Aldingbourne Country Centre — Attraction in Arun

We visited on Monday and were very impressed with the visit! The building is lovely and new, toilets were lovely and smelt lovely in the main building (softplay ones weren't quite as nice but not terrible and 3 baby changing in there too). Entry is very reasonable! Even what they sell in the shop isn't break the bank prices. You get the lift up to the cafe and go through and out. The bumpy slide was a massive hit, but we struggled with the cardo, making sure an eloper doesn't do a bunk 😅 Cafe was wonderfully looked after, the chap greeted us sweeping and wished us a good day 😁 Lots to do, aimed more at younger kids, but my just turned 8 year old loved it. There's some animals, they walked the alpacas past at one point and my kids didn't like that. Bits for water play in the summer, play area, giant lego, giant chair, soft play (soft under 2 section, a little boring.. my 16 month old got bored and prefered the balls in the ball pit area) the bigger bit was 2 years to 7. Small but high with a good slide into balls, space to sit and have a few prams indoors. A maze, a bit muddy in parts at the moment and a lot of holes for sneaking through kids sized, I got left in the maze and my guide disappeared through the fence 😅😂 I think the sandpit was the biggest hit! A little bit of arguments over the only metal digger and it's a bit of a risk if someone's head is close 😅 (probably why there is only one). Lots of tools to use. Would of been good to have somewhere to sit down in arms reach of them playing, but there isn't much room to do that in there. We didn't seem to see anything about the tractor rides and saw signs for some other bits, but were knackered by this point! We had lovely chunky chips in the cafe and I got a tonne of snacks and drinks, again didn't break the bank.. Plenty of parking, don't follow the car park round if your car is lowered though, quite the bump for the crossing path! The lane coming in is a little dodgy, as only half the road is maintained, so the other side for pulling into has some ginormous holes in parts. Special shout out to the chap tidying up the children's play huts continously, within two minutes it looks amazing again, and all the kids were taking the items well away from where they should of been.. 😅 The ride ons were too small, but then again it's not aimed at older children. LOVED the fence with the eyes! 😂 the mural winners wall was amazing too! Oh, and my son said he loved the stones under the balcony/drop as you exit the cafe.. good choice on shingle?! 😂 We liked the signs around the animals with the facts, but the goats were being naughty, and the smells were a little overpowering a bit further round so we sped through 😅😂 appreciated there was the handwashing station AND hand sanitiser on the side too. Crazy golf was a big hit, the toddler managed to trip over a fence bit that had slightly fallen over though, to section the bits off from each other.. he was all over the place with some of the uneven bits, he loved the fact its a little hill by the softplay, I however.. did not so much.. 😆 And the young chap as you came in to purchase your tickets was nice and friendly too, everyone we came across was lovely and doing such a good job. My son said the slide was very bumpy but he gave it all a 10/10! I didn't get very many pictures without my children in, but a few attached don't really do it justice at all. Will be...

I visited Aldingbourne Country Centre for the first time on Friday 2nd August 2019. The centre's main car park was excellent. Lots of spaces and an overflow! Fantastic. However, the car park for the woodshop was seemingly non-existent. This is a shame, as I wanted to buy wood. Upon reflection, I should have walked from the main centre. But no harm, no foul - I will return to buy the wood I need to make stocks for a nursing home (for the staff, not residents) next week. The centre looked fantastic. Lovely design and cleaner than a hungry dogs bowl. The slide impressed me the most, but I chose not to go down it because I was wearing shorts and thought I would get stuck halfway down and the only way to remove me would be to either unbolt the entire slide, or to send down four to seven children wearing clogs. When I come back for the wood, I will wear jeans so I can try the slide. The cafe was great, with swift and courteous service. The price of a can of 7UP was higher than I am used to, but I haven't bought one since 1998, and I don't really understand how inflation works. After the cafe, I ambled to the animal farm, expecting to see the usual menagerie of donkeys, horses and goats. However, Aldingbourne immediately surprised me with with a turkey! I have never seen one of these majestic creatures before. Almost ceremonial in its appearance, it garnered deep respect from me and I will probably return to pay my respects when I buy the wood for the stocks and test out the slide. All of the farmers at the farm were helpful, friendly and informative; freely offering information about the animals and smiling sincerely at all my bad jokes. A sign of a great establishment is one that indulges my poor humour. This is a great establishment. There was a park with a big train for children to play on and a peacock strutting around freely, but I didn't get to see much more, as I was with a group and had to depart shortly after holding the guinea pigs. To conclude: Aldingbourne Country Centre is a lovely place, doing wonderful things and is definitely worth...

Visited with 2.5 year old to see the animals....... compared to other South Coast children's farms (Manor Farm, Staunton Farm & Longdown Dairy Farm I would give them all 5 stars), this was very disappointing. Greeted by indifferent young man who didn't speak or greet, and looked peeved I'd disturbed his chat with a colleague. No 'have you been before?' inquiry.... no map or overview offered, I had to ask how to actually access the Farm... response 'Lift is there...'. Not cheap either...... all of the above mentioned farms are cheaper for 2 adults and a 2 year old. We did not see a member of staff the whole 3 hours we visited, so could not ask anything about 'tractor rides', (none to be found), soft play for 0-2 was so small and few balls and soft blocks.... totally rubbish for a lively 2.5 year old.... the 3+ was inaccessible as he was to young, and couldn't access past the initial ball pit. Both were tired & grubby, as were the toilets there. Expensive for the few animals there were to see. Water play was one sink. Football & picnic area were 2 flat footballs and a torn broken net, in a bit of uneven ground surrounded by stinging nettles and a hole ridden bush .... just right size holes for a 2 year old to disappear through.... but too big for an adult to follow!! Giant seat was filthy & ripped. Whole impression was somewhere tired, neglected and poorly managed, and not friendly and welcoming. Little play houses were the best.... but go to a play cafe and pay quarter...