Tuesday 20 October 2015

A Day out with Kids on the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight, Blackgang Chine, Dinosaur Isle, Travelling with toddlers
We managed to fit in a couple of day trips on our recent trip to the Isle of Wight with Park Resorts and both the places we chose were just perfect for young families like ours.  Finding somewhere suitable for a baby, entertaning for a 2 and 4 year old and enjoyable for adults isn't always easy, but we did some research (spoke to my cousin) and found the perfect destinations.

Blackgang Chine is a fun park on the south coast of the Isle of wight and with so many different sections there was something for a budding pirate or little princess.  Our first stop was 'restricted area 5', which is full of huge model dinosaurs and rather amusing signs.  It took Dylan a while to warm up as the dinosaurs were prone to kicking up their tails and roaring but as soon as the boys found the models designated for climbing on them they were in their element.

blackgang chine, climbing dinosaurs


blackgang chine, dinosaurs to climb on, Little Bird

There were a few rides in the park including a mini rollercoaster right on the clifftop which had fantastic views - Archie was not impressed that he wasn't big enough to ride it (you must be over 1m).  Both boys did manage a couple of  goes on the teacups though.

Blackgang Chine, talking gnomes


brothers with ice cream, blackgang chine

The playpark had to be our favourite part of Blackgang Chine, with two giant ships for the children to explore and guns facing the other ship that shoot water.  There was a huge climbing area full of tunnels, rope bridges and wooden obstacles and plenty of other parts to explore.  It was hard to take a photo that explained the size and possibility of the area but the boys could have literally spent all day there.  When buying a ticket for entrance it does come automatically as a week long pass so if we had more time we would have popped in every afternoon for a play.

blackgang chine, play park, pirate play park,


Cowboy town was another big favourite, with so much for a curious toddler or school child to explore.  Centered around a giant horse and carriage (that of course could be climbed on), the town had several buildings to explore and a cafe too where you could sit for a drink and let the children run around within sight.

Every building had different things to do, from a sandpit and climb on train to two layers of fake saloon where you can put your feet up like a real cowboy.  The boys couldn't believe that they could explore everything here but there was nothing that couldn't be climbed on, ran around and no limits on the amount of noise they could make.

blackgang chine, cowboy town,


blackgang chine, little bird, maxomorra beavers

There were plenty of areas we didn't have time to visit, despite the fact we planned a whole day there.  Fairy land, fantasy land and valley of the dodos are all on our list should we find time to return.  The park was perfectly suited for both Dylan and Archie as well as older children, and it was all buggy/wheelchair friendly too.  It was a great day out and I would highly recommend it when visiting the Isle of Wight with children.



During our trip we also took in Dinosaur Isle.  Real bones have been dug up on the isle of wight and Dinosaur Isle is a fantastic building full of artefacts and information.  There was plenty for children, with bones they can 'discover', lots to touch and a room upstairs with space to draw, colour, craft, dress up and play with dinosaur soft toys.  

Along with their cousin they loved using the paintbrushes to find bones buried in the sand like real paleontologists and putting their head between the model dinosaur jaws.

Next to the building was a huge park where we spent the rest of the afternoon which had something for every age.  The park was split into a younger kids section, older kids and an outdoor gym with everything you could possibly want from a playground.

smafolk, scandinavian kidswear, Smafolk knights, smafolk apples



It was hard narrowing it down to just two choices for our days out but I definitely feel like we chose the right places to visit.

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