No more "mum I'm bored" for a whole day (Loudoun Castle)

Member Name: sandra101

Product:	Loudoun Castle
Date:	20/08/08 (595 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheaper than most, some great rides, free shows

Disadvantages: closes too early, less rides than other theme parks

We recently went to Craig Tara in Ayrshire, Scotland for a family holiday and chose to spend a day at Loudon Castle. I looked it up online and there seemed to be a fair amount of rides coupled with some shows so it looked like it would be suitable for adults, teenagers and a younger child.

The best bit was it appeared in that lovely Tesco list of days out, where you are able to exchange your Tesco vouchers at four times their value for days out vouchers. £20.00 of Tesco vouchers therefore got me £80.00 worth of tickets into Loudon which covered the gate fees. (Now that's a bargain for unlimited rides and three shows for 5 people)

My only worry was that my four year old wouldn't be able to go on very many rides, thankfully that worry was unfounded. The only ride which we all wanted to go on that she wasn't allowed on was the log ride, hubby fortunately volunteered to stay with her so I still got my go (my favourite).

As you walk upto the park you pass the now derelict Loudon Castle which was massive and a sight to behold on its own. We had no problem paying with our days out vouchers which are accepted in full or part payment.

We stopped first of all in a walled garden area called Pirates Cove, which mainly housed rides for smaller children. There was a swing ride were the swings fly out as the ride goes round, waltzers, a mini freefall, pirate ship, barrels to sit in which followed a water course, carousel, a small caterpillar roller coaster and a few others. My daughter loved this area and went on everything bar the pirate ship and the waltzers as she was too small. The 11 and 13 year olds found a number of rides which they didn't think were too young for them.

There are also fairground type stands in here such as picking up a duck with a stick to win a prize and knocking things over, we managed to avoid these as I think they are such a waste of money, even if you do win its usually something worth less than your stake money.

My boys were by now a little worried that there was nothing more challenging for them. But once we left this area they tried the first of the rollercoasters which included a full upside down loop, three goes later we dragged them off as the Birds of Prey show was about to start.

I admit I was not looking forward to this show I was there for the boys but it was really good. The guide was funny and interesting, he showed birds such as a turkey vulture and owls and yelled duck everytime he made them fly over our heads. This was definitely one of the highlights and all down to the handler. We were able to take a closer look at the birds after the show. This show lasted about 30 minutes.

We headed back towards the rides and yelps went up when the boys spotted the large vertical dropzone ride. After seeing it on the internet I had told them there was one, when we saw the mini one in Pirates Cove they were worried that was it.
First we went on the log ride, a spinning cage which turned you upside down (don't know the name) and then boys went on the vertical drop ride. We left the boys to go back on this ride and took my daughter over to the dodgems. These were tiny and easy for a four year old to drive. The best bit was they were free. I know we had an all inclusive ticket but normally things like dodgems are charged for separately.

We took her into McDougall's petting zoo and she loved it even the rodent type creatures (I didn't get close enough to tell you what they were) there was a pretend cow in the middle of the pens which you could pull on the udders to milk, she loved this. Fields nearby held lamas etc. which you could get very close to.

We went back for the boys who were going for probably their 5th go on the vertical dropzone and dragged them back upto the show area stopping briefly to go on another rollercoaster which according to them was not as good as the one at the entrance.

The second show we watched was the Loudoun Castle Big Top show. This was heavily advertised around the park as featuring Iona the acrobat from Britain's Got Talent. The show was brilliant, Iona was amazing as where the other acts, no animal acts were involved but the stunts and acrobats by all the performers were excellent.

There was another show called the Rory Show but we missed it as we were at the other end of the park and couldn't face walking the whole way up and back down again. It is apparently a show with a lion who leads the littles one in songs and dances. I'm sure my daughter would have enjoyed this.

There are a number of eating places, coffee shops\kiosks, ice-cream stands etc. and the prices were quite reasonable for a theme park. You could have a good sit-down lunch or dinner or simply sit on a bench with a coke and an ice-cream.

Advantages

Not too expensive
Very little queuing
Shows and dodgems are free
Can buy an all inclusive ticket (at £1.50 per ride x the number of rides for 5 people it would have been a lot more costly)
Plenty for little ones
Farm animals\petting zoo

Disadvantages
Less rides than most theme parks
Closed at 5:00pm in July (very strange)
Extra charge for go-karting

Current Price Guide £56.00 for a family of 4

For further information on this attraction, prices directions go to http://www.loudouncastle.co.uk/Bespoke/Loudoun/ind ex.jsp

Summary: A good day out - especially with your Tesco Days Out Vouchers