Staycation Day 4

Today we went to Blackgang Chine, on the south coast of the Island. I'd been trying to avoid it, but was given a voucher which let kids in free so I had no excuse. We blew most of the budget just getting me in however. Nearly £20!!! Not sure how they justify that. However...

 

We started off in the new 'Restricted Area 5' which was full of animated dinosaur models which groaned and snarled, and, in the case of the T-rex, roared loudly enough to make the viewing platform vibrate. Clever. I quite enjoyed that. We then pootled round the rest of the site and saw Nursery Land, Fairy Land, Cowboy Land, the Mouth of Hell, the Crooked House, Giant Insects, the Pirate Adventure Playground, Rumpus Mansion, the Triassic Club etc. We had our picnic in Cowboy Land then played on the slides at Snakes and Ladders. That was fun. I still fit on the slides. Just. We then went to the water gardens and the maze. The maze was fun too, and the water gardens were peaceful. They had big carp in the ponds.

 

Next we headed for the rides; we began with the spinning barrels, which my daughter insisted on spinning fast. I wasn't sick! Afterwards we queued briefly for 'The Cliffhanger' rollercoaster; this is a short ride, but you get to do it twice. It is quite exciting enough for me, but probably a little tame if you are used to Alton Towers and the like. My daughter went on a second time while I looked round 'World of Woodcraft', which was a mini-museum detailing how wood was, well, crafted in days of yore. A little more interesting than it sounds. The last ride was a water slide. Long queue, so my daughter went on it while I held our bags. She shrieked with enjoyment, as did everyone else on there. I shrieked with enjoyment last time I visited.

 

Blackgang Chine is a pleasant, if overpriced, day out. Many of the displays look a little worn and in need of some TLC, but nearly all the kids, and most of the parents, were having a great time which is what counts at the end of the day. The majority of the displays haven't changed for decades, but that is nice because you kept hearing parents saying, happily, 'I remember that from when I was a kid!'. The views along the west coast of the Island are magnificent; we could see all the way to Tennyson Down and the Needles today. The park is slowly falling into the sea due to landslip. This was obvious every time you looked at the coast, and by the fenced off area near cliff edges. However, it has been doing that for most of its existence (150 years?) and is gradually being moved further inland. Worth a visit at least once in your lifetime, preferably with smallish children.

 

View to the Needles

Smuggler at the entrance