New Forest Aqua Park Review
New Forest Aqua Park
Hampshire
Reviewed by Clare Robbin
My son and I were very excited to receive tickets to the press day a few days ahead of its grand opening which was on Saturday 2 May 2015, to the New Forest Water Park for the launch the of UK’s first inflatable Wibit outdoor aqua park.
The New Forest Water Park has been open for 25 years now and is a family owned business. It has historically been famous for its wakeboarding facilities, offering a wake cable system but also offers kayaking, paddle boarding, inflatable ringo and banana boat rides. Camping and fishing are also available on site.
The park is located on the edge of Fordingbrige in Hampshire. They have a great website with contact details and directions. It was really easy to find with lots of banners and signs on the main road near the entrance. Having driven past the entrance numerous times we were excited to explore. A short drive down a gravel track and a huge 20-acre lake greets you. In the distance we could see the colourful inflatable aqua park floating in the middle of the lake.
What is the Aqua Park?
Measuring over 40 meters long it’s basically a large inflatable playground/ assault course floating on the water. The German made Wibit comprises of interlocking sections of inflatables, that include slides, hurdles, rollers, trampolines, sea-saw, Ice climbing tower, blob and diving platform.
I was a fan of the television show Total Wipe-Out and therefore really keen to give it a go to see how far I could get around the assault course.
On arrival we parked in a large car park next to the lake and made our way to the clubhouse where the owner warmly greeted us. We spent a few minutes reading the safety/rules, signing in and then we were shown to the changing facilities which looked newly built to me and very clean and tidy. They had a vast amount of sizes of wetsuits, which I believe can be hired at small extra charge. We squeezed ourselves into wetsuits and life jackets provided.
We were accompanied down a jetty to the middle of the lake by a helpful member of staff who clearly explained rules to us, no pushing in, 2 people at a time on the trampolines. On arrival we could clearly see that the only way to get on to the aqua park was to jump in and swim. At this point the rain was pouring down but we apprehensively jumped into the lake and swam towards the first obstacle. My son was soon out the water and bouncing in front of me, it took longer for me to scrabble up the slippery side. There were no rules on directions to take so we looked around and decided to aim for the trampolines, I took a couple of steps forward and before I knew it I was in the lake again!!! Much to my sons amusement, hauling myself out again I soon warmed up and realised this was going to be great fun but physically hard work!!! We spent a fantastic hour bouncing, slipping, racing, jumping, clambering and falling in. One of the obstacles is a large ice tower, very similar to a climbing wall, on reaching the top you can slide down the other side into the lake, it looked great fun but unfortunately I could not physically get on to it, I did not have enough strength to pull myself up onto the starting platform. After we had explored every section of the inflatable and had no strength left to play no more we made our way back down the jetty to a lovely outdoor hot tub which helped relieve our aching bodies. After dressing we popped into the clubhouse for a warming drink.
I would definitely recommend the aqua park it is great fun but very challenging, and a lot harder than I expected! I do however feel that you need to be fairly fit to get the most out of it and am unsure if age 6 and young children would struggle! Also we were lucky enough to play on it with just 5 other people, apparently 60 people will be allowed on in one session this may result in a very different experience!
The aqua park costs £15 for an hour (including buoyancy aid), booking is recommended online or calling 01425 656868, or you just turn up and chance it!!
Recommended age 6 -66
Minimum height 110cm
Rating: 5/5 
For more information or to make a booking visit www.newforestwaterpark.co.uk.
New Forest Water Park, Ringwood Road, Fordingbridge, Ringwood, Hampshire, SP6 2EY
