia?

      
        

  

Amazing Maze

This 8ft high Yew tree maze is the largest in Yorkshire and has a mile of paths, 3 miles of trees and some wonderful surprises hidden in its depths.

I knew from looking at the website before we went that there was a mystery to solve in the maze but hadn't looked into what.  We were not given any further information about it.  Looking up now we did spot some little lambs dotted around and wondered if they would have had something to do with it....

We solved the mystery of the gates however (perhaps that's the Christmas trail)

The boys loved funding the way and spotting the dead ends and we were all appreciative of the maps dotted around to help us find our way (although we never did get to the red telephone box).

Here are some of our highlights.

  

  




Inflatable Zone

Outside of the enchanted wood is another adventure playground with a farmyard theme


and an inflatable zone.  This consists of a huge inflatable pillow (think bouncy castle with no sides) and a slide.

  



Chopper Go Karts

These chopper go karts are fun, there are single and double seater ones so if you  have small children you can ride them around the track.  This is a great idea in theory.... in reality my legs hurt!!

Our experience on the karts was a little spoilt by the teens who decided it was their own private race track, we were cut up and forced over to the sides while they tore around and around after each other... I hate to think what would have happened had the boys been on their own (after all they can use them from 5+).

I couldn't take a photo while on here so here's a stock picture off their website.


Roller Skating

The boys had never been roller skating before, and mummy hadn't put a pair on for about 15 years so this was always going to be an experience.  With retro skates, knee and elbow pads and helmets available it was a great time. .... and had taught me the boys are not quite ready for a trip to the local skating rink as they clung on to us and the edges for their lives and did their best Bambi impressions.  Mummy on the other hand remembered just how much she missed this activity.

Electric Scooter Trail

Alongside the woods is the electric scooter trail, as additional costs applied we didn't go on these but they looked great fun.

Indoor Play and Craft Area

We were fortunate enough to have a glorious sunny day but inside there is another jumping pillow, play house and a train for the kids to play on.  They also have a craft area with fun things to make and do.

Gift Emporium

As with all places there is a little gift shop if you want to take away something more than memories.



Cafe's

You have the main cafe in the entrance to the park as well as a couple of cabins in and near the woods.  The only thing we sampled were the ice creams so I'm unable to comment on the food served.

Opening Times

The Spring Adventure 2015
Open daily from 23rd May until 31st May
Daily: 10am - 6pm (Last entry at 4pm)

The Summer Adventure 2015
Open daily from 15th July until 7th Sept 2015
Daily: 10am - 6pm (Last entry at 4pm)

The Halloween Adventure 2015
Open from 21st October until 1st November 2015
Open for Spooky family fun and halloween special events.
Check out the slightly different adventure zones - link

The Christmas Adventure
Open from 2nd November until 4th January 2016
Opening times TBC
Check out the slightly different adventure zones - link


Price

£12 Day Pass - per individual for all activities excluding electric scooters.
£42 Family Day Pass (2 adults, 2 children) - for all activities excluding electric scooters.
Other prices may apply for special events or longer passes.


We saw some amazing pictures there of it all illuminated in the Winter and me and mum are planning a Christmas trip with the boys for December to see Santa and go Ice Skating, I think the enchanted forest will be even more magical at dusk..... I wonder if we can fit a real Christmas Tree in the car to bring home?

Hmm... wonder if I can persuade hubby to stay in Leeds or Harrogate in October half term so we can go for Halloween?



    


For the sceptics - this is not a sponsored post, just a place we visited, loved and wanted to tell you about

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