Ratings

Buggy - we went around the park with a standard wheeled buggy, with little difficulty.
Carrier - reasonably even ground throughout the park.
Walking - for a child with limited mobility some of the ground could be a little uneven. There are quite a few sections of grass and sand to cross and also quite a few steps and hills to access some of the bigger play equipment, which may be a problem for those texture sensitive.

Wheelchair - some of the areas, like the Imaginarium aren't fully wheelchair friendly, but most of the park is.

Things to note

This is a privately run enterprise - the Hobbledown website gives details of pricing and entry times, etc.

It should be noted that several areas of the park don't fully operate out of school holidays or event days and that currently some of the animal walkthrough areas are closed or restricted.

There are a couple of areas where children could get quite wet, a change of clothes for those water curious may be a good idea.

Hobbledown will admit one carer, free of charge per paying disabled guest, upon showing evidence of need (DLA, PIP, Access card, etc.)

Right, let me start off by saying something. I have previously worked in a customer service environment, and understand how important it is to listen to and respond to customer complaints.

My family group had visited Hobbledown on the way home from our recent holiday in Somerset - unfortunately, on the day we had some issues that led me to email a complaint into their customer services team. I was very impressed by the speed of their response and the invitation of a "free" return visit, which this blog covers.

A customer complaint, dealt with so well, often results in a returning customer.

Upon first entry to Hobbledown it's a little difficult to work out exactly what it is. Is it a farm park, with play areas, or play areas with animals? Whichever it is, it is a delightful place, for young children in particular. I can't speak for weekends or school holidays, but on the mid-week days we went I would say the park is most suitable for toddlers to primary age children. There are some bits for the over 11s, but unless they are attending with a younger sibling they may not get the full benefit of the park.

There are some great bouncing pillows (don't forget your socks). There is an expectation that adults should supervise children at all times, so there is plenty of opportunity for adults to be big kids for a while. The water pillow was also great, but very tiring on old legs. For a child who is sensitive to movement this might be a challenge - after a tentative start, our Little One absolutely loved it.

Fern's Castle is a massive play area with slides and squirrel runs for the kids to clamber through. I really think that you could easily just spend the day sitting around the play areas as your kids run-wild (supervised, obviously).

There are more things for older kids to do, during the school holidays and some weekends, like High Ropes, which there is an additional charge for. Note, that High Ropes is quite specific that a child using this MUST be able to carry out the whole route unassisted, which may be difficult for some children with autism. I guess, like anything, if you know your child and their limits, then it would be your choice to give it a try! 

As previously mentioned, there are animals at the park, with various walkthroughs, although at the time of our visit many of these were closed. It may be worth checking their website for information before going, if the walkthroughs are something you particularly want to do. The animals can still be seen from outside their enclosures, though.

There were quite a few bits not operational during our weekday, term-time visit, as previously mentioned, High Ropes, also The Thinkery and Characters and Books. We didn't visit the Indoor Playbarn or the cafe, out of choice, mainly as we still don't do indoor spaces too much! It should be noted that at busy times, like weekends and school holidays, the playbarn runs 45 minute sessions, outside of these days it is often possible to stay a lot longer!

The area that we were particularly keen to visit, on our second visit, was The Imaginarium. First time round we had been caught out by the limited opening hours for this section of the park. Out of peak days The Imaginarium is only open for an hour in the morning (11am to 12 noon) and an hour in the later afternoon, I believe 3 to 4pm.

It's difficult to describe this area of the park, so I have lifted this description from their website;-

"Part reptile house, part water play, part insectarium and part interactive jungle, the Imaginarium combines hands-on, messy play with live animals - all housed in a themed building with caves, tunnels and pools galore!

It's a whole world of adventure for toddlers (and the young at heart...)".

I think that sums it up quite well - our Little One, who is highly sensory, really enjoyed this area. The dark, the lights, the water, the scramble nets, he tackled them all with equal gusto. For us adults some of it was a bit more of a tight fit, but good fun trying to keep up with him.

To sum up. I would thoroughly recommend Hobbledown. I would check to make sure what events are running at what times on the day of your visit before going, to avoid disappointment. Make sure you take socks for everyone to wear, change of clothes for kids likely to get wet and a picnic!