Adventure Valley - Durham

micheline D.

Kids go free at this time of the year. Not everything was open but given the time of year it's understandable. There's still plenty to amuse the family though.
Check out the marshmallows shed, not only is it beautifully decked out but it's great to warm yourself and your marshmallows up.

Pavan K. A.

Good day out for kids.

It costed about £16-£17 for each person and it’s worth as we were able to spend whole day there. Kids really enjoyed each and every activity. Sheep race, foam party, trampoline and rides. We missed the tractor ride and good in the cafe was alright. Ample parking available. Overall it was a good day out.

Anthony G.

good for under 10 year old has large indoor softplay area and multiple outdoor play areas also has hands on animal activities at multiple times of day most activities free once inside kids go free until February half term but less to do in winter

Andrew C.

Love coming here with the family. Today was a really quiet day, going through the school day is completely different compared to when the kids are off. New sections being added, some older sections need some tlc.

Andrew C.

As a family we visited Adventure Valley whilst in the Durham area. Parking was easy, and tickets were booked online before hand so entry was also nice and easy. Once we had gathered our bearings we attempted to plan our day around various different activities that were taking place - this was found by scanning the QR code for activities.

There are both a large inside and outside play areas here, the inside play had a large soft play as well as a shooting area (foam balls) in the wild west area. Outside there were several play areas, to accommodate different ages, as well as a play fort for the kids, and giant inflatable bouncy pillows.

Adventure Valley has a few (not many) rides, the kids went on the train ride and the pony express and the ring on the slope. The downhill ring was a favourite, but my son says he was very exhausted after going up and down a few times. We also went on the tractor ride that took visitors across the fields, down to the river and back again. There was also an outdoor go kart track which the kids found fun racing around, and also a maize maze which also kept us busy for a bit. Another win, was the balloon / Water fight - we got to join in, which was fun.

During the day there was a kids disco, bubble show, pet corner, a bird show and a sheep race. The most fun activity for the kids came towards the end of the day for the foam party - they loved this!

We managed to stay the whe day there from open to close and I think it's fair to say that the kids had a good day, as adults we managed to get involved in a few bits - but not sure we got as much out of it as they did! (Although adults are still paying same amount as the kids!) I think Adventure Valley is great for the younger adventurers. I'd probably say perhaps up to about 11 / 12 years.

Sophie-Jade A.

Absolutely amazing place, jam packed with absolutely loads for the kids to do. We easily spent the full day here 10-5 and didn’t even realise the time! Clean, super fast service in the restaurant, so much entertainment and things to do, staff are so friendly and helpful, I could go on. Happy to be a repeat visitor and keep coming back!!

Finding B.

I’m a carer and I work 2:1 with an autistic boy. We arrived at Adventure Valley late morning in the school holidays. We were shocked that there were no discount for carers and we’re told the only discount we would get would be for the boy we took, on proof he was ‘disabled’. The girl on the till took £1 off for our service user. It cost us over £42 for entrance which we had to pay ourselves as our young person didn’t have enough to pay for us all. Most places offer one carer FREE of charge or at least discount. This is an absolute disgrace and got us off on the wrong foot straight away.

First stop were the toilets, which were filthy and very smelly. I get that the previous day was rainy and the park is literally outside, but toilet floor was rotten and the toilets and sinks were very dirty. No soap. (Though there are troughs you can rinse your hands in at other places after touching animals).

Overall Adventure Valley is a mix of outdoor play areas which is great on dry weather but if it rains it immediately excluded 80% of activities. There are bouncing beds, climbing frames, pirate ships, a maze, slope for riding huge tires etc. a lot of us aimed at small children so not really suitable for the boy we took. There is a tractor ride several times a day but I recommend you queue WELL in advance or you won’t get on. Lots of outdoor animals to look at but the food will cost you extra at the front entrance.

Indoors, there are animals you can look at and pet and they all seem well looked after. There’s a cafe with plenty of seating, standard food and drinks, but hugely overpriced.

We ended up staying for 90 minutes and felt uncomfortable with the glares of parents, when our young person was being quite vocal in the soft play. I totally understand this is nothing to do with the park however.

Overall this place is overpriced. Be prepared to get filthy if the weather is not the best, as even pushing our child on the swing, our feet were squelching in the muddy rubber clippings!

If you’re a family, it’ll cost a fortune to get in, but if you take a picnic and stay all day it could be better value for money.

My main point for the owners of Adventure Valley is the lack of inclusivity. I previously worked for the leisure industry for over twenty years and know how big a deal inclusivity is. You definitely need to rethink your policy about carers (on minimum wage) having to pay to accompany someone with a disability. Staff wear ID but it’s embarrassing for anyone with a hidden disability to have to provide ‘evidence’ of this to prove they are disabled to get £1 discount!!!

Consider doing quiet sessions, or an afternoon in the holidays where children and adults with carers can enjoy the park without the judgement from other customers.
I managed a trampoline park and offered such sessions twice a week. I hope you seriously consider as an option.

Michael

It's not a bad little park for young kids. There are plenty of outdoor activities and a few animals to see. Quite a few rides were not on, and this is a saturday in the 6 weeks holidays, so prime time? We were supposed to come a couple of weeks ago, but on the way through, my wife's car broke down, so I had to ring up and ask if we could change it. We were allowed to change it but had to pay a £5 fee bit of a joke really considering the situation. Also you shouldn't pay the full price for a ticket unless the whole park and everything is working and running 100%!