A Grand Day Out: Kent Life

We were at a loss at what we should do with the day when Ben signed up for a Kent Pass which included a free child ticket for Kent Life and so off we toddled. Kent Life describes itself  as a heritage farm park and is marketed as a family day out. 

What I would say is that it is nice, it’s a nice day out. It’s not wet the bed exciting, it will involve queuing for things and it’s mostly outdoors so on the day we went it was cold. BUT that’s kind of what makes it nice, it’s simple. At is core it’s kids and animals and that is nice! It’s reasonably priced and is good for a family day. 

https://www.kentlife.org.uk

Price

We went on an off peak day in the half term, adult tickets were £6.95 and children £5.95, under 3’s go free. A family ticket (2 adults, 2 kids) £21.95.

Money saving

As previously mentioned, we used to Kent Pass for free child entry. Initially the reception did not want to accept the Kent Pass but once we showed it to them there wasn’t an issue, so worth doing to save £6!

Parking and Accessibility

There is a good amount of parking available however it was busy so be aware you might not be too near. There is a small car park reserved for disabled parking if required which is right by the gate. The website is very helpful when talking about accessibility etc. 

The accessibility of Kent Life varies, it’s a farm after all. Many areas are pathed, however some areas are muddy due to IT BEING A FARM! So be aware that if you have a pushchair you might need to occasionally park it and carry your baby, it may be helpful to bring a baby sling if you have one. 

Toilets, toilets are important to me, sad as it is my bladder is like a peanut! There are a good amount of toilets dotted around, although I still did end up queuing for a baby change. The toilets were reasonably clean (again, you are on a farm so be realistic) and clearly are well maintained. My only complaint was that when I used the toilet by the cafe I had to leave Chloe’s pram up some stairs and it was a bit of a juggle lugging her around with the changing bag, but no real hassle. 

Things to Do

• The obvious one is, see animals. There is a good variety of animals and they are very interactive and engaging which is nice for parents and kids 
• You can buy a bag of animal feed for £1 and the animals were very receptive to being fed!
• Cuddle corner, where kids can stroke and interact with rabbits, guinea pigs, tortoises, chickens and baby chicks! FYI there was a queue for this all day, reason being that the woman who presented this really takes time to engage with the group and ensure every child gets time with the animals. 
• Owl academy and bird displays 
• Outdoor kids play area including a bouncy castle, a smaller play area is also located by the cafe. 
• Indoor kids soft play area (very busy on a cold day!)
• Paint a pot, we didn’t go in here but would be a nice thing to do to extend the day. 
• Train ride around the farm, again you will have to queue for this but it’s a nice addition to the day! The driver was very friendly! 
• Vintage village (it’s very quaint) and nice to look around - would also be good for some instagram photos if you are into that, which clearly I am, however I was knackered and looked it lol so we can save that for our next visit!
• Big top (we saw an animal display), we timed it so we ate our lunch out of the wind then got to see a display with a skunk, a rare type of rat (which was surprisingly cute) and a big ass lizard thing, afterwards the children could come and touch the animals which was lovely. I have a new love of skunks! 

Food

The main place to eat would be Dotty’s cafe which is situated up a small hill, it has a lovely outdoor area as well as space to eat inside. Prices for a kids meal are between £2.50-£4.20, an adults jacket potato is £6 with two fillings, which seems reasonable. Importantly, the coffee was good. 

There are lots of locations for visitors to eat food they have brought along with them. 

Random Other Stuff

Kent life seems like the kind of place where you can go lots of times and have different experiences, finding different things to look at. No doubt that in the good weather kids could spend a big chunk of time in the outdoor play area and really enjoy themselves. However it was bloody cold when we went so Tom didn’t use the playground for long!

A thing that I did notice was that all the staff were very friendly, they interacted really well with the kids and were knowledgeable about the animals. Things like that can really make or break a day! 

Both kids enjoyed the day, although I would say that really Chloe only engaged with the cuddle corner and I think it would be better when she is toddling and can independently interact with the animals rather than from the stroller or in our arms. 

Overall

As I said, Kent Life is a nice day out. If you are looking for some wholesome fun with animals then this may well be the place for you. 

My parting advice would be, WEAR WELLIES! It was very muddy and muggins here didn’t think about that it was a farm and ended up with very muddy uggs! 

A Grand Day Out: Leed Castle

We recently visited Leeds Castle in Maidstone, Kent, but have been regular visitors over the past two year as we are annual pass holders. It’s not too far from where we live and is a good all rounder for a family day out.

https://www.leeds-castle.com

Price

So, not going to pretend its a cheap day out but your ticket is an annual pass  so if you’re local it works out much cheaper because it includes their themed events (Motors by the Moat, Jousting and Christmas Market).
An annual family ticket for 2 adults and up to 4 children is £76 and under 4's go free.
You can add on a freedom pass which allows you to use the land train through the grounds and the boat across the lake but you can pay for this (about £1.50 each) ad hoc if you prefer.
the first annual pass we had we added it on as Tom was obsessed with trains at the time but this year we haven't bothered and at present I can't say I miss it as its making us walk more!

Parking and Accessibility

The thing we all care about: Parking is free. Parking is no issue at Leeds Castle, plenty of spaces are available but can get very busy on themed events in which case you might want to come early.
The majority of the grounds are buggy/wheelchair friendly however to go into the castle you are required to use the buggy park by the castle gift shop (bloody love a gift shop). There is also a maze which I wouldn't consider buggy friendly as it ends via an underground grotto.
There are toilets in the key areas of the castle, although each only has one baby change station so in peak times you may have to wait.

Things to Do

• Walk around the grounds
• Look around the castle
• Mini Golf (Extra cost) - £1.50 for kids £2 for adults. 
• Falconry display
• Falconry bit where the birds live (what is that called??)
• Younger kids play area (0-5)
• Older kids play area (6+)
• Maze/Grotto 
• Dog collar museum (its a bit weird)

Food

Most importantly, there is a Costa around halfway. if you are on a day out with kids you will want caffeine, its always busy for this reason.
They have several other places to get coffee dotted around but only one is Costa, I believe the rest are internal brands.
There is also an actual restaurant which is behind Costa, I've never eaten there but the food looks nice. When I looked at the menu a kids meal was £6.50 and average adults meal was £12, this was the Sunday menu and may vary in the week.
Around the kids area you have a cafe which sells very nice chips (£4)! It is a pricey cafe so be prepared. a kids pizza is £7 and a 14" margarita is £13. They do a good selections of ice cream and coffee so again, can be quite busy.
However, Leeds Castle does have lots of places to have picnics including an area that is covered. We rarely buy food there and more often bring our own (and buy coffee!). If you are going as a rare day out then maybe treat yourself and buy food but really I would suggest bringing a picnic and eating before the falconry show (wouldn't suggest during as you don't want to piss off an Eagle with your ham sandwich).

Random Other Shit

OK, I will say it, Leeds Castle is largely populated by the Boden Brigade. There is a fair amount of middle class dickheads (I once saw a woman complain to the manager that her children went on a slide and got wet - it was autumn and had been raining - it was a full on Karen moment). I don't feel this impacts the day in anyway but seemed prominent enough to mention.
A big pro is there are lots of things that are good for photos. Maybe this is a tad vapid but I like Instagram and appreciate places that I can get a good picture for the 'gram. Leeds Castle has my back and clearly has thought this through.
They also consider how to keep things fresh for regular visitors and update things like using QR Codes across the park for kids to follow. As well as brass rubbings (you may laugh but Tom loves that shit) and the castle has really good sheets with things for kids to find/count. They also have themes at Christmas that are family friendly and absolutely stunning.
Speaking of Christmas, Leeds Castle does a great theme day. We've been to quite a few and the only complaint i would have is that the Christmas market was very busy, but lets be fair, most christmas markets are!

Overall

I really love Leeds Castle, it’s a nice day out no matter the weather. it gets us out and walking and once you are there you don't have to spend money if you don't want to (always a bonus). If you are on the fence then I would say its really worth taking a chance on!

A Grand Day Out : Chatham Dockyards

To celebrate Mr B's birthday he decided to go on a family day trip to Chatham Dockyards. They currently have on an exhibition called "War Games" about children's games through the decades, which is what mainly appealed to Mr B as he had been to the Dockyards before but it was new to me and Tom! The prices are £19/adult, £11.50/child (5-15 yo), family ticket £49.50 (2 adult 2 children or 1 adult 3 children). The tickets are valid for a year for multiple visits. 

We enjoyed the exhibition, it was smaller than I had expected but this stopped Tom losing interest, there were also a few interactive areas such as trying on costumes! 

We did not look around the whole site as we intend to use the yearly pass and visit at different points through the year, there are areas both inside and outside so it has suitable rainy day activities. We enjoyed a tour that was a projected interactive story about how ships were originally made, it was so much more interesting than I had anticipated and Tom seemed to enjoy watching it aswell! Oh and there was randomly a police box on the site, or a TARDIS in my opinion! 

We also looked around a small ship, which was not totally buggy friendly but we managed to see the majority of it and I didn't feel that we missed much. As Toms walking improves I think I would return and he could look at the areas we missed. Tom really enjoyed ringing the ships bell!

Driving around the site there were small steam trains running back and forth and without a doubt this was Tom's favourite thing! The drivers were really friendly and would smile and wave at Tom, which he really loved. The trains gave the site a lively, bustling atmosphere and really added something special to the day!

 

We ate lunch on site, there were several options to eat and we chose The Wagon Stop Canteen as it seemed the most child friendly as it contained a small soft play area! The menu was mainly sandwiches, pies and jacket potatoes all at a reasonable price with a good variety of flavours. I had a minted lamb pie and it was lovely and flavoursome. I would definitely recommend eating here again if we were to eat on site, although on a nice sunny day it would also be good place for a picnic. 

Overall, we had a great family day out and I am already looking forward to retuning and seeing the things we missed, and that's a good sign! The price is good as it will last a year and I know we will make use of that but if I was a tourist I would have to get there very early to make the most of it. I would strongly recommend going to the tour as it really stood out to me. 

On a side note, Chatham Dockyard is just over the road from Chatham Outlet Shopping Centre, and if you are not wanting to eat at Chatham Dockyard restaurants then there are multiple food outlets there, including fast food if you need something cheap and easy. It's also a good place to bargain hunt and we ended up getting a new Next dining set for under £13! Happy days! 

A Grand Day Out : Howletts Animal Park

Apologies in the delay in me posting, the lurgy decended upon our house this weekend so I have not been up for doing much of anything! Now back to your regularly scheduled programming  ...

We decided to go to Howletts Animal Park in Canterbury for Nana's birthday and I thought I'd share the experience in case you fancied it. 

I bought the tickets online prior to going as you get a 10% discount, so adult tickets were £18.85 each and the babies were fee (woohoo). Another benefit of buying the ticket online prior to visiting is that you don't need to queue! There is a separate line for online bookings, you just show your code and off you go! 

There is a big variety of animals in the sanctuary, I would say predominantly monkeys/gorillas but also elephants, bison, tigers, leopards and some more obscure animals too! Tom enjoyed looking at the animals but found it hard to make out some of the smaller and more camouflaged ones so we didn't dwell on them for too long. The best moment for me was Tom saying 'hello' for the first time, and it was to a gorilla! 

All of Howletts is pushchair/wheelchair friendly, I didn't have any problems with mine and it's a big mother! There were also baby change facilities available, they weren't the most luxurious but a means to an end, and they were clean so I can't complain! 

We had lunch on site, visiting a canteen type cafe in which some of us had burger type food and others had jacket potato/pasta type dishes. They were child friendly, providing a decent baby seat. I would consider it unremarkable but not unpleasant. It wasn't an issue as we weren't there for the food! We did stop for an ice cream which was really nice, they had speciality flavours such as haribo or marshmallow, I had the marshmallow and it was lush! And the ice cream was reasonable value for money and a generous portion! 

Overall, we had a really good day out. Tom definitely  enjoyed himself, and it was great that you could get really quite close to some of the animals. It would be great to have more big animals but that would be for Tom's perspective. From mine, I really enjoyed the little monkeys, they were so sweet! A few of the animals had babies and it was adorable to see mamas and babies in nature.

I would definitely recommend a visit if you are in the area, just pre book your tickets! 

A Grand Day Out : Eagle Heights

Mr B is on school holidays this week and so has been in charge of Daddy Daycare. He decided to take Tom on a day trip to our nearest animal sanctuary, which is a bird centre called Eagle Heights. 

Eagle Heights is based in Eynsford, Kent. The entry prices are adults £7.95, children aged 4-14 £4.95 and children under 4 are free (woohoo).

Mr B reported that Eagle Heights is pushchair friendly and has reasonable baby facilities. For lunch Mr B and Nana got two cups of tea and a slice of cake each which came in around £8, and there was a BBQ available as well. 

Tom really enjoyed the day, especially the larger birds as he could get quite close to them. Tom also really liked the meerkats! I think this maybe as he likes cats so maybe he thought they were standy up cats! Mr B liked the bird show, he said the presenter man was quite witty and engaging. 

Eagle Heights has around 100 birds and  a slew of other animals, they used to have more but have recently had a restructure. They do animal shows so you get to see the birds flying at full span which really caught Toms attention.

Mr B reported that it was a good day trip and he would recommend it to others. The only negative that he said was that it opened at 11, we are too used to early starts! Eagle Heights also offer experience days, such as feeding animals for an additional cost.

Have you ever been to Eagle Heights? What was your experience like?