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When the sun was shining (for that brief time in June) we met my brother and his younger children at Tatton Park whilst our elder children were at school. I’d be meaning to go ever since they opened the activities in April but it was really after I saw Hayley’s post on Roald Dhal at Tatton Park that I knew I had to make the time to go.
We’d actually only just visited Tatton Park the week before for the Geronimo Festival but it is close to us and was a great place to meet my brother.
Tatton Park is, along with other locations across the country, marking 100 years since the birth of Roald Dahl with events throughout the year focused on Roald Dahl’s Tremendous Adventures. From Easter to the end of September you can join JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, DANNY THE CHAMPION OF THE WORLD and THE TWITS in the Gardens, FANTASTIC MR FOX at the Farm, MATILDA in the Mansion….and out in the Parkland THE ENORMOUS CROCODILE is lurking. Since we visited they have also had a new installation – How to Spot a Witch!
We arrived just after 10 when it opens and made our way to the Adventure Playground right next to the car park. As we only had until 2pm we needed to choose our tremendous adventures carefully, and so we plumped for James & The Giant Peach and Danny the Champion of the World. We did think about Fantastic Mr Fox at the Farm but you have to pay extra for this even if you are National Trust Members so we didn’t do this.
If you are a National Trust member you get free entrance into the house and the gardens and half price entry into the farm. Otherwise a family ticket for all three attractions cost £27.00 Everybody has to pay the parking fee of £6 whether you are a National Trust member or not.
After wrenching the kids away from the HUGE adventure playground we followed our map of exciting adventures and made our way into the Courtyard of the Stables and found our first Roald Dahl installation – an enormous BFG!
Top Tip: You can use the adventure playground even if you aren’t an NT member just by paying to park the car for £6.
All the kids thought it was very amusing to poke their heads through the pictures and pretend to be witches!
So so far we could have done everything without being NT members or paying to get in the grounds. Our favourite part of the day however was within the gardens at Tatton Park, we didn’t make it into the house this time. In the gardens there is a Giant Peach, Danny the Champion of the World obstacle course (amazing) and a scene from The Twits.
We discovered the Giant Peach firstly and lots of telescopes around it arranged with pictures in so you could find something new in every telescope. I’m not sure any of ours actually spent much time looking in the telescopes but they did love running round and round the square garden, and climbing in and out, and then into the Giant Peach time and time again.
On from the Giant Peach was an area near the Tower where The Twits were supposed to live. We found this area a little confusing and I think some things were missing, but nevertheless the sun was shining and the kids enjoyed hauling themselves up onto different sized chairs, even if the clean freak in me couldn’t let them try on beards that what hanging up on a line.
But it was Danny The Champion of the World obstacle trail that made the day for me. It was so so much fun for all of them (and us). It starts, as the book does, with the garage, the car and the caravan. It was like a blast from the past for me and I immediately came home and read the first few chapters to the girls.
but then you move a little deeper into the woods and climb on old tyres, jump over logs and generally have great fun! Just have a look at the photos and I bet you want to go!
Ending with being Danny himself!
We had a really really fun day out and will definitely be going back to see Fantastic Mr Fox at the farm and Matilda in the House. Keep an eye out for Part 2 of the review!
NB: We are National Trust Members already so did not pay on the day for entry.
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Thanks for the mention Karen. The Danny trail is amazing isn’t it?! I knew your girls would love it, we are going back this summer to do it again!
This looks amazing – i’m really looking forward to reading Roald Dahl to my daughter when she’s a bit older but I think she’d have fun even without knowing the stories. I must see what there is on to celebrate near us.