Walton Gardens Warrington. Our trip

We are very lucky to live where we do. There are so many child friendly places to visit that are right on our doorstep.

This week we visited one of our forgotten favourites-Walton Gardens in Warrington.
Once part of a larger estate belonging to the famous brewing family, Greenalls, Walton Hall and it’s gardens are now a council owned venture which really is amazing.

It is free to get in and, with parking at just £2.20 in the week and £3.20 at weekends, it is also great value.

We began at the park, and like any child, Boo loves to run off and have a good play. There is a separate area for older kids which means the main park is safe for younger children as there is less chance that they will get trampled on by older ones.

After Boo and her friend had burned off a bit of energy, we headed to the children’s zoo but, before we got there, we saw a pottery painting workshop which was there for half term and they both really enjoyed that. Boo’s little star cost £1.50 to do.

Cue much artistic license and quite a lot of glitter. We left the pottery to dry while we continued to my favourite bit, the animals.

It really is lovely to think all children can get close to animals that they may not be able to otherwise.

There are goats, donkeys, chickens, horses, sheep, rabbits to name just a few. There was also a few turkeys which, this close to Christmas made me feel a bit sad but rest assured, Walton turkey’s will not end up on anyone’s table.

There is a cafe at Walton. Gardens but, on this occasion we did not visit as the girls opted for ice cream instead.

On the way in we had also spotted a Thomas the tank engine ride which takes you around the grounds of the hall with some spectacular views.

 

It really was a great hit with the kiddiewinks and Thomas even received a hug from Boo when he dropped us back off.

We then went back to get our painted star and headed for home.

All of that activity cost under £10 for us both.

Walton Hall is truly an amazing place and I am sorry that we have not visited more. It was used as a backdrop for the BBC programme, Our Zoo so some of the views of the hall and it’s out buildings may seem familiar. The tranquility of the place really makes you forget that you are only 5 minutes from Warrington town centre.

I really can’t praise the place enough as a day out. We will definitely be going more often.

For more information and directions of how to get there, visit: http://www.warrington.gov.uk/waltonhall

 

*We were not compensated for this post. Please note though, not all activities are in at all times. The Zoo is however open when the park is. See website above for details.