Review: A fun family day out at Knockhatch Adventure Park

*** Our tickets were gifted in exchange for an honest and unbiased review ***

With my daughter off school for an inset day at the end of half term, we took the opportunity to visit one of the local family hot spots we’d had on our list for a while, booking a day out at Knockhatch Adventure Park.

Located just outside of Hailsham in East Sussex and open 361 days of the year, Knockhatch has a huge variety of indoor and outdoor activities on offer - from adventure playgrounds and water rides, through to immersive experiences and animal encounters.

Find out how we got on at this hidden gem in the Sussex countryside in our full review of our day out at Knockhatch Adventure Park.

First up, the facts...

How do we get there?

The best way to get to Knockhatch is by car. It took us about 40 minutes to drive there from Tunbridge Wells, and there was plenty of free parking available on site. The journey was very straightforward and the park clearly signposted as we got closer.

If travelling by public transport for your day out at Knockhatch, the closest train station is Poelgate, which is about 4 miles away. Alternatively, there are buses to Diplocks Way in Hailsham which is about a mile from the site.

How much does it cost?

Day passes for adults / children over 2 are £22.49 (online) / £24.99 (on the gate) for Orange days or  £16.19 (online) / £17.99 (on the gate) for Green days. More details on the days below. 

There are also discounted costs for people with disabilities and carers, and an after school offer to visit for half price after 3.30pm

An annual pass costs £79.99 per person.

What age is it best for?

Most of the rides and attractions are geared towards a younger audience making a day out at Knockhatch ideal for young families. I would recommend the best age range would be 2 - 12 years old.

What is there to do?

There is so much to do here, it’s hard to know where to start! As a general summary though:

• Animals - Knockhatch has a large selection of animals in Jungle Kingdom, the Children’s Farm and its Owl Sanctuary. There are meerkats, wallabies, lemurs and goats, as well as lots more. They also offer animal encounters during term time weekdays (11.30am and 4.30pm)

• Rides - There’s a variety of rides, from the bigger Dino Drop, Wave Runner 2 and Avalanche Slide, to gentler options such as Tractor Tom, Quadipillar Train and Honeypot Bears

• Water Fun - If you fancy getting wet, they have their Jungle Splash water area, as well as Wave Runner 2, both of which are fun for warmer days. There’s also a boating lake for a more relaxed experience

• Play Areas - Knockhatch really pulls out the stops on the play areas with five indoor play areas and 2 big outdoor ones

More details on all attractions below…

So, how did we spend the day?

Upon arrival, we were given a map and sheet which detailed the timings for the day. The majority of the rides and attractions were staggered, with set sessions. At first, I thought this may mean that we didn’t manage to do or see everything, but it actually really helped to structure our afternoon and ensure we saw most aspects of the park.

As we arrived after the littlest one’s morning nap, we started with a visit to The Hungry Toad to have some lunch and make a plan for our time at the adventure park. Serving sandwiches, jacket potatoes, pizza, burgers, salads and chips, there was plenty on the menu for grown ups and even the pickiest of little eaters. I opted for a jacket potato which came with a good size salad, whilst my daughter and husband went for burgers and chips. All of the food and drink was reasonably priced and seemed good quality. The cafe is in the same space as Froggies Soft Play area, so our eldest daughter (aged 5) disappeared off into a squishy network of tunnels and slides as we queued for the food, already in her element.

Sitting down to eat, we then made a plan of action to make the most of our time. Knockhatch runs Orange (high season) and Green (low season) days, with the activities varying depending on the time of year. Being early June, we visited on an Orange day so the majority of the attractions were open, with the exception of the go karts and bungee trampolines which are only open on weekends, bank holidays and school holidays.

Given that we were there in the peak Summer months (albeit a term time day), we were pleasantly surprised that it didn’t feel overly busy. It felt lively, but not too crowded and there were no lengthy queues for rides which we were relieved about.

Jungle Kingdom & Owl Sanctuary

Our first stop (after persuading our daughter to leave the soft play, promising that there was LOTS more to see!) was Jungle Kingdom and the Owl Sanctuary. 

We were just in time to see the 1pm daily owl display which gave the opportunity to get a closer look and learn more about a beautiful Eagle Owl. The 20-minute display saw the magnificent owl soar across the outdoor arena, with commentary and information from their knowledgeable handlers. It was a great way to start our day, and definitely an activity not to miss. We also went into the Owl Sanctuary area to see more of the fascinating birds, including a Great Grey Owl, Barn Owl and Snowy Owl.

We then headed into Jungle Kingdom where we were met by the cutest baby meerkats I’ve ever seen! Situated in an open-air enclosure, we loved seeing this curious, playful little mob of meerkats. There was also a transparent slide through the enclosure which my daughter really enjoyed going down to see the meerkats a little closer and feel part of the action.

We also saw Asian Short Clawed Otters, Ring Tailed Lemurs, South American Coatis and a magnificent Moluccan Cockatoo as we walked around the animal area. There’s also a great splash pad in this part of the park. It was just about hot enough for some kids to be running around in it during this visit and it looked so fun. We didn’t come prepared with swimwear this time, but will definitely go back for this when some warmer weather hits!

Rides & Play Areas

Next, we headed to the spinning teacup style Honeypot Bears ride. With our handy timings sheet to hand, we arrived just as the ride re-opened and only had to queue for a few minutes. The ride was well managed and we really enjoyed it - even if I was quite dizzy by the end!

Being a big dinosaur fan, our daughter was then keen to go on the Dino Safari ride - a Jurassic Park style simulator ride where you’re swerving around in a safari jeep to avoid escaped dinosaurs. I was worried that she may be a bit scared, but I ate my words when she came out beaming, saying that she loved it and that a real dinosaur licked their car! 

Once recovered from her exciting dino adventure, she couldn’t help but spot the giant jumping pillows and before we knew it, we were all running towards them. Sometimes it’s the simplest things that the kids get most excited about! From there, we were also able to watch the action on Wave Runner 2 - an epic water slide which looked so much fun. Though my daughter was just about in the right height zone, we decided she was still a little small for it, but will definitely be jumping on board in a year or so, as it looked great.

After wearing herself out on the jumping pillows (who am I kidding, she could’ve kept going for hours!) we headed towards the Avalanche Slide which is on the other side of The Dragon Castle play area. Walking through The Dragon Castle area blew my daughter’s mind. With tunnels, ladders, zip wires and rope swings all designed as part of a giant castle, it is what every kid dreams of playing in. It is huge though, and I would say slightly more geared towards older children. There were signs saying that under 6’s should be supervised whilst using the apparatus, so whilst we explored a bit of the lower level activities with our 5-year-old, I didn’t feel comfortable letting her loose in the entire playground. She did really enjoy the zip wire and some of the smaller slides though.

On the flipside, the Avalanche Slide was a big hit. Who doesn’t enjoy speeding down a slope on a rubber ring?! Again, the queue was reasonable and moved quickly, allowing us to actually go on the slide twice.

The final ride we went on was the Quadapillar Barrel Train ride which was lovely. A small quad-led ride, this is definitely one for the younger visitors, but really cute and ideal for our five-year-old. It gives the opportunity to see a bit more of the farm and animals (including wallabies!) too.

Immersive Experiences

In addition to the play areas and rides, there are a couple of indoor immersive experiences at Knockhatch which are not to be missed.

First is the Sherlock Holmes Experience which is an interactive walkthrough adventure, taking you through the winding streets of Victorian London as you solve a curious case. Visitors can scan a QR code to search for clues throughout the walk, with special effects throughout. As this was rated 12A, it wasn’t appropriate for the girls but, being a Sherlock Holmes fan and big kid at heart, my husband went in to give it a go. He thought the production values were good and enjoyed all of the nods to Sherlock Holmes stories. His highlight was the ghostly hound footprints on a door, referring to The Hound Of The Baskervilles and says when the kids are older, he thinks they’d find it fun too.

Our final stop at Knockhatch was The Magical Wood, which I absolutely adored. Our little one-year-old had been incredibly patient all day watching her big sister go on rides and run about play areas, but this was finally something that she could get involved in. With soft lighting and calming music, this immersive play area is a lovely sensory experience. There’s a network of themed rope bridges, slides and even a glowing campfire for older children, and then a huge interactive video wall featuring a whimsical woodland scene with fairies, toadstools, animals and birds for the little ones to engage with. It changes throughout the day, with adaptive lighting and sparkles when touched. Our little one was mesmerised by the wall, whilst our five-year-old was also captivated and loved exploring the nooks and crannies of the play equipment. 

To round the day off, we treated ourselves to an ice cream and a little wander around the gift shop. There was still more we could’ve done (or gone back to do again!) and my daughter was already asking when we could visit again, before we’d even left!

The Verdict...

We were so impressed with the amount of activities available and included with our entry ticket. The park feels comfortably spaced out, with nothing too much of a walk away from anything else. It was clean, well managed and organised.

As mentioned, we didn’t manage to do everything in one visit but perhaps could’ve done if we’d arrived as the park opened. Our highlights were definitely The Magical Wood, Dino Safari, Jumping Pillows, Meerkat Enclosure and Avalanche Slide.

It strikes a great balance between the animal attractions and rides, and is a great alternative to the bigger, more expensive theme parks. It’s really geared towards the under 12's age range, meaning that all of the activities were appropriate for a young family and there were no huge rides that we couldn’t go on. 

We’ll definitely be back from a return visit this Summer and are even considering getting their annual pass!

Find out more at https://knockhatch.com/