Watermouth Castle. Great... if you don't have a pushchair (Watermouth Castle)

Member Name: Paul-B

Product:	Watermouth Castle
Date:	03/08/09 (37 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A fun day out for younger children

Disadvantages: Laughable pushchair policy for an attraction aimed at smaller children

Watermouth Castle is a theme park just outside Ilfracombe in Devon aimed at families with young children. As well as a number of indoor attractions (such as an illluminated fountain display and various dungeons) the park boast several rides, all of which are firmly aimed at younger children.
Good points
Visitors gain entrance to the park via the castle, which has a number of displays as well as a fascinating collection of old slot machines. There is a dungeon as well as a small maze made of iron bars to keep the kids occupied for a while. The whole indoor section is extremely well done, and I found it to be one of the best bits of our visit.
Once inside there are a number of rides aimed at children aged 4-8 as well as attractively laid-out gardens. There is a restaurant area as well as adventure play areas, all of which are included in the admission price.

Bad Points
For us the biggest "no-no" was the pushchair situation.
Put simply, you can only access the grounds via the castle, and pushchairs are not allowed in the castle building. You have to leave your pushchair at the front door, forcing you to carry any smaller children and babies through the castle exhibits (not exactly a "short hop"...) Your pushchair will be labelled and left at a collection point in the park, presenting potential thieves with two clear opportunities to steal your extremely expensive property. It's not like the pushchairs are left at the exit to the castle, either; you have to walk up a flight of steep steps to retrieve your property.
It wouldn't be so bad if you could bypass the castle bit, but it is compulsory...

The park boasts something like "you pay at the door, and then no more" which is a little misleading, as the vast array of vintage slot machines are not free.

The restaurant is a little pricey, and only provides "burger and chips"-typed food. The seating area outside the restaurant is way too small.

The park itself is extremely hilly, making visits to some of the rides something of a hike.

Overall
We actually quite liked the park, but would advise anyone with pushchairs to seriously consider waiting untill their offspring could do without a pushchair.

Summary: Worth a visit