Disclaimer: We received a trip to Wookey Hole caves & family attraction free of charge for the purposes of this review, but words and pictures are mine.
Last year, we booked a last minute dog-friendly family holiday to the South Bay John Fowler Holiday Park in Brixham, Devon and we had such a lovely time that I wrote about here. I sent my post to the company and was delighted when we were offered the chance to review another of their parks.
We chose the Sandy Glade Holiday Park in Somerset, as we’d not been there as a family before and ended up with a lodge on the Sandy Meadow’s Lodge Park. Read our review here!
Things to do in Somerset near Sandy Meadows Lodge Park/Burnham-on-Sea (near Brean)
The main attraction to John Fowler’s Sandy Meadows Lodge Park and the Sandy Glade Caravan Park is sandy Berrow Beach which is a very short walk away.
Berrow Beach is a beautiful, long sandy beach about five minute’s walk over the road and through the sand dunes.
Even on a cold day, it’s a nice walk, and in summer it must be a fantastic place to visit.
A ten minute drive away is Burnham-on-Sea, which has plenty of parking and more amenities including showers, toilets and cafes as well as shops and amusements. Be aware that you can only enter the water during high tide; but the beach is fabulous!
Weston-super-Mare is a 15 minute drive; it’s a classic expensive seaside town, where you pay over-the-odds for parking (£10 for the day) and below average fish and chips. Personally, I’d give it a miss and stick to Burnham-on-Sea!
If it’s not quite beach weather, there are a few very local family attractions to the John Fowler Sandy Meadows site.
Just down the road are Brean Theme Park, Brean Play and Brean Splash swimming pool.
Brean Play is a large, clean soft play. We spent a few hours there when it started to rain; it cost just over £12 for my two which is a bit on the expensive side but better than sitting in the rain, and you can order drinks to the table via an app which quite frankly should be the standard in every soft play!
The splash park is great for good weather, with an outside pool and several large water slides. There’s also a good toddler pool with slides, and a main pool.
Brean Theme Park is a traditional (some might say tacky…) seaside attraction with rides and an arcade.
It is a little worn and old fashioned in the way that seaside attractions tend to be, and it wasn’t very busy (read: we were pretty much the only people there) even though it was the Easter school holidays.
Brean Theme Park is free to enter, and the rides cost between £2 and £4 each, or you can buy a wristband for unlimited rides if planning to spend all day there.
Brean Theme Park is also the home of Sooty, and every day you can meet Sooty at 11 when the park opens, and then watch the free Sooty Show at 2pm.
When we visited it was cold and wet, and we happened to have just come out of the soft play when the Sooty Show started – and feeling a bit sad that no one else was watching we stopped by.
The kids loved it and said it was the highlight of their holiday! So if you have small kids, it’s definitely worth popping in.
Dogs are allowed around the park, and parking costs £4 for all day if you don’t fancy the walk. There are cafes around, and you can even take dogs into some of them.
Also a five-minute drive from Sandy Meadows Lodge Park is Animal Farm Family Theme Park.
Despite sounding like something Orwellian, it is (thankfully) just a farm with play area, soft play, bouncy castle and rides.
You can feed the farm animals (bags of food cost £1 or three for £2.50), and there are various opportunities to meet the animals at different times of day.
A family ticket to the park costs £39, which I think is excellent value as you can easily spend most of a day there if your children enjoy the rides, which are all perfect for toddlers, preschoolers and younger children.
I would advise visiting in dry weather to make the most of the outside activities, although there is a large indoor soft play if there happen to be showers while you visit.
About 45 minutes drive from the John Fowler holiday park is Wookey Hole, Somerset’s most well-known family attraction.
We were given a complimentary family ticket to visit the Wookey Hole caves.
You really need a whole day to see everything that Wookey Hole has to offer; although the caves are the main attraction there is a lot more to do and see there.
If you have a dog, make arrangements with a local kennels before your trip.
There is plenty of free parking, and you’ll be directed to a queue for the caves a short walk from the entrance. Once you’ve worked your way through the caves, you will have the rest of the attraction to explore.
I was quite excited about visiting the world famous Wookey Hole caves, unlike my five year old who claimed to be scared stiff by the whole thing.
If you have a very sensitive little one with an active imagination, be aware that (unsurprisingly) the caves are dark, and cold, and they may need convincing to go in! You can buy them a glo-stick to hang around their neck which may help.
You will be led through the fascinating Wookey Hole caves by a tour guide, who will tell you about the caves’ history, the legends surrounding the caves and the Wookey Hole Witch.
You’ll even be told about the cheese that is aged in the caves as it’s the perfect temperature and humidity. And smells quite a bit.
The tour lasts around 45 minutes, working your way through many of the large caves, and eventually leaving via a door at the other side off the attraction. It is not buggy friendly.
Outside of Wookey Hole caves, there is a lot to do both outside and in for children of all ages.
As you leave the caves, you’ll see a fairy garden, and then a large collection of fibreglass and animatronic dinosaurs. You’ll pass the 3D theatre which was showing a short Ice Age ‘Dawn of the Dinosaurs’ 4D film, and the Cave Diving Museum.
There is also a lot to do inside, making it a very good wet weather option.
Once you pass the dinosaurs and go into the main buildings at Wookey Hole, there is the Wizard’s Play Castle soft play, a cafe, a large gift shop, a penny arcade, a carousel, a hall of mirrors and a large mirror maze.
You could spend hours there and not see everything there is to see!
There is a mini golf, a restaurant and a circus show in a real theatre!
By the time we hit this though, we had two very tired children and had to go back home.
Admission prices for Wookey Hole are £19.95 for adults and £15.95 for children over three years old, with discounts for seniors, and tickets pre-booked online.
It’s definitely worth a visit, and setting a whole day aside for so that you can explore properly.
We had a really fun, and very busy family holiday at Sandy Meadows Lodge Park.
Even off season, there was plenty to keep everyone amused!
Take a look at John Fowler holiday parks on their website. Check availability and pricing for Sandy Meadows here.
For more information on Wookey Hole, you can find their website here.
