WOW! This place is amazing! We had the best time at Wellington Country Park and loved it so much we went twice in one week! There is so much to do for children of every age including a farm, splash park, loads of playgrounds, jumping pillows, a miniature railway, a dinosaur trail and more. The whole park is very scenic and is centred around a big lake in the middle.
We arrived at 9.30am and it’s definitely worth doing this if you can, as we raced round loads of the playgrounds and had them practically to ourselves for the first hour. Several of the attractions like the splash park, miniature railway and jumping pillows all open at 10.30am. If you’re planning on visiting the Splash Zone head here for 10.30am as it gets busier throughout the day.
In the park itself it felt very calm and in no way too busy. The park is huge so can handle a fairly large number of people, but they’ve managed it really well.
Everywhere felt very clean. We even saw staff driving round all the picnic benches to clean and disinfect them.
What is there to do?
What isn’t there? Here’s a map of the park and all the attractions.
As well as all of the attractions the park itself is very scenic and there are a number of nature trails of varying lengths from 0.85km to 2.27km.
What age group does it suit
On their website they suggest that it’s aimed at children of up to 8 years old. However I think children older than this would enjoy it too. There is so much to do for different age groups!
My little girl is two and the best playgrounds for her age were the Pirate Ship, Enchanted Forest (I couldn’t get her out of here!), and Toddlers Play Area. She also loved parts of the Adventure Playground although a lot of it was too big for her and the Jumping Pillows but needed help on here.
For children under 2 they’d love the Toddlers Play Area and Sand Pit, these are really cute areas and both have giant sandpits and small slides.When indoor soft plays are allowed to reopen there is also a soft play just for children under 2.
Older children will absolutely love the Adventure Playground, Jumping Pillows and Snakes and Ladders. From age 4 – 10 they can also ride on Welly Wheels, driving automated jeeps around a track.
This is just the playgrounds (and not even all of them). there are of course loads more areas to enjoy.
Food and Drink
There are two areas to purchase food, the main cafe at the entrance and the lakeside kiosk. Both are takeaway only and unable to take part in the Eat Out to Help Out scheme. In the main cafe there’s a mix of reasonably priced hot and cold options and cute pick and mix lunch boxes for the kids.
Best bits: We really loved the variety and huge choice of attractions on offer at Wellington Country Park. The amount of attractions included in your admission price is such good value. The biggest hits with my little one were the Splash Zone, Miniature Railway and the Enchanted Forest.
Worst bits: The prices have gone up a lot in the last year and the free child age has changed from under 3’s to under 2’s.
Cost: In high season (4th Apr to 18th Sept) adults and children over 2 pay £16.95, under 2’s are free. In low season this reduces to £13.95. There are a few attractions which cost extra: Train £1 per person (under 3’s free), Welly Wheels £3 per ride, animal feed for the farm is £1 a bag and duck food is 50p.
Tickets: You must purchase tickets in advance for a time slot. If you plan to arrive after 1pm you can pay on the door. To book your tickets visit wellingtoncountrypark.co.uk.
Pram friendly: Yes.
Bike & scooter friendly: Yes. However you are only allowed to bring bikes with stabilisers or balance bikes. Normal bikes are not permitted.
Location & parking: Odiham Road, Riseley, Berkshire, RG7 1SP. There is plenty of free parking onsite.
Sat nav: You may find that the postcode doesn’t take you to the entrance, so make sure you pick up the signs when you get closer and follow these.
Baby in Bucks Top Tips
Buy your train tickets, animal feed and duck food when you arrive.
Finally the splash park opens at 10.30am so make sure you have them in their swimwear ready to go at 10.30am! This way you’ll get to enjoy it before it gets really busy. You need to turn the fountains on yourself by jumping on the purple button.
