Day out at Hidden Valley The Puzzle Park

We had several exciting trips in 2023 and one of them was when we were spending a week away in Cornwall for the last week of the summer holiday in August! We visited Hidden Valley The Puzzle Park which is based at Tredidon, Launceston in Cornwall. Driving down to the park felt like you may of been going to the wrong place as you have to drive down narrow country lanes but the park is quite secluded which is nice to be right in the countryside. There is plenty of parking, they have extra parking in a field behind the main car park and the parking is free which was a bonus. We found Hidden Valley Puzzle Park was cheaper to book online by a couple of pounds (I recommend booking online as it was fully booked for the day when we had arrived) The park is open from 10am right up to 5pm. Last entrance to the park is 2pm. I would say arriving at 10am would be the best time as there is lots to do and if you finish early you can try out the cafe and look around the gift shop!

Great Family Day Out

This was a great day out for all of the family and they have something for everyone, from puzzle trails, a maze, a miniature railway and landscaped gardens, you get to see Cornish pixies real estate and there is also a playground which was great fun for the kids. Even though the park was fully booked to any more guests it did not feel too busy or overwhelming as other attractions do. It is also a dog friendly park so is great if you are looking for something different to do with your furry friend. Especially during the summer months.

Railway fun

We started off by taking a little ride on the railway which takes you around the park and you can spot gnomes, pixies and fairies houses and village. You get to go under the train.m tunnel which the children found exciting and everyone waved at you whilst travelling on the train, the kids loved waving back too!

Puzzle Trail

Once back we headed off to the puzzle trail. You follow a rope around the landscape which takes you along to clues. Imogen (aged 7 at the time) was able to answer these easily enough with a little bit of help from the adults now and again. There is also a slightly harder puzzle trail which unfortunately we did not have time to try out as there is so much to do at Hidden Valley Puzzle Park.

Getting lost in the maze

We then went to find the maze which was great fun and we got lost several times but eventually found our way to the middle from the help of the grandparents who we were holidaying with. You go up to the top of the building and you can see out across the maze, this is where the grandparents helped navigate us to the middle.

Lunchtime

After leaving the maze we went for a spot of lunch at the cafe! There was something for everyone there and the pasty’s and sausage rolls were delivered and tasted freshly made. I also recommend trying the cakes, I had a Bakewell Tart and it was absolutely delicious! They do a range of hot and cold drinks too. We bought ourselves a couple of coffees. If you want to make it a cheaper day out I would recommend taking your own packed lunch and coffee in a flask as the food and drinks were fairly expensive.

Pixie’s Real Estate

After lunch we went to look around the Pixies’s village, they had several interactive spots to it and the children thoroughly enjoyed it as well as all of the adults in our group. One of the best interactive spots was the talking toilet. Which I definitely recommend opening the door to and you’ll be in for a surprise. I would say this was Imogen’s favourite thing of the entire park.

Playground for the kids (or even adults)

After seeing the Pixies real estate we headed to the playground as we promised the children we would visit it. The children had lots of fun and I would say it would be more suitable for over 5 year olds as there was lots of climbing. They also had art pieces in the park made from wooden/trees which were really interesting to see.

One for the adults.…. The Forbidden Mansion

Finally we went to the Forbidden Mansion, there was quite a bit of queuing to this so I would recommend going as soon as you get there. The queue didn’t look as big earlier in the day but was queuing right outside at about 3pm when we decided to try this part of the attraction out. To begin with four of us went in to the forbidden mansion but Gavin and Imogen left halfway through as Imogen was not enjoying it as much. As expected it does look a little spooky and the house is dressed as if from Victorian Times. This is a great attraction if you love a puzzle and have an eye for clues, I would say it is aimed for more teenagers and older. We managed to find all of the answers to the questions, which you are given when you first enter the park (so make sure you keep hold of this whilst going around the other attractions in the park) apart from two! Some can be quite tricky and takes a lot of searching around the rooms to find.

I nearly forgot to mention there is a gift shop which you go through as you are leaving if you do want to buy a souvenir!

We will definitely make a return trip if we are ever in the area again and would be great to take Joseph when he is a little older so he can experience all of the activities and make the memories!

SEALIFE Weymouth fish for facts quiz answers

Looking for the answers to the SEALIFE Weymouth facts quiz? You’ve come to the right place.

We visited SEALIFE Weymouth earlier this year at the start of Summer and upon entry was given information on feeding/talk times, posters and a fun quiz.

The quiz is mean to be done whilst you walk around the attractions, it can be done in any order but easier if you do it based on the numbers on the sheet.

You can’t just ‘google’ the questions as they differ from the answers on the quiz. We do recommend you attempt this yourself like we did as its more fun but if you’re looking for an easy life and want to grab the gifts at the end, look no further.

Here’s the list of answers along with their relative questions:

1. Harbourside – How many square kilometres of sea grass beds are there on earth?
   A. 177,000
2. Tropical Lagoon – How many species of shark are there?
   B. 350
3. Rainforest – If rainforests the size of England and Wales keep getting destroyed, roughly by what year will there be none left?
   C. 2060
4. Nursery – How many species of seahorse do SEA LIFE breed?
   A. 13
5. Rockpool – Where are starfish’s ’eyes’?
   A. End of each arm
6. Shipwreck – What colour does coral go when it dies?
   C. White
7. Humboldts – How deep can a Humboldt Penguin dive?
   B. 15metres
8. Turtle sanctuary – How long does it take a plastic bottle to break down in the sea?
   C. 450 years
9. Ocean Tunnel – How many teeth does a shark lose in a lifetime?
   A. 30,000
10. Wetlands – What amount of fresh water species can be found in ponds?
    C. Two thirds
11. Seals – What is the most important item in a Seal rescue?
    B. Towels
12. Fairy Penguin Island – How long will a Fairy Penguin Chick remain in it’s nest?
    A. 5 weeks
13. Otters – True or False?
    Asian Short Clawed Otters are the smallest in the world?
    A. True

We hope you enjoyed the quiz as much as we did. Remember the quiz is just for fun and is best off discovering the answers yourself.
At the end, remember to hand in the sheet behind the shop to claim your prize(s).

Helpful tips whilst doing the SEA LIFE Weymouth Quiz

• Take a spare quiz sheet and you can scratch off for the answers to then apply to your main sheet.
• If looking for the answers, looks on information boards, in and around tanks and by entrances and exits.
• Watch out for the rockpool wave of water at the back!
• If you cant find the answers you can always ask a member of staff!

Homemade Duck Food

Imogen had been watching a programme about ducks and homemade duck feed so thought we’d have a try making our own using ingredients we already had in the house.

Ingredients

-rice

-oats

-peas

-grated carrot

-grated apple

-egg

Method

1. Heat the over to fan 180c and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Cook the rice according to package, allow to cool
3. Whilst the rice is cooking, out the egg in a bowl and smash up, making sure the shell is in small pieces
4. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.
5. Mould the ingredients into small bowls and place on to the baking tray
6. Place in the oven for 10-12 Minutes until cooked
   

The duck feed balls should be soft still, not too hard and a little crumbly which is the perfect consistency for the ducks.

and most of all the ducks loved them!