I’ve mentioned a couple of times previously that we rarely plan days out as we never know when hubby’s day off will be, so any time we get the chance to do something fun, I’m very eager. We were recently invited to Stockeld Park for the VIP preview of their Summer Adventure opening, and I couldn’t wait to take my boys! After watching the preview video on their website, I was so excited.

Stockeld Park is located on the A661 between Harrogate & Leeds, near Wetherby. (In fact, we drove through Wetherby, which also looks like a lovely little place to visit). It is owned by Peter & Susie Grant, who live there with their five children. Life never stands still as they are always working to ensure that the park continues to provide fun for everyone.

There is so much to explore & do at Stockeld Park, so much so that we didn’t manage to explore everything when we were there. Woodland with the Enchanted Forest containing sculptures and themed adventure playground areas; lots of green field space to run around; go-karts; a giant inflatable pillow; a giant inflatable slide; an outdoor roller rink; a maze; an electric scooter trail; and an indoor area for rainy days.

We were greeted with a drinks reception and a goody bag (with a BBQ dinner to follow), which led onto the huge green area. It was green & lush considering the hot, sunny weather we have had recently. There is a marquee with extra seating which houses an ice cream parlour, and plenty of space to put a picnic blanket down or benches to sit at & eat.

Noah wanted feeding pretty much as soon as we got there but as soon as Jacob saw the open space in front of him, he wanted to be off. One of the first things he spotted was the huge inflatable slide, which he dragged Daddy on numerous times! I watched from a distance and thought it looked so much fun – I wasn’t sure when J dragged me on! For the unfit among us, it takes some climbing up, and then it’s so high once you get up there and fast to go down, but if I were a kid again I would have found it amazing!

After we’d had dinner, N was asleep, so I strapped him to me in the carrier, and the big & little man discovered the giant inflatable pillow. I have been on one of these before and wanted to go on this one but obviously couldn’t, but it was so funny watching the other two on there! They must have spent 20-30 minutes there just bouncing and having fun. 

J went to explore some more and headed towards the go-karts which were just a bit too big for him, so Daddy took him on one (I think Daddy was secretly excited at this). The track is quite small, but as it turns out, J wasn’t so keen and tried jumping off halfway around, so Daddy had to cuddle him to keep him on until he’d pedalled all the way around! Next to all of the above was the little ‘wooden park’ with a few different tractor climbing frames & slides which J spent a while on (Mummy & N even had a sit on one).

As we arrived a little late, these were the only things we managed to do as we couldn’t drag J away from the inflatables, though I wanted to go and explore the Enchanted Forest as I think J would have loved it; from the images, on the website, you can see that there are toadstool houses which I was going to tell J that it was a certain fairy village! I think he would have also absolutely loved the play areas in there.

We popped inside on the way out to nip into the toilet and discovered the activities to do inside. There is another (smaller) inflatable pillow, so you don’t have to miss out if it’s raining, a huge bouncy castle, retro games, a giant lego, and a playhouse. All of this is located next door to the large Woodland Cafe, and though I didn’t go directly inside, I had a peek at the gift shop, which looks quite substantial, too. (Though I didn’t notice the prices of food or gifts).

The signage around the park is fantastic; as well as signposting all of the things to do, it’s a fairy tale, which all adds to the magic & adventure for the children.

Would we go back?

Yes, without a doubt! We had already discussed this before we left as we would love to explore everything the park offers, and I think we could make a full day out of it – the park is open from 10 am to 6 pm (8 pm on Saturdays). The park entry cost is £12 for adults and children alike. Under 2’s are free so any age over that is this price. A family ticket (based on 2 adults & 2 children, or 1 adult & 3 children) costs £42. I think this is reasonably priced for the amount of activities & exploration for everyone.

Disclosure
We were invited to attend this event as VIP but all thoughts & opinions are honest & our own.