Lightwater Valley Trip With A Toddler – Blog & Vlog

I was slightly delayed in posting this, mainly because we went on the trip the last week of the holidays and then the week after I was away for a week and just not long got back. You can watch the vlog on what we got up to whilst at Lightwater Valley above.

I went there with my mum and little guy as a kind of ‘girl’s day out’ but of course with Reid and we only decided to go there literally late the night before. Up until that point we were thinking of going to South Lakes Safari Zoo, but after doing a bit of research and reading a rather shocking article we decided to change our plans. Lightwater Valley was only an hour or so from me so not too far away but also somewhere that we didn’t get to visit normally and we had never been with Reid before. I hadn’t been in years and years so couldn’t remember what was there. I was quite interested to see what they had there for toddlers as in my head it was more for older children.

When we got there we quickly realised that actually there was just as much for Reid’s age as there was for older kids and adults. We weren’t constantly looking for things to do as everywhere we went there was always a good few things he could go on or do. In fact, I don’t think we managed to do everything with him, we didn’t even get as far as the farm! We also didn’t really go on or do anything twice and we never stopped! I was extremely impressed with what they offered for younger children and I had one of the best days ever with Reid. He was smiling the entire day too!!

My mum and I were really impressed with how clean everything looked for an outdoor theme park that had been around for years. Taking that all in to account it actually was pretty clean and didn’t look like it was on it’s way out, like some fairgrounds and theme parks can look. It actually had a really nice atmosphere and everything was really cute and friendly looking. It didn’t just look like a large piece of land with loads of rides stuck on there. It was like a village. You could even get a train around the site and stop off at various locations. And there was a lake with the swan pedallos which were adorable.

The weather was really mixed and we went from sweltering heat to pouring down with rain. We managed to stay fairly dry all day (apart from when we went on the water rapids) and went in indoor areas when it rained. A lot of stuff was outdoors but you still had plenty of areas to go inside and do things. So even if it did rain all day you still had things to do. You could also of course hop on the train to different locations and you are inside carriages so saves getting wet walking.

There were quite a lot of places to eat with one main area to grab food in the centre of everything. This place was like a fast food place serving burgers, chips and chicken nuggets etc. We decided to eat here and the food was good however I do wish they did some healthier options here so there are more options for people dining together. There were some nice cafes offering healthier options and things like sandwiches and paninis but they were nearer the start so a bit of a trek if you wanted to grab food quick further along. There were also hot dog stands around and stands that sold things like ice cream and sweets and snacks.

Everything there was pretty much included which was brill as it’s annoying when you pay money to go somewhere and still end up having to pay for a lot when actually inside. We did pay for him to hold an owl which I think was £3 but you could hold him for quite a while and talk about the bird and ask questions so it wasn’t a one in one out kind of experience. You also had to pay for any photos of you on rides that you wanted but we didn’t bother and jurrasic crazy golf, which we didn’t get chance to play. There were some shops dotted around selling lots of sweets and things which we did spend some money in and near the entrance there was a shopping mall with independent shops occupying the area and you could go for a bit of a shop. From clothes to gifts to garden items and more. We got a few things but didn’t really need anything so headed back out before we spent more money. We did go in the Lightwater Valley gift shops and buy some toys for Reid but there was a sale on so we were pleased to see that items weren’t too overpriced.

We had an amazing day out and after that day I will definitely be returning when I can with Reid. I am not sure if it was because it was the end of the holiday but there weren’t massive queues either. There were some on the bigger rides but the smaller ones had very small queues if any. So this meant we got to do a lot in the time we had there. Plus Reid wasn’t getting too impatient as he only had to wait for a bit on some rides.

Thanks to Lightwater Valley I now know that my son loves rollercoasters (just like his mummy)! He was just tall enough to go on a slightly more grown up rollercoaster which was really fast and went quite high up. He was slightly panicked the first lap the rollercoaster did but the second and third time round he was saying ‘woohoo’. He even asked if he could go on again. My poor mum watched in fear as we went on and I have to admit I was slightly terrified he would scream and cry. But nope, he absolutely loved it and wanted to go on anything that was fast and resembled a rollercoaster.

So if you are like I was and you are wondering whether it is worth a trip with a toddler it definitely is. Obviously rides are based on height most of the time and my little man is quite tall so he managed to go on a few more that some his age probably couldn’t but there was still plenty to do. Even the huge outdoor play area was enough to entertain any toddler for hours. There were diggers in sand, giant bouncy pillows, indoor and outdoor play areas, fairground rides (carousel, swings etc.), farm, train, and that’s not even the rides they can also go on!

Useful info

1. The car park is a little distance from some of the main parts of the theme park. So if you can bring a bag with stuff you will need it saves you having to do the trip back and fourth.
2. There are lockers available to keep things in if you don’t want to carry stuff with you.
3. check online in advance what your child will be okay to go on (height wise) it saves having to check on the boards at each ride and saves disappointment for little ones.
4. Bring some cash for things such as sweets, ice cream, the bird and golf.
5. I would recommend bringing your own food to save on costs as the food there wasn’t too cheap. However it wasn’t too over priced either but if you want to save money bring food with you. There are plenty of places to sit.
6. The train comes approximately every 15 mins, usually on the hour and then every 15 mins after that.
7. Bring rain poncho or clothes for water rapids, you will definitely get a wet bum at the very least.
8. Have a look round the shopping area, there are some lovely little shops in there with some very unique things.
9. Get there nice and early, there really is so so much to do you will want as long as possible there.
10. Check online for discounts on tickets or on the likes of Groupon/Wowcher/Livingsocial as they often put deals on there. Keep an eye out for discounts on cereals and similar too.
    

    LINKS

Lightwater Valley website
Lightwater Valley Facebook