Stockeld Park’s Easter Adventure Review
Reviewed by Louise Totton
We were last at Stockeld Park about 18 months ago for the start of their Summer Adventure. Our girls (now aged 4 and 6) have talked about it often, so we were over the moon to be invited back to try out their Easter Adventure.
If you have never been to Stockeld Park before it isn’t like any other park you’ve ever been to. For one single entry price, there is so much to do and explore. We’ve so far spent most of our Easter holidays indoors, not least because the weather hasn’t been great. When we saw a sunny, dry day forecast, we jumped at the opportunity to pack up the car and bring the kids for a day of outdoor playing, exploring and activities.
The whole place is beautifully maintained, every area we went to was really clean, in great repair and well looked after. There really is a huge variety of things to spend your time on, including a giant inflatable air pillow, a huge inflatable outdoor slide, a go-kart track with peddle powered chopper trikes and double karts, a maze, roller skating and a fantastic walk through the Enchanted Forest, with a treasure hunt map, an abundance of interactive activities dotted throughout and three differently themed play areas along the way. There is also an indoor play area and a crafts section for when the weather is less good, or to escape the midday sun.
We had an absolutely fantastic time. We arrived at about 10.30, and there was ample, free, car parking. We collected our tickets from the ticket booth and was given our treasure map, and headed down into the park.
After an hour in the car, the kids first of all went for the farm themed play area in the middle of the park to expend a bit of pent up energy. The area was really interesting, with tunnels to crawl through and wooden tractors to climb into and on top of. They then went and spent a while bouncing on the air pillow. This looked great fun; the kids thought it was hilarious, and we were really pleased to see that it was staffed by Stockeld, so there was always someone making sure there was a safe number on the pillow and it wasn’t getting too rough.
The slide was just as well organised, and really was great fun. The kids were up and down it loads of times and thoroughly enjoyed their time on it. They were really rather disappointed when we called them away to have their picnic, quite a feat as my two love picnics!
There is ample picnic space at Stockeld, comprising flat grassy areas, picnic benches and an undercover area for when the weather is bad. We sat outside on the picnic benches, with the sun on our backs, and it really felt like summer was arriving. We finished off our picnic with an ice-cream from the ice-cream parlour near the picnic area. The array of flavours was quite simply mind-boggling but it was really reasonably priced. The kids both chose blue bubblegum flavour, whilst my husband had rum & raisin and I had a raspberry sorbet. There is also a cafe where hot food can be purchased. Whilst we didn’t do that this time, it did look at the menus – there was a great range of options and all at a very fair price.
We all really loved our walk around the Enchanted Forest. There was so much to see and do, it took us about 2 hours to get round it. We used the map that we had been given at the start of the day to complete our treasure hunt, searching for the clues on the giant Easter Eggs and pirates. There are several fantastically themed play areas on the way around, including an Indian TeePee area, a ropes and climbing area and a Noah’s Ark themed area. Inspire of it being the first sunny day of the Easter holidays, it wasn’t over full and the kids managed to spend plenty of time in each of the areas. We also spotted Rapunzel’s tower, a troll’s bridge, and much to their absolute delight, a giant burping ogre.
We finished off our day with a second visit to their air pillow and go kart track before heading for the car at about 4.30 with two very tired little girls.
We had an absolutely superb time. I know that it may seem a little expensive on the face of it, but the price of a family ticket is less than the price of a single ticket in some of the big theme parks, and we were kept entertained for just as long. In fact, for families with young children, it’s a much better day out.
The kids both slept really well that night, the mark of a day burning off excess energy.
A fantastic day, 5/5 – we can’t wait to return.
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost: £13 per person / £46 for a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children or 1 adult and 3 children), udder 2s go free. Includes; Entry to site, The Enchanted Forest including play areas, Maze, Indoor Play and Craft Zones, Roller Skating and Go Karts. Book online in advance for discounts.
Additional charges for the Electric Scooters; £5 per circuit. Age/height restriction apply.
Easter Adventure runs until 17 April 2016, Spring Adventure runs from 28 May to 5 June 2016 and Summer Adventure runs from 23 July to 5 September 2016. For more information or to book tickets visit www.stockeldpark.co.uk.
Stockeld Park, Wetherby, Yorkshire, LS22 4AN | 01937 586333
