Friday 10 June 2016

Perrygrove Railway - A Toddler Explores

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Earlier in the year I went to a blogger event, Traverse16, and was invited to spend the day at Perrygrove Railway* in the Forest of Dean. They have Toddler Days every Tuesday and are open weekends until the summer holidays when it is open everyday. We only have Bear in the week so we had to wait ages for a Tuesday to be free so we could visit. Here is our review Perrygrove Railway - A Toddler Explores. If you don't have a toddler then you are missing out. This was one of the best days out we have had.


Right from the beginning I knew we'd love it. From the car park you walk across the railway lines and you can see if the train is at the station.


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The entrance is a short walk from the car park across the railway lines

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The train is at the station! Wait for us!

The entrance takes you through a little cafe and like royalty the train was waiting for us. We had a buggy with us and thought that may be a problem with so many toddlers but no, we were helped into a carriage and I noticed a ramp at the side that would be used for wheelchairs.

We had our own carriage and soon we were off!

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The friendly driver checks all is safe before we leave the station

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Bear watching the driver check the doors are closed



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Bear loved standing and looking out the window

The train goes slowly and the carriages are enclosed so great for toddler explorers. Bear loved it. He loved looking out the window, the horn of the diesel engine, just everything. We loved it too.

There are no restrictions on how many train journeys you take. There are four stations and you can hop on and off as you like. We decided we would stay on and do the whole journey in one go.

We passed an undercover playground and  picnic area, fields and woodland.

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The undercover playground at Foxy Hollow from the train

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Lovely views across the countryside

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At the end of the line the engine leaves to go to the front of the train to take us back to Perrygrove Station

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Jubilee- Our diesel train

Don't forget to bring a pen and join in the treasure hunt. We were given a board with a key attached and a question paper. I'm not going to spoil the fun but look out for clues along the way.


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Bear helping with the treasure hunt and wearing the clip as a badge

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Mmm Next clue is tricky!


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Keep your eyes open for the clues!

Then we were back at Perrygrove Station and our next adventure began. The Treetop Adventure playground. It is suitable for buggies and wheel chairs but we left ours with Grandad on the ground.

I thought I wouldn't get Bear off the bouncy bridge. He ran back and forth for ages, it was only the slide that enticed him away. What a great slide, even I had a go.


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The Treetop Adventure Playground has safe flooring and high fences

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and lots of interesting windows to look through

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and a woggly, bouncy bridge

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back and forth....

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bouncing and running.

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The slide looking down

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and looking up. Who's going first?

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Whee! Bear looks worried but he really did enjoy it and wanted to go again

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so we went together

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Yeah! Happy Bear.

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He couldn't resist having a look up the slide


We didn't explore the woods but there are woodland walks and places to build dens. There are lots of places to watch the train go by and wave. The woodland walks are not suitable for buggies and could be muddy in wet weather. We would have loved to explore but just ran out of time.

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Hello

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We decided to have a break before we went into the Indoor Village and find our treasure. Bear found the Wooden Railway in the cafe and I couldn't get him away. Eventually I persuaded him to sit on the little picnic table outside the door. A perfect size for a toddler.


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We then went to explore the Indoor Village. This is where you will find your treasure and if you search secret passages that are toddler sized.

Grandad got stuck! Oh I laughed! Bear just ran around and had fun. It would be a perfect place to play on a cold or wet day.

This is where all the treasure boxes are. I'm not going to tell you how to find the treasure, we did it so I know you can too!

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Is it up here?

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or down here?

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Out here?

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In here?

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Yes! We found it.

And the treasure? What was it? Not telling you!! Don't want to spoil the fun but Bear loved it.

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We really enjoyed our visit. We spent three hours here and could have stayed longer as there was so much we didn't get to explore but Bear was tired and needed his nap so we headed home. We loved that it was designed for little ones. From the child sized picnic tables to the little stairs in the Indoor Village. We went on a warm, dry day but there is plenty to do undercover if it was raining. A great day out.

Booking isn't necessary, just turn up. It costs £7 per adult, children under 3 free and there are family tickets too. The treasure hunt costs £1.90 with a £5 deposit for the key.

Tuesdays are for toddlers so they do not have to share the fun with bigger children. They have birthday parties and weddings here too. Oh and Christmas!! We will definitely be back for that.

There is lots more information with up to date prices and opening times on the Perrygrove Railway website.

Across the road is Puzzlewood another great place for toddlers and where Star Wars was filmed. If you had lots of energy you could easily visit both in one day. Why not have a look at my review Puzzlewood In The Forest of Dean - A Toddler Explores?

There is so much to do in the area. A great resource is the Wye and Dean Tourism website it has lots of suggestions for everything you need for a great stay in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley.





*We were given complimentary entrance for the purpose of this review. All opinions are honest and our own.



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18 comments

  1. I absolutely love the photo of you and Bear coming down the slide. That's definitely one you should frame! Brilliant.

    I am so excited to visit here later in the month - it looks like such a fun place to explore. I'm so pleased to hear there are no restrictions on the number of train journeys you can take as that could easily add up if you had to pay for them! The playground area looks brilliant too.

    I love the idea of the toddler days. So lovely for the littlest visitors to have the rule of the place for the day! xx

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    1. The train is fab! We did the whole journey in one go with the plan to jump on again and stop at the top but just ran out of time. It takes a big loop so I'm sure if you got off at the top it would be a few minutes walk back down through the woods. The slide was great, just hard to get into with a toddler on my lap Lol

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  2. We really need to go here, it looks so beautiful and so much to do! I'd probably never want to leave, I can see mine running around happily and as for that train- wow! So gorgeous xxxx

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    Replies
    1. It is a fab place! Enough to do for a full day out

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  3. We love the Forest of Dean and this place looks like so much fun - I know both of my boys would love it here and would easily spend the whole day exploring - thanks so much for sharing

    Laura x

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  4. What a brilliant adventure. Sadly, too far from us, but looks like a wonderful place nonetheless! :)

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  5. This looks like a great day out. I'll have to take the girls. How funny that grandad got stuck lol. The playground looks a good one too. Your pictures are amazing. I love the slide ones and the views from the train. It's very reasonably priced so definetly somewhere I'm going to go before the summer holidays start x

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    Replies
    1. It was great fun and Grandad getting stuck was so funny. All I could hear was "oomph" "ahh" Lol. There are little stairs and secret passages that Bear ran through and Grandad try crawling Lol

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  6. It looks a great day out for little ones to explore, lovely photos x

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  7. This looks like a great day out. I had never heard of it until this review
    Is there much for older kids to do? My daughter is 6 so a bit older but loves exploring

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    Replies
    1. There were older children here maybe 4 or 5 and they were loving it. I think she would enjoy it as there are woods and den building that we didn't explore

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  8. Wow this looks great. I am sure my kids would love the slide.

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    1. Kids of all ages, including me, loved the slide

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  9. Looks like so much fun.

    I saw a similar train in a country park I went to with my niece last weekend (when it was nice weather) but we didn't end up going because we had to have cash but I really wish me did now. Next time for definite we'll go prepared and for the train haha :)

    Alina | DIY home blogger UK

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    Replies
    1. you must, the train was fab and not too long for a little one to get bored

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