Wookey Hole Caves Somerset Review
Wookey Hole Caves
Somerset
Reviewed by Linda Curtain
Having set off early with my husband and grandaughter, on a wet Sunday morning, we were very pleased when the brown information signs appeared directing us to Wookey Hole! Sited at the southern edge of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, we soon found the entrance to the spacious car park and got parked easily outside the Wookey Hole Hotel which was very impressive with its witches hat roof!
On the short walk down to the reception, it was great to see that the walkway was covered to prevent people having to queue in the rain! We were quickly greeted by the young lady in the ticket booth and received our tickets and information about the activities which were happening during our visit. A tour of the caves was due to start in about ten minutes, so we were advised to start our day with this attraction.
Luckily the rain had decided to stop, so we made our way to the Wookey Hole cave entrance. There was only a small queue and the waiting area was again covered and had many notices about the site and surrounding area to keep our interest as we waited for our tour guide. There were several young families queuing to go on the tour and much excitement at the prospect of seeing the Wookey Hole Witch! When the entrance to the cave opened, we moved inside and the guide gave us some information and showed us how dark it would have been without lighting – scary!! An automated commentary then gave an interesting talk about the tale of the Wookey Witch. At this point the audio commentary was brilliant and could be clearly heard – this however didn’t continue! As we moved further into the caves, the commentary became quiet and indistinct- we were at the front and struggled to hear it. Added to this, the excited children and hearing became very difficult. I think this may have been a problem with the audio on the day, as further on the guide attempted to give an oral commentary which was very informative. The caves were very impressive, with beautiful colours and lighting. Also some musical accompaniment, gave a brilliant feeling to the whole experience. Near the end of the caves, there was an area used for the storage of cheese – the temperature and humidity in the cave gives ideal storage conditions.
As we exited the caves, thankfully the sun had come out and we enjoyed a walk through the fairy gardens and dinosaur park.
Our next place to visit was the wonderful Hocus Pocus Circus show. The young talented cast put on a brilliant performance of circus illusions and magic. There was also a great display about the history of circus and clowns with a very detailed model village.
After watching the show, we were ready for lunch. There were two dining areas – both very clean and not too busy. We did find the food choices a bit limited and quite expensive though so would probably opt for a packed lunch another time.
Having rested and recharged our batteries, we next moved onto one of the newer attractions- the Witches Laboratory and the Lost World 4D cinema. This was a great attraction but I did wonder if some of the younger children had nightmares about the dinosaurs last night!!
There were plenty of indoor attractions – a large play zone for the youngsters, a brilliant Crazy Mirror Maze and good selection of old penny arcade machines.
A demonstration of paper making – Wookey Hole had a thriving paper mill until 2008 – was very interesting and the Easter themed Alice in Wonderland room (complete with Alice who gave the children an Easter present each) was enchanting.
Finally we had a round of Pirate Island Adventure Golf which was great fun!
A look around the well-stocked gift shop, where we had a taste of the Cave Aged Farmhouse Cheddar, rounded off a superb day for us.
We had a really good day at Wookey Hole. Everywhere was spotlessly clean and all the staff were polite and helpful. A brilliant day out.
I would give Wookey Hole a 4 star rating.
Rating: 4/5
Tickets cost £14 (children 4-14 years), £18 (adult). Save 15% by booking online in advance!
For more information or to book tickets visit www.wookey.co.uk.
Wookey Hole Caves, The Mill, Wells, Somerset, BA5 1BB | 01749 672243
