Dorset Adventure Park and Corfe Castle in Dorset

[caption id="attachment_4483" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Sarah in front of Corfe Castle[/caption]

We recently went on holiday to Dorset (a long blog post is on its way!). Here is one of the days which my son, Robert, who's 14, enjoyed the most and which he would highly recommend. It begins with Corfe Castle.

As regular readers of this blog will know, I am a history buff and love castles. Corfe Castle (a National Trust Property), which is located on the Isle of Purbeck, between Wareham and Swanage, is spectacular! It was built by William the Conquerer and has a long, magnificent history, not least the story of how the Royalists in the castle tried to hold out against the Roundheads during the English Civil War of the 17th century.

Corfe Castle is also the name of the very pretty village in which the castle is located and it's gorgeous to walk around - and to have an ice-cream or cream tea (or both!).

Let Robert tell you more:

Corfe Castle

Corfe Castle, or the ruins of Corfe castle, is a great place to go. Not only is it visually stunning, with great views of the architecture from the bottom of the hill and great views of the surrounding area on top – it is also a historic landmark with lots of boards to read and find out about what happened at the castle.

There are also lots of activities for kids of all ages.

[caption id="attachment_4484" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Robert helps to hold up the ruins![/caption]

Dorset Adventure Park

After our visit to Corfe Castle, we moved onto Dorset Adventure Park, which is only about 5 minutes away. Our hour in the water there felt much longer – it was one of the most fun activities of the holiday and Mum and Dad really enjoyed it as well, even though they were in the water for most of it!

Once kitted in our wetsuits and life jackets we walked to the first lake, called Castle Lake, because you can see Corfe Castle from the water, where we spent half an hour running, jumping and falling off obstacles. There were narrow poles to climb over, large hills to climb, and trampolines and other singular obstacles floating in the water. Everything is inflatable and if you fall off you have to swim to nearest entry point or attempt to climb back on where someone pulls you up by the life jacket. After Mum and Dad fell off multiple times before clearing the first obstacle I ended my fits of laughter and ran off on my own.

The next lake, the Woodland Lake, was even better – it had air bags, monkey bars and bigger slides, to name a few. There was also a tightrope with ropes to cling onto hovering above the water which I attempted many times but could not clear the third. At least I attempted it though, unlike my Mum and Dad!

[caption id="attachment_4485" align="alignnone" width="1200"] You can just see the Castle Lake and inflatables in this picture - in front of Corfe Castle[/caption]

There were about 10-15 obstacles or so in each lake and it never got boring.

If going with someone other than your parents you could race around the track or if you are really courageous you could hold battles where you try to push off your opponents.

The Adventure park was great to visit although it only takes up about two hours of your day. Corfe Castle was just a few minutes away so you could create a nice day out visiting the two.

We don't have any great pics of the water park because we had to put away our clothes and phone/camera!

[caption id="attachment_4486" align="alignnone" width="1200"] The castle ruins are really spectacular[/caption]

Need to know:

Corfe Castle is a National Trust property, and so free for National Trust members. Otherwise it has different costs for peak and off-peak times. The summer is peak time and it costs £10 for adults, £5 for children or £25 for a family ticket.

There are loads of activities over the summer for families, so do check out their website.

Dorset Adventure Park is open every day in the school holiday and costs £15 a person. You can also hire wetsuits and shoes, or bring your own.

Disclosure: We received free entry into Dorset Adventure Park in order to write about it. However, all the opinions in this blog post are our own and no one else had any input into them.

For more about Dorset, see the Visit Dorset website

Don't miss our post on what to do in Dorset - also written by Robert!

Read more:

A great day out at Thorpe Park (by Robert)

Cakes, a castle and cathedral, what to do in Lincoln

A visit to majestic Casa Loma, in Toronto

More fun in Dorset, this time with two children, and in the seaside town of Poole! (April 2006)

What  could be better than throwing back the curtains and looking directly onto a gloriously sandy beach?

For my four-year-old daughter, the simple answer (when you discount ice cream, chocolate and strawberry yoghurt) is nothing. For her, Poole was the perfect holiday destination. And for us too.

Widely regarded as Britain's answer to the Cote D'Azur, Poole really is beautiful, with stunning beaches and lots to see and do. We were even blessed with sun for the five days we were away - you really can't beat that.

Although less well-known than its neighbour Bournemouth (about 20 minutes away by car), Poole has become highly fashionable in recent summers. There's a newly refurbished quay plus a variety of restaurants and shops, as well as the aforementioned beaches -particularly Sandbanks, proud owner of a Blue Flag.

Parts of Poole are very exclusive and it's fun to look at the beautiful houses, some owned by Premiership footballers, and to imagine living in one.

When you come back to reality, you can take a trip to one of the many attractions on offer, from the beautiful gardens of Compton Acres to the animals on show at Falmer Palmer's farm - particularly good for young children.



We also went on a trip to Brownsea Island which was extremely pretty and had stunning views. The ride took around 15 minutes and we were welcomed by some glorious peacocks.

The history of the island is fascinating, but there isn't much for children to do. It may also be wise to take a picnic - the restaurant is charming, but small - and to inform children in advance that the red squirrels aren't that easy to spot. We didn't see any and were most disappointed.

When it came to where to stay, our holiday really was one of two halves. We started off in a caravan at Rockley Park, which overlooks Poole harbour with views to Brownsea island. It has direct access to its own small Blue Flag award-winning beach and is just two minutes' drive from the centre of Poole.

We are not experienced caravanners, which is probably why the size of the caravans at Rockley Park didn't help us feel relaxed. It all felt a little bit like a cabin on a ship and we were always squeezing past each other.

That's not to say Rockley Park wasn't plenty of fun. My daughter loved the novelty of the caravan and it was nice to be able to relax in the pleasantly-sized living room in the evening. There is also food and plenty of entertainment on tap.

While Rockley Park boasts a family-friendly policy with good facilities for small children - high chairs and bottle warming are readily available in food outlets and there are buggy friendly ramps into public areas - it was a bit tricky managing a baby in the caravan. There was nowhere to bath our 11-month-old son as it only had a small shower.

Rockley Park must be great fun for older children. The entertainment available includes pantomimes and talent shows, as well as swimming lessons, tennis and football coaching, and even aqua jet racing. There are also indoor and outdoor swimming pools, crazy golf, an arcade and an all-weather bowling green.

The site is well set up for families with its own supermarket and restaurant.

Its benefits were pretty much lost on our baby, but our daughter did enjoy the small soft play area near the restaurant and simply being surrounded by other children.

After two nights at Rockley Park, we moved to the Sandbanks Hotel, far more expensive but more enjoyable. I didn't even mind all four of us sleeping in the same bedroom!

The Sandbanks is situated on the beach and is a truly lovely hotel. It has direct beach access, great facilities - including an indoor ball pond and outside pirate ship, see-saw and climbing frame - and genuinely friendly staff.

In fact, the staff were so helpful that after I mentioned to there was no fridge in which to store our baby's medicine, one quickly arrived in the room.

The staff who worked with the children were also brilliant. My daughter was thrilled to get her face painted and she loved playing, drawing and painting in the Activity Shack downstairs. The entertainers worked well into the evenings, allowing parents to relax and eat their supper knowing their little ones were being well looked after.

Our children were asleep, although I have to say I was a bit worried about the baby listening service offered. It is entirely reliant on the parent checking the room via a hotel phone. We have stayed in hotels in which the phone is patched through to reception, where someone listens in every 15 minutes or so to check that everything is OK.

The food, incidentally, was great. The breakfasts were delicious (my daughter couldn't get over the array of delights on offer) and I was also very happy with the effort put into the children's meals. Each evening my daughter had a freshly cooked supper in the children's restaurant, while we enjoyed two dinners in the main restaurant and one in the brasserie, which boasts an AA rosette.

This holiday was a welcome break and Poole a gracious host. It offers families a great holiday, whatever their budget.

We visited Poole in 2006 and wrote about this for the Press Association (which syndicated the article to regional and local papers).

More fun in Dorset, this time with two children, and in the seaside town of Poole! (April 2006)

What  could be better than throwing back the curtains and looking directly onto a gloriously sandy beach?

For my four-year-old daughter, the simple answer (when you discount ice cream, chocolate and strawberry yoghurt) is nothing. For her, Poole was the perfect holiday destination. And for us too.

Widely regarded as Britain's answer to the Cote D'Azur, Poole really is beautiful, with stunning beaches and lots to see and do. We were even blessed with sun for the five days we were away - you really can't beat that.

Although less well-known than its neighbour Bournemouth (about 20 minutes away by car), Poole has become highly fashionable in recent summers. There's a newly refurbished quay plus a variety of restaurants and shops, as well as the aforementioned beaches -particularly Sandbanks, proud owner of a Blue Flag.

Parts of Poole are very exclusive and it's fun to look at the beautiful houses, some owned by Premiership footballers, and to imagine living in one.

When you come back to reality, you can take a trip to one of the many attractions on offer, from the beautiful gardens of Compton Acres to the animals on show at Falmer Palmer's farm - particularly good for young children.

Read more »