Hidden Valley — Attraction in St. Thomas the Apostle Rural

Hidden Valley is a hidden gem. Located in some lovely countryside, with a pine forest on the drive in you really do feel like your in a hidden part of the country away from the hussle and bussel.

We have been before, back in 2019 and enjoyed it so much we went back again during a recent holiday. Our memories weren't wrong and we enjoyed another day of puzzling solving. Arrived at 10 and left just over 5 hours later after walking over 5 miles complete the different puzzles. Would have stayed longer but ran out of time.

The clues/puzzles are the mastermind of the owner who does a great job at offering something for all. With three trails for different ages/abilities it offers a great alternative to typical days out and gets you thinking and enjoying the outdoors. They also get updated after so long which means you can go back at a later date (check when they are next due to be updated) and you could have another day out.

The mansion is a clever addition, with physical puzzles (against the clock) and observations getting everyone involved. The option to allow people to take an alternative route is intentional, not everyone would be happy to crawl through a trap style door, this means noone is left out.

The park is maintained to a very high standard in both appearance and cleanliness, in the whole day we didn't spot a single bit of litter, no over flowing bins, toilets where spotless, what more could you ask for. Plus plenty of places to take a break and work out some of the more tricky puzzles. The staff are also very polite and friendly and always happy to help if you do get stuck, it's not often you see staff who are happy to be at work and engage with customers in the way they do even with the dogs.

There is also a small train which you can ride for free round the park, a maze which is fun and even being big enough to see over the hedges still takes a little working out and a play park for children to enjoy.

All in all a great day out and excellent value for money. Where else can you go for a day out for that price and get so much engagement. Plus it's dog friendly so they get a great walk at the same time you do. No worrying about leaving them anywhere as they can get included.

As for some of the reviews I'm not sure what to say. Muddy paths where walking shoes aren't good enough, I think you need to rethink what shoes you are wearing. For the puzzles not being engaging for kids I would say clearly because it's not on there phone they don't understand it or they are glued to the screen while there. Not being good for if you have dogs, it's outdoors with lots of smells what is wrong with that for dogs. Saying about the weather making paths muddy/wet, you get that at your local park so why are you shocked that it happens elsewhere. I think some people aren't happy unless they find something wrong with a place so they can complain.

Keep up the great puzzling hidden valley and see...

Absolutely AMAZING place!! such a hidden gem - incredibly clean, well cared for, fantastic customer service...and that's just the basics! The puzzle park is fantastic- soooo much to do there. We arrived 30 mins after it opened and left after it closed...didn't achieve half of what we could have done! 🙈 I'll break this into sections as there are different styles throughout the park.

Big Trail - We attended as a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children aged 8 and 5) - my 8 year old INSISTED we did the hardest challenge....🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️and it was a fantastic mix of challenge and fun. To be honest, that one is definitely aimed more at older kids/adults, but we would have achieved it quicker if we didn't have little legs with us! 😂 lots of rushing back and forth across the park! We made it into the Vault at the end...and out again!!!! Achieved a none to shabby score!!! But as I say, an incredible mix of puzzle types, maths, logic, language...just amazing and fun (who doesn't love using an old fashioned phone box to call for clues?!)

Escape Mansion - so much fun! try every door, don't believe anything you see! there's hidden stuff everywhere! Absolutely fantastic fun, the children loved all the hidden passageways etc (as did we!) again, the perfect level of challenge and fun, and we completed it in a decent time, despite the "help" 😬 of two little ones!

Escape Room - for us adults this was awesome, though my youngest, who has a nervous disposition, was worried she'd actually get trapped in! 🤦🏻‍♀️ No fault of the park, just perhaps too young to realise it was all just fun (and it WAS fun! 😂) N.B there is an audible timer running, so if you have a sensitive one, or an ASD/PDA child etc, it can be a little overwhelming.

Train Ride, Tremuddlewick Village, Maze etc - All so beautifully done! lots of "magic", puzzles mixed into it, superbly kept and totally believable for the children.

Other trails - we didn't even get round to these! 🙈 we HAVE to go back!

Ames Room - the children loved the eye/brain puzzles here, tried to be quick as knew we'd run out of time, but ever so good.

Cafe, staff, toilets - just SUPERB!!! Staff constantly maintaining the site, available for help if needed, but never looked at you like you're stupid, never just GAVE the answers...gave help and encouragement. The lady on the welcome desk when we went (Thursday during term time) was soooo lovely! cafe serves sausage rolls, kids lunch boxes, pasties, sarnies. Toilets were immaculate.

Overall - a long review but it's an incredible place! Would go back today if we could! Just fab, and as much as I want to keep it "hidden", credit where credit is due, this is an awesome attraction! WORTH EVERY SINGLE PENNY (unlike some others) - perfect level of challenge and fun. (And top tip...think you can't see the clue? look and...

On balance, I have given this 5 stars - although my gut would have been 4.5 if it were possible!

We booked online a week before, no major problems booking, and the only real difficulty was picking an entry time - trying to avoid too early but also making sure we wasn't running incredibly late! Thankfully, we arrived in time and parked in the overflow car park (the main car park isn't actually all that big, to be honest!)

Entry was nice and easy, no wait or queue - just a scan of the QR code. Upon entry you are given a pencil and sheet for answers as well as a log card for the challenges in the mansion. In terms of trails there is a kids trail - which whilst easy, might still be considered challenging dependant on the age of your young'un. The route on the kids one is easy to follow! There are also another couple of challenges one easier than the other - but don't be fooled even the easier one is pretty tricky! In these other challenges there is also the added complication of finding the next clue using coordinates or a hint (as well as the puzzle itself).

Our favourite bit (for whole family) was probably the mansion - it took a little time to get in (timed entries so not everyone is in at same time!) In the mansion there is some observation questions (look for things and answer questions - some easier than others - hint, they don't start till after the timed entry door. We were initially looking as soon as we entered!) In the mansion you have to also find 6 challenges, this is where you use your card as it activates the challenge and also stores your result. For the little people there is lots of hidden doors and crawl spaces to go through which they found fun!

Outside of the puzzle areas there was a miniature railway that ran till about 3 o'clock, a maze and a playpark area. There are toilets and a cafe - which was reasonably priced (in comparison to other places that have a similar set up).

Really enjoyed the visit but to maximise any chance of doing all puzzles you need to get there when it opens and also go with kids that are not too young / enjoy a bit of a treasure hunt and / or like solving puzzles!! (Or don't go with kids?!)

At the end of your visit, there is a machine where you can input your results to see if you solved the puzzles correctly - got stuck on one or want to see what the answers are? You can do this here as well.

A great day, even if at times we were wondering how stupid we...