Looking for a detailed review of a family day out at Hobbledown, Epsom? Let’s introduce you to our brilliant guest blogger Suburban Mum, who can tell you all about it…
My name’s Maria and I’ve been a Family & Lifestyle blogger for over 7 years. My blog, Suburban Mum started as an outlet for me to write about my two boys. They are now aged 9 and 11! My blog has evolved into a place where I shared our days out and adventures.
Day Out with the Kids is the go-to place for getting inspiration on the best places to take your kids in the UK. I’ve been a long-term user of their site since my boys were little! I am delighted to be working with them on a review of Hobbledown, an attraction local to us.
We are very lucky to live close to Hobbledown although it’s been a good few years since we last visited so we were excited to be heading back over the Easter holidays to see all the new additions.
About Hobbledown…
A multi-award-winning adventure farm park and zoo, Hobbledown is based in Epsom, Surrey (just 30 minutes from central London) and is ideal for children aged 2-13. Tickets have to be pre-booked online before your visit and include a 45-minute session in the indoor play barn.
What is there to do on your family day out at Hobbledown?
There is SO much to do at Hobbledown! With a huge outdoor play area including Fern’s Castle with slides and tunnels, a maze, jumping pillows, dual zip lines – the list goes on! There are animals to see and feed, including a Raptor Centre where you can see different types of birds they also have twice-daily demonstrations (weather permitting).
For younger kids, there’s The Imaginarium which combines hands-on, messy play with live animals in a themed building with caves, tunnels and pools galore! For older kids who are taller than 1.3m, there’s the High Ropes course (an additional £4 fee per person)
Things to do at Hobbledown at a glance:
- Indoor and outdoor play areas
- See and feed Animals (you can even book Experience Days)
- Birds of Prey at The Raptor Centre
- Storytelling sessions
- Animal demonstrations
- The Imaginarium
- Zorbing
- High Ropes
Our day at Hobbledown
Visiting the Hobnosh Bar
We were booked to visit at 1pm and with two hungry boys in tow. Our first stop was the Hobnosh Bar which is located in the play barn area so we could grab some lunch. There is a good selection of food here – from hot food and sandwiches to snacks and drinks and it’s reasonably priced. M (aged 9) decided to have Chicken Nuggets and chips while E (aged 11) was feeling extra hungry that day so he went for the Sticky Chicken and chips.
Seating is outside but it’s undercover so you are sheltered if it’s rainy or windy. There is also seating inside the play barn but this area is reserved for those who have a play session in place.
Seeing the animals
Once our bellies were full, we decided to head off to see some of the animals. There are lots to see! From Rabbits, Lemurs to Meerkats, Wallabies Otters and more. Hobbledown is so great because everything thing is well spaced out – you never feel like you are on top of other people even though it was busy as it was the Easter holidays during our visit.
The boys were given an Easter Trail to do where they had to write down the initial of each signposted animal. Once complete, the letters would make up a word and they could claim a small prize in the gift shop on their way out.
Handwashing stations are available after each dedicated animal area as well as hand sanitiser pumps dotted all around, making it easy to keep hands clean throughout our day.
Indoor Play Barn
The indoor play barn gives the parents (of older kids at least) a bit of a chance to sit down and enjoy a cuppa while the kids head off into the multi-storey play frame to run around and play to their heart’s content. For kids under 3, there is a gated toddler area where they can play safely away from the older kids. This area is sensory with lights and mirrors as well as a mini play-frame for them to enjoy.
Other than stopping by briefly for a drink, I didn’t see my kids for most of the 45-minute session. The tables are solely for those who have a slot in the play barn so you should be able to find somewhere to sit easily. Once at your table, you can scan a QR code to order any food, drinks or snacks. These can either be brought to you or collected at the Hobnosh bar.
Outdoor play area
The boys were desperate to head into the play area once they spotted the Jumping Pillow. There are lots of different types of play equipment suitable for a wide range of ages. When they were younger, the boys loved the Crystallite Mine area where they could dig around for crystallite. Now, they prefer to run around flitting between the climbing areas, slides and zip lines. There’s plenty of open space at Hobbledown, we didn’t get to the dual zip lines until later on in the afternoon (around 4pm) and had it to ourselves – much to the boy’s delight.
Final thoughts on our family day out at Hobbledown
We had a fantastic family day out at Hobbledown, it was most definitely fun-filled and packed with all the things my boys enjoy about being on a day out – animals, an outdoor space to run around in and play equipment.
Hobbledown is a great family day out for kids especially when the weather is nice as you can take full advantage everything they have to offer, like seeing the animals and enjoying the outdoor play areas. There’s fun to be had on a rainy day too of course but your options are reduced as you are limited to the indoor play barn area. It’s hard to show you the sheer size of Hobbledown – my photos don’t it justice but rest assured your kids will have a whale of a time here.
Useful information for your family day out at Hobbledown…
- Onsite car park
- Rainy day policy – 50% off next visit
- Sanitisers dotted all around
- Handwashing areas by the animal sections
- Card payments only but you will need £1 coins to purchase Animal feed
- Toilets are located near the entrance so you will need to bear this in mind if you are over the other side of the play area.
Info & Pricing
We hope you’ve found Maria’s review of a family day out at Hobbledown helpful! Feel free to check out more reviews on Suburban Mum! She’s been to lots of exciting family attractions across the UK, like the Terrible Thames Horrible Histories Tour and Diggerland Kent!
Looking for more reviews or information on popular UK attractions? Check out the rest of our blog reviews in our Things To Do pages. Feel free to check out our Adventure blogs too!
Don’t forget to visit our Tik Tok for first hand accounts of family days out. Psst, we’ve been to Legoland Windsor, I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Harry Potter Studios and more!
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