Our visit, tips and guide.
Paultons Park has been included in the list of top 25 amusement parks in the world and beat Drayton Manor, Djurs Sommerland and other category finalists, to be crowned Family Theme Park of the Year at the inaugural Park World Excellence Awards.
We visited the park in June during the week. Our group was made up of three families, with multiple ages and interests. The kids ranged in age from 4 to 11. Parking there is easy and right from the start, the experience was fantastic. It was a wonderful day of play and discovery and at the end, we’d still not got to everything – even with 0 queuing. Set in 140 acres there is a great deal to cover in a day and we left planning to come again.
Possibly the most famous chap in the New Forest. Obviously the tiny children loved Peppa Pig World. It’s a bit like being in the cartoon and with the same level of humour. Endearing for the most part. They have doubled the number of rides in recent years which was done to help the queuing issues that can happen in summer when the park experiences the heaviest visitor traffic.
Top Tip – Visit the main Peppa areas at lunchtime, when most families are taking a break to eat. The afternoons are also usually quieter.
This is their ‘Jurassic land’. It was beautifully designed and planted. So much thought and care had gone into it’s display and we were genuinely impressed. The dinosaur exhibits themselves were lifelike, not too scary for the little ones and biologically pretty accurate for the bigger ones. The rides ranged from sedate (Landrover tour) to the whopping rollercoaster for the thrill-seekers. The older children (aged 11) weren’t disappointed with the mid-range roller coasters nor too scared to go on ‘Flight of the Pterosaur’ (a suspended rollercoaster).
Past Peppa’s area, Little America is an exhibit with an excellent walk-in aviary. The birds are big, colourful and nest above your head. The small animals area was creative and sprawling, especially for the amusing meerkats.
Back to the rides again, we found a water slide, which produced hilarious laughter and mid-size thrills for everyone. A gorgeous swinging carousel ride which was charming, super safe and felt like we could all fly, pirate ship play areas, huge trampolines and much more.
Top Tip- Take a change of clothes. In summer there is a lovely splash park where kids can enjoy plenty of fountains, sprays, water toys and splashy chaos.
When we were all thrilled-out, the gardens were separate enough to get some quiet. They are extensive and exceptionally well cared for. The Japanese Garden was particularly lovely and curated with a real feel for experience; sound, light, planting, structure and flow. It was delightful. The kids ran about searching out little paths leading to new parts of the garden. They found exotic birds in huge cages, secret paths and trails, sunken gardens, enormous trees. Picnicking here was a lunchtime break from the crazy entertainment. A lovely contrast in the day.
Take a picnic… The food was ok but a bit pricey. Otherwise definitely YES. Our whole group had a fantastic time.
We strongly suggest that you take a day to come to the park and enjoy it all. Don’t rush home afterwards but instead, stay for supper at The Rockingham Arms. The is without doubt, the best I’ve had in a pub or restaurant this year. Friendly, attentive, understanding and adaptable (perfect when you have tired children). Such a treat.
