The new absolutely must go to place in the North West is The Ice Cream Farm in Cheshire (Tattenhall, near Chester). We were lucky enough to be invited to their soft opening in July to see exactly what you get when you put millions behind a children’s attraction and WOW, what a Willy Wonka Wonderland they have created.
The playground “Daisy’s Garden” is free to access, there is a no picnic policy to allow this which is fair enough. It’s a gorgeous playground with an ice cream tree as the center piece, the thermometer falls from “I’m melting” to “sub zero” and “snow time” is marked every half hour by music and a snow explosion from the top of the ice cream tree.
The playground is circled by the ice cream parlour, the Strawberry Falls crazy golf and The Honeycomb Canyon. The Honeycomb Canyon was the absolute highlight of our visit for both adults and children alike. I have never seen anything quite like it as an indoor facility but also in terms of size and scale. Honeycomb Canyon is believed to be Europe’s largest indoor sand and water play. A huge warehouse of sand pits, playhouses, water pools, mills and channels for hours of fun and we really did spend hours in there! A towel and spare change of clothes for the kids would be advisable!
Whilst it is free to enter and enjoy Daisy’s Garden you will be missing a playtime delight to not go into The Honeycomb Canyon or play the Strawberry Falls and these are all pay to play. You can pay as you go and these cost typically £3.50 for over 3’s however the most cost effective way is to purchase a “Play Pass” which discounts this for buying your plays in advance. For example a £10 play pass gives you four plays at £2.50 each, £20 gets you 10 plays at £2 each, £40 gets you 25 plays at £1.60 each, which I feel is great value for money. Lil H is 8yo and Diva G is 5yo they both loved it and would both go back, I would say it is most suited to the under 11’s but the climbing challenges in the Honeycomb Canyon, Silvercone race track, golf course and ice cream parlour means there is plenty to keep those in Keystage 2 entertained.
Inevitably the uniqueness of The Ice Cream Farm will make it a busy place, but it is big enough for this not to be too much of an issue, one to remember for inset days!
We will certainly be back. Have you been? What was your favourite part of the farm or ice cream flavour?
