Audley End Miniature Railway and Enchanted Fairy and Elf Walk — Attraction in Uttlesford

Poor value for money: Summer Festival 2021

I don’t ever write reviews but really felt the need to write this one! We’ve had so many magical days at this place with our children before Covid. However, have visited twice since and there seems to have been lots of cut backs on staff and activities and yet the price of the tickets remains the same!!! The organisers must now be making a huge profit is all I can say!

Despite spending the whole day there before Covid times with plenty to do for the children in the park after the train ride (face painting, bouncy castle, story telling, Art and Crafts, more staff in costume interacting with children in the park) our experience this summer finished after only a couple of hours as there wasn’t enough to do and our children and friends children simply got bored, even though it cost £60 for tickets and then a further £25 on coffee and cakes. It seems that the limited activities left to do in the park are only those which no longer need to be manned by a member of staff.

Unless the event returns back to how great it was before Covid, or the tickets are made cheaper, then we will not be returning, which is such a shame as it used to be so brilliant 👎🏻 Read less Date of experience: August 2021 Trip type: Travelled with family This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC Helpful

kerby78 wrote a review 7 Aug London, United Kingdom 38 contributions9 helpful votes

Magical fabulous and just a great wholesome experience. We stumbled across this. We hadn’t pre booked. They fitted us in and I have to say it’s the best family thing we’ve done in years. The staff are wonderful. The pixies and fairies (especially the little hourly show) are outstanding. People who care about a wholesome fabulous family experience. Brilliantly run. Brilliantly clean and fabulous. We didn’t even have a picnic with us but there was an affordable pizza (£11) fed the four of us just fine. Amazing.

Please thank all the fairies and all the pixies for making an impromptu stop a completely memorably experience. We’re taking these happy memories all the way home. Thank you. Read less Date of experience: August 2021 Trip type: Travelled with family This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC Helpful

SouthStPantry wrote a review 4 Aug Bishops Stortford, United Kingdom 3 contributions Excellent day out ! I would just like to say a huge thank you to all the team at AE today (4th August) . My mum had the most wonderful birthday, she’s heavily disabled in a wheelchair, everyone was so accommodating. Sometimes things can get a bit difficult when we’re out but everything was seamless, the staff were so warm and welcoming.

My niece who’s 4 had the best time too as did we.

Thank you Read less Date of experience: August 2021 Trip type: Travelled with family This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC Helpful

Scb16 wrote a review 3 Aug Saffron Walden, United Kingdom 5 contributions Great fun day out. Wonderful, good value day out for all ages. Lots of grandparents helping out in the school holidays. Marvellous attention to detail on all the teddy and fairy exhibits and so much to keep the children happy all day. Agree with criticism of the catering. Our experience of the ice cream kiosk was very poor. 1/2 hr wait and no urgency on the part of the staff to speed up and reduce the very long queue. Not good enough at all. Thank goodness we were able to bring a picnic which was essential with small children. Read less Date of experience: August 2021 Trip type: Travelled with family This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor...

A wonderful hidden gem right next to Audley End House! Disabled parking is available right at the entrance, with general parking in a shaded, tree-covered area just a short 200m walk from the site. All the staff greeted us in such a friendly and cheerful manner, which made for a lovely welcome.

You do have to pre-book your train time. The miniature trains depart every 15 minutes, with two trains in operation. You can explore the grounds before your departure, and there’s a covered buggy park for while you’re riding. The station area is charming, with tickets handed to you on arrival that get punched just like in the old days. The 20-minute woodland train ride is full of character, with delightful teddy bear scenes to spot along the route.

After the train, you can enjoy the rest of the site, which includes an enchanting Elf Walk through the woods. Children receive a booklet to help them spot and check off all the fairies and elves along the way. There’s also a go-kart and balance bike track with plenty of bikes and karts so no long waits, and a grassy track that’s safe and fun to navigate.

We visited during the summer event, which was packed with extra activities – people dressed as fairies telling stories, face painting, live stage shows, punting rides down the river, and various fun activities scattered around – all included in the ticket price, which is rare these days.

Food and drink are available from the on-site café and pizza stand, but you’re also welcome to bring a picnic. There are plenty of benches and shaded spots to relax. The large wooden playground is another highlight, featuring slides, swings, a wooden train, and even a treehouse – plenty to keep the kids entertained for hours.

This is a truly magical and family-friendly day out with so much to do. I fully recommend visiting, and I’ll definitely be back with my family for...

We have had a lovely day here today, this has been on my to-go-to list for a couple of years now, but never could fit it in. I'm glad we went now, with covid-19 still around, as if it had been much busier I dont think we would have enjoyed it as much. We booked a 12.30 train slot, got there around 11am, meant we had some time in the park before hand. All staff were friendly, train ride was a lovely experience but my personal favourites were the fairy walk, oh and making a wand of course. The fairy and elf set ups are just beautiful. Once out of there we had 10mins to recharge before the interactive show, this was a little crowded on our time slot, not enough stools for all, but was a nice show for the children that got them up moving during it. Then we were back in the play area, the chalk boards, ring toss, and loved the noughts and crosses tables, (or shall I call it ladybird and bumble bee) i want one for my garden. I didnt see the old play area but the new one is lovely. My children have had a lovely day. We ended with an ice cream each, this is the only place I felt let down, we ordered a unicorn and a dragon ice cream, as well as others, and both ice creams were just blue coloured ice cream with either 'dragon' sprinkles or 'unicorn' sprinkles. Those hard disgusting shaped sprinkles. I thought they would of been better, even the unicorn ice cream just being pink. Esp as their sign on the top of the parlour showed a blue and a pink ice cream with words of dragon and...