5 of the best Days Out for Kids in South East England
Having lived in the South East of England all my life I’ve explored and discovered many local days out, throughout this region, many times over. Here is a summary of my 5 best days out for Kids in the South East of England.
I will cover:
Paultons Park (Peppa Pig World)
Chessington World of Adventures
Legoland Windsor
Bocketts Farm Park
Fishers Farm Park
Prices were correct at time of writing. Please be sure to check the venues website for up to date Covid Procedures.
Paultons Park and Peppa Pig World
Paultons Park has been awarded the UK’s Best Amusement Park on TripAdvisor for the 4th year in a row. And rightly so. It’s AWESOME.
Paulton’s Park is based in the New Forest near the South Coast and is surrounded by loads of other attractions and sights making it well worth a visit for a day, or longer.
As a family we have primarily visited to go to Peppa Pig World (which can take up a whole day with its 9 excellent rides and other play areas). We have been to other parts of the park too which have always proven a hit with our daughters.
There’s over 70 rides and amusements, 140 acres of grounds to explore and numerous eateries. The Park strikes you how clean and well maintained it is, it’s easy to see why it wins awards.
Prices
Prices start at £32.50 for guests over 1m tall and there are various ticket options available for families. Children under 1m go free.
The Park is easily big enough to make a weekend of it and the website offers Short Break deals for Park Entry and a nearby hotel. You then get the second day at the park is then free.
Chessington World of Adventures
A firm favourite with many children in the South East is Chessington World of Adventures. It’s been around forever but has modernised and adapted to keep itself just as interesting and fun for kids these days as it was when I was a child.
Chessington World of Adventures is located in Chessington (no surprises there!) in Surrey, just 35 miles west of central London. There is ample parking (although be prepared to walk a distance to the entrance in the peak times). Chessington World of Adventures is also easily accessible by train, being only 35 minutes from London Waterloo to Chessington South. The Theme Park is then a 10 minute walk from the Station.
Chessington is one of the Merlin Pass attractions, which means Pass holders can go for ‘free’. This means we go often during the months that it is open. The whole park opens fully from mid March to the beginning of October. They do Zoo Days on selected weekends throughout Winter and Halloween and Christmas events in October, November and December. It’s always worth checking their website for more information.
Prices
ONLINE £29.50 ON THE DAY £52
As you can see above it is EXTREMELY beneficial to book online before your visit. When you can it is very worthwhile looking around for buy one get one free offers. These are often available on cereal or chocolate packets in supermarkets etc. It really is very rare that you’d need to pay full price.
Similar to Legoland Windsor below, there is no difference in price for Children or Adults. Children under 3 go free.
What to do at Chessington World of Adventures
The options at Chessington are endless. The primary attraction is the Theme Park, but there is also a Zoo, Sealife Centre and numerous shows each day. There are rides suited to the littlest of guests, including the Gruffalo River Ride and Toadies Crazy Cars. For bigger children there is the Jungle Bus, Zufari and the Vampire and loads more besides.
Chessington gets extremely busy in peak season and they offer a very good range of fast track options. For full details check out my blog linked below.
We have a full blog on a visit to Chessington World of Adventures here. Do check it out for more details.
Legoland Windsor
Legoland Windsor is a huge draw of both local children and tourists as it’s easily accessible from London. This does mean its extremely popular (for good reason) so planning in advance is really worthwhile. Our full review of a day out at Legoland is here, it’s really worth a read for hints and tips on how to get the most out of your day.
Prices
Legoland Windsor is also part of the Merlin Passes, so we go frequently. For those who need to buy tickets the prices are:
Online price from £29 per person
On the day prices from £49 per person
As with Chessington World of Adventures there is no difference in price for Children or Adults. Children under 90cms go free. It’s worth booking in advance – they really punish those who don’t!
What to do at Legoland Windsor
Legoland Windsor, still feels brand new despite opening in 1996. It has something for everyone, the miniature village for example is worth a visit alone! Besides that, there are ample rides for the very littlest children in Duplo Valley. For the big kids (and adults) there are many bigger rides to entertain.
The only thing it doesn’t have are any big scale rollercoasters so if that’s what you’re after in this area of England, I’d suggest you look at Thorpe Park (which is full to the rafters with huge rollercoasters!).
Bocketts Farm Park
Bocketts Farm Park is an award winning Farm Park near Leatherhead in Surrey. Opened since 1992, it is a firm favourite for us and many others.
Bocketts is open year round and is a great place for a day out at any time of year, with more than enough to keep you entertained during your visit.
Prices
| Standard | Off-Peak | Winter Weekday | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult | £11.95 | £11.25 | £7.95 |
| Senior 60 years + | £10.50 | £10.00 | £7.95 |
| Children 3-17 years | £12.95 | £11.95 | £7.95 |
| Children 2 years | £10.95 | £10.25 | £7.95 |
| Children Under 2 years | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Disabled | £9.50 | £8.95 | £7.95 |
What to do at Bocketts Farm Park
The variety of things to do is never-ending, from Goat milking and small animal handling, to Pony Rides and Pig Racing (which is hilarious!)
There is a barn with sheep, goats and llamas who you can feed with animal food purchased at the entrance.
There is a large soft play area (in a heated barn – necessary in winter!) and a huge outdoor play area which is gorgeous in the summer months. One of the nicest things about Bocketts, is the lovely Tea Rooms (which you can actually visit without paying admission to the Farm) and the great range of food it offers.
Bocketts Farm Park never fails to please and my children have loved it every time we’ve been, whatever their ages. Well worth a visit!
Fishers Farm Park
Another award winning farm here, this time Fishers Farm Park in West Sussex.
What to do at Fishers Farm Park
What I like most about Fishers Farm Park is that it’s a bit different to the rest. The mix of things to do is quite eclectic and it has a lovely old fashioned feel to it. Take the barrel bugs for example – who’s seen these anywhere else?!
The options are endless, tractor rides, animals, soft play and jumping pillows to name but a few of the things you can do here. We recently went with children spanning 2 to 11 years old and everyone enjoyed themselves and found something for them.
Prices
On their website they have a calendar explaining the costs on the day you want to visit, please check this to ensure you know what the prices will be. Below is a rough guide:
- LOW £10.75 per person (generally term time weekdays over winter from November to February)
- MID £13.75 per person (generally weekends over winter from November to February and weekdays during the rest of the year)
- HIGH £17.75 per person (generally weekends and UK school holidays)
Under 2 year olds go free and 2 year olds pay slight less that 3yrs and above. You can save £1 per ticket by booking online in advance so I advise you do this.
They do also offer Family, concession and group tickets so check their website here for more details. It’s worth bearing in mind that there are additional costs for the below (in exchange for tokens that you get once there) so take cash for these.
Optional Extras include:
- Pony Rides = £1 or 1 token
- Bumper Boats = 1 token
- Quad Bikes =1 token
- Panning for Gemstones =£1 or 1 token
- Electrical Tractors =1 token.
- Bumper Cars = 1 token
Other things to consider at Fishers Farm
When you arrive at Fishers Farm I’d advise you take a photo of the ‘what’s on today’ board. This shows you what activities will be running at what times during the day. Doing so will ensure you don’t miss out on anything you want to do.
Food options at Fishers Farm Park are plentiful and we’ve had lots of lovely meals in their onsite restaurant. If you are going on a busy day I’d advise pre booking a table for lunch if you want to eat there.
This place is a really good day out and I love it. Lots of fun for all the family!
Conclusions
The above are just a glimpse of the things there are to do in this region of England (we’ve not even mentioned London!). They are most definitely a good starting point for exploring the Region.
For some great South East England days out in Summer 2021 check out this fantastic post from wheretogowithkids.co.uk here.
Thank you for reading our blog on 5 of the best Days Out for Kids in South East England.
If anyone has any further ideas or places for us to visit please let me know!
2 Comments
Join the discussion and tell us your opinion.
We’ve been to all 3 of the theme parks and they are fab. We were at Paultons Park on Monday, Peppa Pig World gets so busy, especially in the mornings, but the rest of the park is quieter and there is so much else for little ones to do including dinosaur rides and a digger ride.
Absolutely love Paultons Park, there’s so much outside of peppa pig world isn’t there! A lovely place ❤️