Half term madness is usually something we avoid. But with a chance day off, good weather and our nephews visiting Yorkshire, we decided to have a family day out.
We weighed up a few options and decided to go to Lightwater Valley because we thought it would be good for all five children (aged 3, 5, 7, 10 and 12.), with nine years between the oldest and youngest it’s hard to find something they would all enjoy.
I expected enormous queues everywhere given the good weather and half term, so I pre-booked tickets. I was pleasantly surprise on arrival though, the entrance queue was big but seemed to keep moving. Having pre-booked we were able to skip right past and collect our tickets.
We stopped only briefly near the entrance for a couples of rides and then decided to head into the park via the miniature train to get our bearings. The rides are split into three main types, those for adults (over 1.3m tall), those for smaller children and families and then those for the very small. We started by trying some things everyone could go on like the water rides and then split into two groups. The older kids were keen to go on the really scary rollercoasters and rides. Those rides attracted the biggest queues but even the worst queue wasn’t too bad (less than half an hour).
The biggest ride at Lightwater Valley is the Ultimate which they claim is the longest rollercoaster in Europe and was definitely the favourite for the older group. Everyone enjoyed the Falls of Terror. After climbing up about 10 flights of stairs you are launched down a water slide in a dinghy, sounds fun doesn’t it? No I didn’t think so either but it turned out to be really good.
As well as the more usual theme park rides, Lightwater Valley also has some more traditional fairground style rides like a ferris wheel and dodgems which we saved until the end as we could all have a go on them together.
The park is much bigger than you first think but it’s easy to get walk around or there’s the little train. There are plenty of green spaces where you can stop for a rest and lots of picnic tables and benches too. Lightwater Valley also includes a shopping arcade and a Bird of Prey Centre, but we ran out of time to do anything more than the rides.
On the downside, I thought, the food was expensive (£5.99 for a meal deal) and the range isn’t great, but drinks and ice-creams weren’t too bad. Luckily we had decided to take a picnic. In places, the park feels a bit tired and dated but the most annoying thing was the piped music which was broadcast all over. The kids however, noticed none of these niggles and had a brilliant day out.
We will definitely be going back. Having pre-booked we paid less that the gate price, at £15 per head we got a full 6 hours of entertainment which I think is really good value for money. I’m especially impressed that it managed to catered for such a big range of ages.
I asked the kids at the end of the day what they thought and my favourites were from my nephew, Christopher who described the day as ‘Awesometastic’ and my little boy Dominic who asked if we could have some of these rides in our park. Says it all.
Lightwater Valley is most suitable for children aged 3 years and over but if you’re going with a younger child (from sitting up unaided) there are a few rides you can take them on so they’ll be able to join in too.