On Friday we were back at one of our favourite family attractions Pensthorpe Nature Park – Norfolk. Pensthorpe is located near Fakenham in North Norfolk. We haven’t been since before the second lockdown and it felt great to be back. The Pensthorpe Conservation Trust aims to inspire every generation to enjoy and protect nature. Families, couples, educational groups, photographers, garden lovers or even solo explorers will find hours of enjoyment at the reserve.
What’s it like?
Pensthorpe Nature Park – Norfolk is Home to hundreds of birds, wildlife and glorious gardens not to mention, awesome adventure play. For me Pensthorpe is the Theme park alternative. All the fun, games and magic moments without the queueing, noisy rides and overpriced crap food. Instead, children are transported into a haven of wildlife and adventure as they take on trails, woodland activities and the most spectacular adventure play area with running stream.
Half Term
During Spring half term. May 29th– June 6th Pensthorpe Nature Park will be running the ‘Bee wild’ trail, which is all about bees. It will feature a bee trail (boards) across the park. You will also receive an activity booklet on arrival which will correspond to the trail boards where you can find the answers. There will also be a reward at the end for completing your trail !
Shopping and Crafts
Pensthorpe Nature Park is also home to a gorgeous Gift shop and Tea room both of which you can visit for Free. On July 4th– Pensthorpe have their Summer Market which will feature around 65 small and independent brands. The market is free to entry and held in our the car park area. Visitors can then go into the park if they choose to where there will be a number of activities on during the day from guided tours, children’s trails and other activities.
Colin the Crane
One of the highlights of our day was visiting the Flamingos and Cranes. There should be some new Flamingo babies or Flaminglets as they are called arriving soon. The Crane hide is home to a very friendly Crane we named Colin. We could of sat for hours watching him, he was such a character. We had a sneaky look at the new den building natural play area, which is a new addition for this spring and offers some stunning views over the Monet bridge and Millennium garden, a great place for children to get creative and build dens.
Indoor Play
Hootz house (indoor play) re-opens on May 17th and the main restaurant also opens on May 17th, Opening times are Wednesdays-Sundays between 10am-4.30pm, closed Monday and Tuesdays except for all bank holidays and half term holidays where we are open 7 days. You can also get married here as we have a licence and stunning garden room (Andy still hasn’t asked me) and you can also rent them out for occasions/conferences etc.
Season Tickets
If you live local you should definitely invest in the season ticket. An annual season ticket pass valid for 12 months is just £50 for adults, children £45 and senior citizens £45. Blue light card holders get 20% discount all year round. Its great value for money and Pensthorpe adventure park have lots of events on through the year and are always updating the facilities and activities on offer. For more information and tickets head to their website here or to read other reviews why not check out Wiki Places for kids awesome App.
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*Disclaimer; We were gifted tickets for the purpose of the review but as always my thoughts are my own.