Baa Baa dead sheep, floating in the lake (Knockhatch Adventure Park)

Member Name: thehonesttruth

Product:	Knockhatch Adventure Park
Date:	25/10/09 (52 review reads)
Rating:

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Well, I'm down in Sunny Sussex on my holidays again, and today we decided to visit Knockhatch Adventture Park, on the outskirts of Eastbourne, off the A22. We, of course, being myself, my boyfriend, and my six year old daughter .

It didn't take us long to drive there from Eastbourne, although we were slightly delayed by a diversion due to the filming on the pier of the remake of Brighton Rocks. The carparking was free, although getting to the carpark required driving down a very narrow country lane that could easily be missed . There were plenty of spaces, and it was easy to find the entrance to the park itself and the payment kiosk .

Admission prices are £8 for an adult, and £7 for a child aged 3-18 . These are peak season prices, prices are quite a lot cheaper off peak . The, into the park we went . On first appearance, it looks like any other petting farm, a selection of scattered barns and buildings housing chickens, pigs, rabbits , and peacocks .

A little further exploration shows signs pointing to boating lakes, mini railways and all sorts . I love boating lakes, so off we all wait. One my daughter had been strapped into her luminous yellow lifejacket with handy attached whistle, we clambered into our rowing boat, which wobbled a little bit but soon steadied . The boat seats were hard and not particularly comfortable, and it seemed like the smallest movement set the boat rocking, but this was somethign we got used to quickly . The boat itself was quite pretty, slightly murky water with overhanging willow trees, and sheep grazing on the opposite bank. However, horrors awaited us when we rowed over to the far side . The first thing we found was a stray oar, floating on the water, which someone had obviously lost.

Being the kind helpful people that we are, we decided to row over to the oar, bring it into our boat and take it back with us to the landing stage . As we neared the oar, we saw something large and white in the water, which we initially assumed to be a carrier bag, or some kind of buoy. As we got closer, we realised that it was in fact rather large and fluffy, and looking at the sheep grazing just above the water, we realised this was a dead sheep . None of us are particularly squeamish, but I have to say a dead sheep is not the best start to a morning, especially with a hangover .

We dutifully reported the dead sheep at the boating hut when we got back to the landing stage, and the fellow working there was very apologetic . We then watched from the nearby adventure playground whilst the lad called someone to come over and drag the poor deceased animal out of the water up onto the opposite bank before it could traumatise any young kids .

My mind filled with 'wait until I write about this later, we then paid attention to the playground - which had a rather cool avalanche slide . Basically, the whole experience is a little like sliding down a snowy hill on a tea tray, but a little safer, and we all had a go on it - My daughter in fact went down it at least 10 times, managing to do so gracefully. My boyfriend however lacks such grace, and fell off his tea tray, rolling over with a comedy 'oh foooook'. Of course, he then had to go on again to prove he could do it, and soothe his wounded pride . I filmed it on a mobile phone hoping he'd screw it up again, but sadly no luck.

They also had a wobbly bridge, a tunnel slide, numerous climbing frames and an awesome slipwire in the playground, all of which were great fun.

We then went on some trampolines, which didn't seem to be manned by anyone, although there was a little hut next to them . They were safe enough though, surrounded by soft woodchippings, although I did notice one of the trampolines had a small hole in the mesh that might spread over time .

There was also a miniature railway which cost an additional £1 to ride. Only my daughter went on this, us oldies being far to dignified to sit on little midget trains . It went twice around a large circuit, and the circuit had several dolls house type buildings scattered around it to make it look almost like real train stations were going by. My daughter even got issued with an old fashioned train ticket, which she proudly clutched in her hand as she boarded.

We saw a display of various insects. I think we missed the start of it, but a very knowledgeable bloke was showing tarantulas, scorpions and cockroaches to the assembled group . He knew an awful lot about them, telling us that cockroaches can survive for three weeks without their head, and it isn't being headless that kills them but being without water. He also offered everyone the chance to hold a cockroach - I must confess I wimped out, but my boyfriend held one in his hand, and said it felt very strange holding them .

There were some lovely African Gray Parrots,who amused us for a good 20 minutes with their conversation and wolf whistles. I liked that their area came with a display board of information telling us their names, and also that one of them had been losing feathers and giving them to another bird to warm her nest . It's nice to get an idea of the personality of animals, and the little info boards helped . All the animals had similar boards - cows, donkeys, pigs, and assorted bird. I liked that we were able to pet many of the animals, and that there were plenty of handwashing stations throughout the park .

We then decided to have a look in a little barn decorated with halloween stuff - and discovered that children could design a pumpkin carving for £2, and have one of the park workers carve it out for them . My daughter had fun designing hers, and we left with a jack-o-lantern which will make a great centre piece on the dining table tonight .

There were a few soft play centres through the park aimed at younger kids, as well as a smaller playground with a sandpit and some old fashioned pull swings . There was a bird of prey centre, which had some amazingly huge owls , and a chair-o-plane that my daughter greatly enjoyed .

Activities we didn't try out included laser tag, go karting, the climbing wall, and bungee trampolines .

There were a few food outlets throughout the park, although we ate well before coming out, so only needed to grab a couple of drinks .

All in all, I really enjoyed our visit - it's not a thrills and spills theme park, it is a much more sedate and leisurely day out, but there is something there for everyone. The only slight downside to the day was the dead sheep, but at least they were prompt in removing it!

4 stars!

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