The play area is divided into three sections.

 

Ship Play Trail

This is an Infant Play Trail for ages 3 to 6 years that has:

• a galleon with nets, a wheel and a slide
• a second, smaller boat
• springers
• a trampoline
• a train
• a wobbly, wooden hut
• toddler swings
• wobbly bridges
• a climbing wall
• a balance course and
• wobbly balance boards.

 

 

Inclusive Area 

This fully inclusive area has:

• a wheelchair accessible roundabout
• a swing
• a cradle swing
• an accessible slide
• musical instruments
• fun house mirrors
• a basket swing.

 

The Fort 

This is a Junior Play Trail for ages 7 to 11 years that has:

• swings
• climbing walls
• wobbly bridges
• ladders
• balancing logs
• hanging rings and
• a rope climbing frame.

 

Kiosk and Picnic Area

Next to the play area are lots of picnic tables and a kiosk that sells refreshments.

 

 

 

 

Swinley Forest

The play area is next to the Swinley Forest, with cycle routes and various trails.

The Look Out also has a permanent orienteering course and you can buy a map from the reception desk in the Discovery Centre for £1.

 

 

The Look Out Discovery Centre

Inside The Look Out Discovery Centre are over 90 activities including a building site, an indoor stream, a reaction testing game and a range of hands-on science experiments including a hot air balloon to launch and a globe that floats in mid-air. 

Nearest Town: Bracknell
County: Berkshire
Nearest Postcode: RG12 7QW

Opens: Daily
Cost: Free

Where to Eat: Picnic tables and a cafe.
Facilities: A shop, toilets and accessible toilets.

How Long We Spent There: 2 hours
Buggies: Buggy friendly

Parking: There is a large car park but this gets very busy.
Cost of Parking: From £2 for the first four hours.

Wildlife You Might See: Birds and insects.

Information Written: March 2017
Information Checked: January 2022

 

Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII

The story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn is brought to life by costumed Tudor characters, panelled rooms,

 

 

 

 

banquet halls and even a potential candidate for Henry VIII’s bed chamber.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Grounds

The grounds boast several formal gardens, statues,

 

 

 

 

 

 

waterfalls, a lake 

 

 

 

 

 

and bushes shaped like chess pieces and animals. 

 

 

 

 

The Ducks

There are also plenty of marauding ducks to feed.

 

 

 

 

The Two Mazes

There are two mazes to pit your wits against – a hedge maze and a water maze.

 

The Hedge Maze

The hedge maze is lots of fun and took us about ten minutes of wandering around to solve.

 

 

The Water Maze

The water maze is ingenious.

Your task is to reach the centre whilst dodging the jets of water that suddenly erupt when step on the wrong stone.

 

 

 

The Adventure Play Area

The fantastic Hever Castle Adventure Play Area centres around a castle called Tudor Towers.

It has tube slides, turrets, bridges and poles.

 

 

It also has a secret passage, maze and musical instruments.

 

 

 

 

The castle is surrounded by more play equipment, including slides, swings, tunnels and an obstacle course.

 

Nearest Town: Hever
County: Kent
Nearest Postcode: TN8 7NG

Adult Cost Range: Various 
Child Cost Range: Various
Free if: Under 5 years or entry to the gardens can be free with RHS membership at set times.

Opens: Daily from March to December.

Where to Eat: Bring a picnic or eat at the cafe.
Facilities: Picnic area, cafe, snacks, barbecues, toilets and accessible toilets. 

How Long We Spent There: 4 hours
Buggies: Buggy friendly

Parking: The castle is a short walk from the car park, which has lots of spaces.
Cost of Parking: Free

Wildlife You Might See: Ducks and swans.

Information Written: May 2016
Information Checked: September 2021

 

You can roughly divide the play area into three sections.

 

Tudor Towers

This is a large wooden castle built like a castle

 

 

 

 

with tube slides, poles, tunnels,

 

 

 

 

 

rope bridges, net tunnels, ladders and climbing walls.

 

 

 

 

Outside there is a well hiding a secret passage, which eventually emerges through a fireplace. 

 

 

 

 

The castle also has musical instruments, a maze, hidden passages and games. 

Tudor Towers is for those aged 5 to 14 years.

 

 

 

Acorn Dell – Natural Play Area

This sandy play area has:

• a wooden climbing frame
• tree trunks and climbing logs
• a tunnel
• stones to climb on
• a tree house with a tube slide and a wobbly bridge
• a willow tunnel
• and a musical instrument. 

 

 

The Wooden Play Area

This play area has:

• toddler swings (for under 5s)
• swings
• a castle slide with easy to climb steps
• knights’ horse springers
• a swinging basket
• wooden climbing frames with nets and ropes
• an obstacle course
• a zipwire.

Nearest Town: Hever
County: Kent
Nearest Postcode: TN8 7NG

Adult Cost Range: Various 
Child Cost Range: Various
Free if: Under 5 years or entry to the gardens can be free with RHS membership at set times.

Opens: Daily from March to December.

Where to Eat: Bring a picnic or eat at the cafe.
Facilities: Picnic area, cafe, snacks, barbecues, toilets and accessible toilets. 

How Long We Spent There: 1.5 hours
Buggies: Buggy friendly

Parking: The castle is a short walk from the car park, which has lots of spaces.
Cost of Parking: Free

Wildlife You Might See: Ducks and swans.

Information Written: May 2016
Information Checked: September 2021

 

Butser Hill

At the very top of the hill is a wide open space with grazing sheep, an Ordnance Survey triangulation point and a large aerial mast and station (although you cannot go inside).

 

 

Queen Elizabeth Country Park

At the bottom of the hill is Queen Elizabeth Country Park, which has play areas, orienteering trails, nature spots and picnic and BBQ areas.

 

 

 

Reaching the Top

You can either walk up Butser Hill from Queen Elizabeth Country Park or drive up from the A3.

I considered walking but the Visitors’ Centre staff advised against taking a buggy on the walk.

 

 

From the Car Park

It only took us fifteen minutes to walk from the car park on Butser Hill to the top of the hill (at a toddler’s pace).

The paths were covered in rough, clumpy grass but there were paths mown through it. 

 

 

Beware the Dragon 

The Butser Hill Story Trail runs around the top of the hill.

It is called “The Dragon of Butser Hill” and tells you a story about knights, damsels, giants and dragons as it winds around the hilltop.

 

 

Hampshire CC’s Story Trails

This is one of Hampshire County Council’s Story Trails.

These are walks with interactive stories to read along the way, which are told by a cute character called the Story Snail.

 

 

 

 

Each Story Trail is about one mile long and divided into numbered sections. Numbered markers prompt you to read the sections of the story along the trail

 

 

 

Find a Story Pack

To follow the Story Trail you need a free pack that you can either borrow from a specified place (with a Hampshire Library card and a £20 returnable deposit) or download a copy of a story trail from the internet in written or audio form.

Each pack has a map to follow and the trail itself is marked with arrows and/or pictures of the Story Snail.

 

Nearest Town: Horndean
County: Hampshire
Nearest Postcode: GU32 1QR

Opens: Daily
Cost: Free

Where to Eat: Bring a picnic 
Facilities: None

How Long We Spent There: 1.5 hours
Buggies: We used an all terrain buggy without any problems.

Parking: Near the top of Butser Hill is a pay and display car park with lots of spaces.
Cost of Parking: From £1.80 per hour

Wildlife You Might See: Sheep, butterflies and birds, maybe even a dragon if you are very lucky!

Information Written: February 2017