Family Time at Robin Hoods Wheelgate Theme Park

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If like us you’re always trying to rack your brain for cheaper ideas to entertain your little ones, we have been visiting a great park near us that’s well worth a visit if you’re in the area! 20 minutes’ drive from Nottingham City Centre sits Wheelgate Theme Park perfect for a whole day of fun! We have been taking Mia for the last 7 years and it never gets old! We have been to Peppa Pig World and Alton Towers but apart from that, we come here most school holidays!

Wheelgate

Wheelgate is a theme park and water park situated near Mansfield and Nottingham and across the road from another of our favourite places White Post Farm. It boasts something for everyone and boy they are not wrong! On first entrance Mia was hooked and I must admit we were too! There is so much to see and do there. Under the 95cm’s are free, toddler tickets are £6.99, and children’s tickets are £13.99 which I think is great value for what you get! Adult tickets are £13.99 but can be bought online for a discount and on the day, there is often 20% at the gate.

After the entrance fee there isn’t a lot more to pay for especially if you bring your own picnic (there are plenty of picnic spots dotted all over the park). Little food outlets are in every area of the Park so you can pick up some drinks and snacks as well as the main café serving hot and cold food at reasonable prices. The only things we ever pay extra for are the pony rides, some animal food (as they have a farm), and then Mia wanted to play a fireman arcade game where you squirt water at targets.

Rides

There are various rides around the park including merry-go-round style ones in the 2 indoor buildings (more about them later!), a full size Runaway Train which is for the older ones, a Car Ride which Mia really enjoys and then a full size Carousel which I had to sit with Mia on but she absolutely loved and we go on at least twice each visit! There’s also a miniature train that goes from one end of the Park to the other, with its own little station which Mia really likes.

Miniature Village

Then there are the cute miniature buildings that the children (and adults!) can run in and out of, some even have an upstairs! There’s a shop with a till, a church, a school, stables and houses. Mia loved standing at the Pulpit giving us a sermon and then pretending to play the organ!

Play Area’s

Moving further into the Park, there are at least 3 separate play areas; a couple for the little ones and a bigger one which Mia had a good go at but then got a bit stuck on a twirly-whirly slide!  There’s also a big sand pit area with buckets and spades ready for some good old-fashioned sand castle making! The sand pit is surrounded by little tractors and push along toys. There is an outdoor maze and some trampolines, so they literally have everything covered!

Water Park

As well as all of this, there is a water park which is huge! It has lots of water slides, a bit of a pool and plenty of sun loungers for the adults so is great when it’s hot and sunny!

Farm

Then there is the little farm area where there are goats, sheep, alpacas and ponies. There are 3 out-buildings that house pigs, baby alpacas, bunnies, chicks, chinchillas, ferrets, and lots of tropical animals like land snails, iguanas, monitor lizards, snakes, and many more! All of the animals look really well, and each area is well maintained and clean. There is an owl area where you can get close to some beautiful birds and the keepers come around quite often with the owls and birds so you can get really close to them!

Soft Play

If the weather isn’t great, there are 2 indoor buildings full of things to do. An alien themed Galaxy Zone with soft play for little ones, rides for older ones and a Martians Mirror Maze which I made the mistake of taking Mia into and she screamed the place down! #mummymistake.

The 2^nd one is a Pharaoh’s Zone which has a massive bouncy castle inside, a soft play for younger ones and a huge 4 storey soft play centre for the older ones. Mia loves it in here and it means that even in the rain, you can still have a great day out!

On the way out, there is a Tropical House which has fish and turtles in as well as a large array of tropical plants. This is entered through the Gift Shop, which is completely avoidable which I like, as places like this always get you by having to go through some kind of shop on the way out! So, it’s nice that you can choose at Wheelgate.

The staff are really friendly, and they all seem to have the time to stop and talk to you. It makes the day even more special as you know that they are on hand if you need anything. Everything is really well thought out and you could easily spend all day there. When we went a couple of weeks ago, we were there for 5 hours! I don’t know who was more shattered; me or Mia! Obviously, weekdays are quieter but as the park is so big, even on weekends and the height of the summer, it never feels too busy!

Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol and Titan the Robot make appearances throughout the year and there is always something going on extra to the Park itself. There is so much to do (we still haven’t seen everything!) and we have enjoyed our visits so much that we recently bought the Wheelgate Annual Pass which you can use unlimited times a year! A great family day out!