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!
