Hobbledown
![star rating](/static/images/star.png?v=1.02)
Tuesday: 10:00 - 19:00
Wednesday: 10:00 - 19:00
Thursday: 10:00 - 19:00
Friday: 10:00 - 19:00
Saturday: 09:00 - 19:00
Sunday: 09:00 - 18:00
About Hobbledown
Hobbledown is a unique mysterical farm park adventure. Come and see for yourself!
Hobbledown Description
Hobbledown is a unique farm park adventure based on a book by A J Kecojevic and illustrated by Lyn Stone.
At its heart it is a story about adventure and mischief. The story is the basis on which the park and everything in it has been built. Nothing escapes the Hobblers’ quirky touch, from tables and benches to the houses the farm animals actually live in. In amongst it all are the most unusual and exciting play areas you are likely to have seen.
“A place full of curious things made of wood”, is one way to describe it, but that just wouldn't be doing it justice!
We make no apology for the fact that you will just have to come and see it for yourselves and make your own mind up!
Reviews
Laser Tag is our top selling party package for 1 reason only - it's an absolute blast! So if you want to guarantee your guests the best party in town, call us to check availability on 01372 235 125. https://www.hobbledown.com/parties/laser- tag #hobbledown #lasertag #party #fun #celebrate
Book ahead and save up to 20%
London’s coolest entertainers are heading to Hobbledown this May Half Term to set up one of their awesome holiday clubs. Hobbledown is thrilled to have teamed up with the brilliant Sharky & George (renowned for throwing luxury kid’s parties in and around the capital) to offer a week long adventure camp for 5 to 10 year olds. What, when and where Dates: May 27th to 31st 2019 Times: 9am to 4pm... What to expect: Water bomb catapulting, treasure hunts, sports, science, massive games and more. Plus guests get to enjoy all of the fantastic adventure equipment Hobbledown has to offer. For full details visit https://www.hobbledown.com/view-…/shark y-george-holiday-club
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Hobbledown will be hosting a 3 day family festival on August 16, 17 and 18 with music, acts and entertainers. We are still on the lookout for some unusual stallholders to take part and we have 5 pitches remaining. No food and beverage outlets please. If you are interested please email victoria@hobbledown.com for details and fees.
Looking for something a bit different for your next birthday party? Check our range of packages, including our fun filled Hobble Hood Tag Archery, and be the envy of your friends. https://www.hobbledown.com/parties/hobble -hood-archery
Got a bit of a queue forming with this lot 😂 #Easterheatwave
We are open on Easter Sunday from 9am and we’ve plenty of lovely animals for you to meet.
Book online by midnight tonight for 5% discount!!
Check out how first time mum Louise is doing after giving birth to her gorgeous saddleback piglets 🐷
It’s Good Friday which means 2 things - you should treat yourself to hot crossed buns for breakfast and a family day out to Hobbledown in the sunshine!
From birds of prey to adventure play, we have something for the whole family to enjoy here at Hobbledown. We open at 9am during the holidays.
Have you met the Hobblers of Hobbledown? Visit us over Easter and see if you can spot them around the park.
Hello to our latest spring arrivals, these little Saddleback piglets. Aren't they sweet! 🐷
Looking for something to do today? From crystallite hunting in our Mining Village to exploring our underground tunnels and towers, we have something for everyone!
Week 1 of the Easter holidays down. 1 to go! We hope whatever you're doing, you're having a blast!
Round off your week with a trip to Hobbledown. There's plenty for all ages to enjoy, from our daring High Ropes Course to our Zorbing Arena, you're guaranteed an action packed day out.
Enjoy some cracking good fun at Hobbledown this Easter. Throughout the holidays we have an action packed line-up to keep the whole family entertained. We even have lambs, baby lorikeets and plenty of animals on show!
Check out some of our animals this Easter
What's on at Easter https://www.hobbledown.com/blog/whats-on- at-easter
Become a Zookeeper for the Day here at Hobbledown. A typical day's experience includes: Food prep (Chopping etc) What goes in must come out (Time to clean the Wallabies and Mara) Meerkat mayhem (Supply brunch to the mob)... Enrichment (Goat (or alpaca) walkies!) Pick'n'mix. (Mystery task!) Cuddle a coati Face your fears with our exotic animals. https://www.hobbledown.com/experiences/be come-a-zookeeper
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What an amazing day at hobbledown farm our daughter was a zoo keeper for the day we spent most of the day with zoo keeper Myles who was just fantastic as well as two other great keepers. �
Thank you for an amazing day cherry had a fab time an learnt so much for you all.
We will 100% be back.
Well what a fantastic place! Came today for my 2 year olds birthday with the family. This was my first time here and it won’t be my last.
Although the entrance cost is abit expensive it is totally worth it. We spent over 3 hours here and the kids loved it.
There is plenty of outdoor picnic places. But the food in the cafe is lovely and reasonably priced. There was cleaning staff consistently going around clearing rubbish and tables.
The vast amount of different animals is great, and put my knowledge to the test. Luckily they had signs saying what was in each enclosure lol�.
When we arrived about 11 ish there was plenty of parking. On leaving at 2 ish the car park was pretty packed if not full.
Highly recommend this place to families.
We absolutely love Hobbledown. There is so much variety of things to do. Our little boy (nearly 3) has discovered so many new animals and seems to love the bunnies. The soft play is by far the best around and my husband even loved the high ropes course! Well worth every penny spent for an amazing day out
Was a lovely day lovely day. very different to many other farms we have been to. Staff were helpful. Kids loved the play areas and enjoyed being able to get so cloat to the animals. Best bit for everyone was seeing a the Wallaby with its baby. Nice and clean around the park, good hand washing facilities for after petting rhe amimals- super useful for messy toddlers too! Deffo worth the momeymoneyDownside, ut could have done with having the resfeshments kiosks being open further into the park as it was a really hot day.
Took my kids to Hobbledown yesterday and I’ve got to say we had the best day out. There is so much for the kids to do my boys didn’t stop all day long. Definitely worth the drive from Kent to spend the day here, we will definitely be back.
Only thing I will say if the water in the toilets and hand wash stations is too hot for the kids but apart from that it was a brilliant day out 😃
My daughter had a zoo keeper day experience on Friday and it was absolutely fantastic. Jamie, Katie, Emma & Gavin provided her with an experience she will never forget. They were kind, knowledgeable and allowed her to get up close and personal with the otters, meerkats, camels, coatis, shetland ponies, guinea pigs, rabbits and all the exotic reptiles. There are various day experiences on the market but this was so varied and it felt intimate, with staff who cared. My youngest daughter has already asked if she can do it when she turns 8! As for the rest of the farm, my younger children had a blast in all the indoor & outdoor equipment. The staff in the restaurant were brilliant too, making sure we could have our food together as a family & fit in with the zoo keeper timetable. When the BLT wraps ran out they even had a special one made for my daughter. Overall a magical day and one which will definitely be repeated.
Having never been before myself, I have repeatedly recommended it to anyone and everyone I've spoken to with a young family after my recent day trip there. Took my 8 year old nephew to be a zookeeper for the day as a birthday gift, and in his own words, "it was the best day ever!!!". We all learned a lot from their knowledgeable and friendly team, so it was educational at the same time as being a lot of fun. Special mention to Gavin, Miles and Jamie who were our zookeeper guides - will certainly be back with nephew no. 2 when he's old enough for the same experience so hope to see you all again then! Am sure we'll all be paying a visit to enjoy it in the meantime however.
Great place I haven’t been there since before it was hobbledown that must be nearly ten years
I was blown away !great detail even I enjoyed playing with the wooden ball & metalwork tube
My only negative thing is it’s almost impossible to keep track of your kids when in the play barn and I would have some kind of magnetic entry system ( manned maybe) and cctv on it just in case the absolute worst case scenario- for peace of mind as I lost my boys at least twice .
Brought my kiddos here (9 and 7 yrs old) and they had to practically be dragged home at the end of the day! There was so much to do to hold their attention. They hopped from activity to activity with so much enthusiasm. They enjoyed zorbing and the high ropes as well as Hobbledown Village, sand pits, and the indoor play area the most but they were also excited to see animals like camels and wallabies that they don’t see very often. I can’t recommend it enough!
My partner and I took my son for a day out. He had a very enjoyable time there visiting all the animals and playing in the play area tunnels and indoor play barn. The only downside was the food choices. Not all children eat fish fingers and nuggets, nor sausage hot pot. A jacket potato would of been a more preferable choice and healthier too. Our food lacked flavour and next time I will most likely bring a packed lunch. Everything else there was great though.
Had an amazing day with my 3 year old son at Hobbledown yesterday. A fairly local gem that I can’t believe we have never been to! Perhaps it was the weather, super hot and sunny but the only thing I felt was missing here was some sort of wet play area, jets of water the kids could run through or something akin to that. However, we had a top day, can’t recommend it enough!
A great place, interesting and engaging theme, lovely play areas and plenty to keep little ones busy. Thanks for having lockers available to use. But, please, please install more toilets further into the park. People eating at picnic benches or children playing in the mines and in the climbing equipment could easily be caught short.
Also, we were disappointed at the birds of prey show - we were told their show area had recently been moved, so their falcons were flying straight into the bushes and had to be kept on the ground.
This place has the potential to be amazing but it lacks staff to the point where the day out became a headache. It's a very busy but cold day so the indoor area was rammed all day which would be fine but the queue to get food was ridiculous then waiting again for the food to be plated up (which was left to one lad who was going as fast as he could but struggling to keep up). There was food all over the floor and nobody going around clearing up which isn't great when you have to walk around without shoes on to get to the play areas.
It just felt dirty and unhygienic. Perhaps on a warmer day when more people are outside it wouldn't feel as gross.
On a whole it was a good day out and I have been many times before however I was not impressed by the guinea pig and rabbit walk through as nobody was in there to supervise. There were children climbing over the fences to get to the animals, chasing them and generally not respecting the animals space. If you are going to have something like this then you need to have someone sit in with the animals. What I saw today was quite a few distressed animals running away from awful children trying to grab them. One child even trod on the back leg of a rabbit. My daughter is 3 years old and even she asked what the children were doing to the animals. I will be returning to Hobbledown and I will make sure that the animals are being treated how they should on my next visit!
My little boy had an amazing time outdoors. My disappointment was with the service at the restaurant. I was in the line waiting to order when I saw one of the servers sneeze twice into his apron before proceeding to hand customers their trays of food. I then noticed that none of the staff in the kitchen were wearing hair nets. In the end I just bought crisps and iced lollies as I didn't dare eat the food prepped onsite.
It could have been an amazing day, and the children certainly loved it (esp 5 year old) but as a parent it was extremely stressful. I'm hands off and very pro-risk, but not being able to see your child in most of the play areas due to vast amounts of wooden cladding (which I realise have been used for theming) and definitely not being able to help should they get stuck is horrible. And for some reason, all the staff spent the morning inside while 30+ children jumped on each other's heads on the sole jumping pillow.
Weird to have running water (for hand washing) at the back part but no toilet facilities at all. There must be more than enough profit from the entry fees to
cover this?
We weren't affected by the ridiculous car park situation, but my friend was. Having spent £40 for herself and 2 children with ADVANCE tickets and have to wait 45 mins + to park due to the 1 in, 1 out policy is silly. If you're at capacity from online pre-booking then stop adding more people. In the short term it might seem worth it, but it's a poor long term plan.
But... food was good and well priced. Children had a lot of fun. If we ever come back it won't be for at least 4 years when our smallest can join in.
First time we had been since it changed to hobbledown. The kids loved the ropes and obstacles out side. The high ropes were closed. I think it's great that you empty the indoor play barn before each session and clean it before the next session starts.
They loved the tunnles and all out door activities. The show in the top tent could of been better. Was like it was just thrown together. A couple of down sides is that when your at the top in the out side play area there is no toilets you have to walk down to the bottom. So with a couple of kids and being on your own and you don't want to leave them your stuck. Also the only place to buy a drink is also down at the bottom. So whilst your watching kids play your have to go back down. And also the queue was really long. 30 minutes to get a drink. Deffinantly need another drink hut or vending machine.
A rip off from start to finish £14 for a child maybe but £15 for a parent, extra to see the meerkats and the food was atrocious!
I visited with my kids on Wed and have the exact same criticisms as Jane singerman. I’m not normally a person that writes reviews but I feel compelled to on this occasion as our visit to Hobbledown - for £44 was so disappointing. My 7 year old has gone as far as to say he had a rubbish time.
You should have reduced entrance fee on the basis that the whole park is waterlogged and attractions closed.
I look forward to hearing your response Hobbledown!
What an amazing day at hobbledown farm our daughter was a zoo keeper for the day we spent most of the day with zoo keeper Myles who was just fantastic as well as two other great keepers. �
Thank you for an amazing day cherry had a fab time an learnt so much for you all.
We will 100% be back.
Well what a fantastic place! Came today for my 2 year olds birthday with the family. This was my first time here and it won’t be my last.
Although the entrance cost is abit expensive it is totally worth it. We spent over 3 hours here and the kids loved it.
There is plenty of outdoor picnic places. But the food in the cafe is lovely and reasonably priced. There was cleaning staff consistently going around clearing rubbish and tables.
The vast amount of different animals is great, and put my knowledge to the test. Luckily they had signs saying what was in each enclosure lol�.
When we arrived about 11 ish there was plenty of parking. On leaving at 2 ish the car park was pretty packed if not full.
Highly recommend this place to families.
We absolutely love Hobbledown. There is so much variety of things to do. Our little boy (nearly 3) has discovered so many new animals and seems to love the bunnies. The soft play is by far the best around and my husband even loved the high ropes course! Well worth every penny spent for an amazing day out
Was a lovely day lovely day. very different to many other farms we have been to. Staff were helpful. Kids loved the play areas and enjoyed being able to get so cloat to the animals. Best bit for everyone was seeing a the Wallaby with its baby. Nice and clean around the park, good hand washing facilities for after petting rhe amimals- super useful for messy toddlers too! Deffo worth the momeymoneyDownside, ut could have done with having the resfeshments kiosks being open further into the park as it was a really hot day.
Took my kids to Hobbledown yesterday and I’ve got to say we had the best day out. There is so much for the kids to do my boys didn’t stop all day long. Definitely worth the drive from Kent to spend the day here, we will definitely be back.
Only thing I will say if the water in the toilets and hand wash stations is too hot for the kids but apart from that it was a brilliant day out 😃
My daughter had a zoo keeper day experience on Friday and it was absolutely fantastic. Jamie, Katie, Emma & Gavin provided her with an experience she will never forget. They were kind, knowledgeable and allowed her to get up close and personal with the otters, meerkats, camels, coatis, shetland ponies, guinea pigs, rabbits and all the exotic reptiles. There are various day experiences on the market but this was so varied and it felt intimate, with staff who cared. My youngest daughter has already asked if she can do it when she turns 8! As for the rest of the farm, my younger children had a blast in all the indoor & outdoor equipment. The staff in the restaurant were brilliant too, making sure we could have our food together as a family & fit in with the zoo keeper timetable. When the BLT wraps ran out they even had a special one made for my daughter. Overall a magical day and one which will definitely be repeated.
Having never been before myself, I have repeatedly recommended it to anyone and everyone I've spoken to with a young family after my recent day trip there. Took my 8 year old nephew to be a zookeeper for the day as a birthday gift, and in his own words, "it was the best day ever!!!". We all learned a lot from their knowledgeable and friendly team, so it was educational at the same time as being a lot of fun. Special mention to Gavin, Miles and Jamie who were our zookeeper guides - will certainly be back with nephew no. 2 when he's old enough for the same experience so hope to see you all again then! Am sure we'll all be paying a visit to enjoy it in the meantime however.
Great place I haven’t been there since before it was hobbledown that must be nearly ten years
I was blown away !great detail even I enjoyed playing with the wooden ball & metalwork tube
My only negative thing is it’s almost impossible to keep track of your kids when in the play barn and I would have some kind of magnetic entry system ( manned maybe) and cctv on it just in case the absolute worst case scenario- for peace of mind as I lost my boys at least twice .
Brought my kiddos here (9 and 7 yrs old) and they had to practically be dragged home at the end of the day! There was so much to do to hold their attention. They hopped from activity to activity with so much enthusiasm. They enjoyed zorbing and the high ropes as well as Hobbledown Village, sand pits, and the indoor play area the most but they were also excited to see animals like camels and wallabies that they don’t see very often. I can’t recommend it enough!
My partner and I took my son for a day out. He had a very enjoyable time there visiting all the animals and playing in the play area tunnels and indoor play barn. The only downside was the food choices. Not all children eat fish fingers and nuggets, nor sausage hot pot. A jacket potato would of been a more preferable choice and healthier too. Our food lacked flavour and next time I will most likely bring a packed lunch. Everything else there was great though.
Had an amazing day with my 3 year old son at Hobbledown yesterday. A fairly local gem that I can’t believe we have never been to! Perhaps it was the weather, super hot and sunny but the only thing I felt was missing here was some sort of wet play area, jets of water the kids could run through or something akin to that. However, we had a top day, can’t recommend it enough!
A great place, interesting and engaging theme, lovely play areas and plenty to keep little ones busy. Thanks for having lockers available to use. But, please, please install more toilets further into the park. People eating at picnic benches or children playing in the mines and in the climbing equipment could easily be caught short.
Also, we were disappointed at the birds of prey show - we were told their show area had recently been moved, so their falcons were flying straight into the bushes and had to be kept on the ground.
This place has the potential to be amazing but it lacks staff to the point where the day out became a headache. It's a very busy but cold day so the indoor area was rammed all day which would be fine but the queue to get food was ridiculous then waiting again for the food to be plated up (which was left to one lad who was going as fast as he could but struggling to keep up). There was food all over the floor and nobody going around clearing up which isn't great when you have to walk around without shoes on to get to the play areas.
It just felt dirty and unhygienic. Perhaps on a warmer day when more people are outside it wouldn't feel as gross.
On a whole it was a good day out and I have been many times before however I was not impressed by the guinea pig and rabbit walk through as nobody was in there to supervise. There were children climbing over the fences to get to the animals, chasing them and generally not respecting the animals space. If you are going to have something like this then you need to have someone sit in with the animals. What I saw today was quite a few distressed animals running away from awful children trying to grab them. One child even trod on the back leg of a rabbit. My daughter is 3 years old and even she asked what the children were doing to the animals. I will be returning to Hobbledown and I will make sure that the animals are being treated how they should on my next visit!
My little boy had an amazing time outdoors. My disappointment was with the service at the restaurant. I was in the line waiting to order when I saw one of the servers sneeze twice into his apron before proceeding to hand customers their trays of food. I then noticed that none of the staff in the kitchen were wearing hair nets. In the end I just bought crisps and iced lollies as I didn't dare eat the food prepped onsite.
It could have been an amazing day, and the children certainly loved it (esp 5 year old) but as a parent it was extremely stressful. I'm hands off and very pro-risk, but not being able to see your child in most of the play areas due to vast amounts of wooden cladding (which I realise have been used for theming) and definitely not being able to help should they get stuck is horrible. And for some reason, all the staff spent the morning inside while 30+ children jumped on each other's heads on the sole jumping pillow.
Weird to have running water (for hand washing) at the back part but no toilet facilities at all. There must be more than enough profit from the entry fees to
cover this?
We weren't affected by the ridiculous car park situation, but my friend was. Having spent £40 for herself and 2 children with ADVANCE tickets and have to wait 45 mins + to park due to the 1 in, 1 out policy is silly. If you're at capacity from online pre-booking then stop adding more people. In the short term it might seem worth it, but it's a poor long term plan.
But... food was good and well priced. Children had a lot of fun. If we ever come back it won't be for at least 4 years when our smallest can join in.
First time we had been since it changed to hobbledown. The kids loved the ropes and obstacles out side. The high ropes were closed. I think it's great that you empty the indoor play barn before each session and clean it before the next session starts.
They loved the tunnles and all out door activities. The show in the top tent could of been better. Was like it was just thrown together. A couple of down sides is that when your at the top in the out side play area there is no toilets you have to walk down to the bottom. So with a couple of kids and being on your own and you don't want to leave them your stuck. Also the only place to buy a drink is also down at the bottom. So whilst your watching kids play your have to go back down. And also the queue was really long. 30 minutes to get a drink. Deffinantly need another drink hut or vending machine.
A rip off from start to finish £14 for a child maybe but £15 for a parent, extra to see the meerkats and the food was atrocious!
I visited with my kids on Wed and have the exact same criticisms as Jane singerman. I’m not normally a person that writes reviews but I feel compelled to on this occasion as our visit to Hobbledown - for £44 was so disappointing. My 7 year old has gone as far as to say he had a rubbish time.
You should have reduced entrance fee on the basis that the whole park is waterlogged and attractions closed.
I look forward to hearing your response Hobbledown!
What an amazing day at hobbledown farm our daughter was a zoo keeper for the day we spent most of the day with zoo keeper Myles who was just fantastic as well as two other great keepers. �
Thank you for an amazing day cherry had a fab time an learnt so much for you all.
We will 100% be back.
Well what a fantastic place! Came today for my 2 year olds birthday with the family. This was my first time here and it won’t be my last.
Although the entrance cost is abit expensive it is totally worth it. We spent over 3 hours here and the kids loved it.
There is plenty of outdoor picnic places. But the food in the cafe is lovely and reasonably priced. There was cleaning staff consistently going around clearing rubbish and tables.
The vast amount of different animals is great, and put my knowledge to the test. Luckily they had signs saying what was in each enclosure lol�.
When we arrived about 11 ish there was plenty of parking. On leaving at 2 ish the car park was pretty packed if not full.
Highly recommend this place to families.
We absolutely love Hobbledown. There is so much variety of things to do. Our little boy (nearly 3) has discovered so many new animals and seems to love the bunnies. The soft play is by far the best around and my husband even loved the high ropes course! Well worth every penny spent for an amazing day out
Was a lovely day lovely day. very different to many other farms we have been to. Staff were helpful. Kids loved the play areas and enjoyed being able to get so cloat to the animals. Best bit for everyone was seeing a the Wallaby with its baby. Nice and clean around the park, good hand washing facilities for after petting rhe amimals- super useful for messy toddlers too! Deffo worth the momeymoneyDownside, ut could have done with having the resfeshments kiosks being open further into the park as it was a really hot day.
Took my kids to Hobbledown yesterday and I’ve got to say we had the best day out. There is so much for the kids to do my boys didn’t stop all day long. Definitely worth the drive from Kent to spend the day here, we will definitely be back.
Only thing I will say if the water in the toilets and hand wash stations is too hot for the kids but apart from that it was a brilliant day out 😃
My daughter had a zoo keeper day experience on Friday and it was absolutely fantastic. Jamie, Katie, Emma & Gavin provided her with an experience she will never forget. They were kind, knowledgeable and allowed her to get up close and personal with the otters, meerkats, camels, coatis, shetland ponies, guinea pigs, rabbits and all the exotic reptiles. There are various day experiences on the market but this was so varied and it felt intimate, with staff who cared. My youngest daughter has already asked if she can do it when she turns 8! As for the rest of the farm, my younger children had a blast in all the indoor & outdoor equipment. The staff in the restaurant were brilliant too, making sure we could have our food together as a family & fit in with the zoo keeper timetable. When the BLT wraps ran out they even had a special one made for my daughter. Overall a magical day and one which will definitely be repeated.
Having never been before myself, I have repeatedly recommended it to anyone and everyone I've spoken to with a young family after my recent day trip there. Took my 8 year old nephew to be a zookeeper for the day as a birthday gift, and in his own words, "it was the best day ever!!!". We all learned a lot from their knowledgeable and friendly team, so it was educational at the same time as being a lot of fun. Special mention to Gavin, Miles and Jamie who were our zookeeper guides - will certainly be back with nephew no. 2 when he's old enough for the same experience so hope to see you all again then! Am sure we'll all be paying a visit to enjoy it in the meantime however.
Great place I haven’t been there since before it was hobbledown that must be nearly ten years
I was blown away !great detail even I enjoyed playing with the wooden ball & metalwork tube
My only negative thing is it’s almost impossible to keep track of your kids when in the play barn and I would have some kind of magnetic entry system ( manned maybe) and cctv on it just in case the absolute worst case scenario- for peace of mind as I lost my boys at least twice .
Brought my kiddos here (9 and 7 yrs old) and they had to practically be dragged home at the end of the day! There was so much to do to hold their attention. They hopped from activity to activity with so much enthusiasm. They enjoyed zorbing and the high ropes as well as Hobbledown Village, sand pits, and the indoor play area the most but they were also excited to see animals like camels and wallabies that they don’t see very often. I can’t recommend it enough!
My partner and I took my son for a day out. He had a very enjoyable time there visiting all the animals and playing in the play area tunnels and indoor play barn. The only downside was the food choices. Not all children eat fish fingers and nuggets, nor sausage hot pot. A jacket potato would of been a more preferable choice and healthier too. Our food lacked flavour and next time I will most likely bring a packed lunch. Everything else there was great though.
Had an amazing day with my 3 year old son at Hobbledown yesterday. A fairly local gem that I can’t believe we have never been to! Perhaps it was the weather, super hot and sunny but the only thing I felt was missing here was some sort of wet play area, jets of water the kids could run through or something akin to that. However, we had a top day, can’t recommend it enough!
A great place, interesting and engaging theme, lovely play areas and plenty to keep little ones busy. Thanks for having lockers available to use. But, please, please install more toilets further into the park. People eating at picnic benches or children playing in the mines and in the climbing equipment could easily be caught short.
Also, we were disappointed at the birds of prey show - we were told their show area had recently been moved, so their falcons were flying straight into the bushes and had to be kept on the ground.
This place has the potential to be amazing but it lacks staff to the point where the day out became a headache. It's a very busy but cold day so the indoor area was rammed all day which would be fine but the queue to get food was ridiculous then waiting again for the food to be plated up (which was left to one lad who was going as fast as he could but struggling to keep up). There was food all over the floor and nobody going around clearing up which isn't great when you have to walk around without shoes on to get to the play areas.
It just felt dirty and unhygienic. Perhaps on a warmer day when more people are outside it wouldn't feel as gross.
On a whole it was a good day out and I have been many times before however I was not impressed by the guinea pig and rabbit walk through as nobody was in there to supervise. There were children climbing over the fences to get to the animals, chasing them and generally not respecting the animals space. If you are going to have something like this then you need to have someone sit in with the animals. What I saw today was quite a few distressed animals running away from awful children trying to grab them. One child even trod on the back leg of a rabbit. My daughter is 3 years old and even she asked what the children were doing to the animals. I will be returning to Hobbledown and I will make sure that the animals are being treated how they should on my next visit!
My little boy had an amazing time outdoors. My disappointment was with the service at the restaurant. I was in the line waiting to order when I saw one of the servers sneeze twice into his apron before proceeding to hand customers their trays of food. I then noticed that none of the staff in the kitchen were wearing hair nets. In the end I just bought crisps and iced lollies as I didn't dare eat the food prepped onsite.
It could have been an amazing day, and the children certainly loved it (esp 5 year old) but as a parent it was extremely stressful. I'm hands off and very pro-risk, but not being able to see your child in most of the play areas due to vast amounts of wooden cladding (which I realise have been used for theming) and definitely not being able to help should they get stuck is horrible. And for some reason, all the staff spent the morning inside while 30+ children jumped on each other's heads on the sole jumping pillow.
Weird to have running water (for hand washing) at the back part but no toilet facilities at all. There must be more than enough profit from the entry fees to
cover this?
We weren't affected by the ridiculous car park situation, but my friend was. Having spent £40 for herself and 2 children with ADVANCE tickets and have to wait 45 mins + to park due to the 1 in, 1 out policy is silly. If you're at capacity from online pre-booking then stop adding more people. In the short term it might seem worth it, but it's a poor long term plan.
But... food was good and well priced. Children had a lot of fun. If we ever come back it won't be for at least 4 years when our smallest can join in.
First time we had been since it changed to hobbledown. The kids loved the ropes and obstacles out side. The high ropes were closed. I think it's great that you empty the indoor play barn before each session and clean it before the next session starts.
They loved the tunnles and all out door activities. The show in the top tent could of been better. Was like it was just thrown together. A couple of down sides is that when your at the top in the out side play area there is no toilets you have to walk down to the bottom. So with a couple of kids and being on your own and you don't want to leave them your stuck. Also the only place to buy a drink is also down at the bottom. So whilst your watching kids play your have to go back down. And also the queue was really long. 30 minutes to get a drink. Deffinantly need another drink hut or vending machine.
A rip off from start to finish £14 for a child maybe but £15 for a parent, extra to see the meerkats and the food was atrocious!
I visited with my kids on Wed and have the exact same criticisms as Jane singerman. I’m not normally a person that writes reviews but I feel compelled to on this occasion as our visit to Hobbledown - for £44 was so disappointing. My 7 year old has gone as far as to say he had a rubbish time.
You should have reduced entrance fee on the basis that the whole park is waterlogged and attractions closed.
I look forward to hearing your response Hobbledown!
More about Hobbledown
Tuesday: 10:00 - 19:00
Wednesday: 10:00 - 19:00
Thursday: 10:00 - 19:00
Friday: 10:00 - 19:00
Saturday: 09:00 - 19:00
Sunday: 09:00 - 18:00