BeWILDerwood Cheshire review
We’ve been to BeWILDerwood Cheshire a few times so I thought it was about time I wrote a full BeWILDerwood Cheshire review for you. It’s a fantastic place to take kids in Cheshire. Find more Family days out North West England here.
Ad – We have been invited to BeWILDerwood a few time to some of their fantastic events. However they have not requested this general review. All thoughts, opinions and photos are my own. There are also affiliate links and you will find these marked with a *
What is BeWILDerwood Cheshire?
BeWILDerwood is an outdoor family fun attraction based on the * series of books “BeWILDerwood” by Tom Blofield. These enchanting books are all about a magical woodland where Swampy a young marsh boggle lives. We’ve not read the books but after visiting BeWILDerwood Cheshire, I think we need to!
It’s a fantastic outdoor family attraction in the heart of 70 acres of natural woodland near Whitchurch. The attraction has been designed to create a magical woodland where kids can run wild, play and use their imaginations all day long. It’s based on the woodland described in the books with areas like Boggle village and marsh moss.
The attention to detail throughout the park is wonderful. My girls love all the fairy doors on the trees, the colourful treehouses and the boards dotted around the park with pictures of some of the characters from the books like Mildred the Crocklebog, the Thornyclod Spider and Hazel the Wood Witch.
There is often a trail on around the attraction where you collect letters to spell out a word and then you can claim a free badge as you leave BeWILDerwood.
In short, BeWILDerwood is a fantastic outdoor family day out.
Where is BeWILDerwood Cheshire?
BeWILDerwood Cheshire is located to the North of Whitchurch along the A49. The postcode is SY13 4JF.
There is plenty of free parking available on site and it’s close enough to pop bak to during the day if you need to.
If you want to visit by public transport, the nearest station is 5 miles away in Whitchurch so you would need to get a taxi to and from the station to BeWILDerwood.
Our review of BeWILDerwood Cheshire
I’m going to tell you all about how much we enjoyed our days at BeWILDerwood and then I’ll move on to share everything you need to know and finally, I’ll share our top tips for getting the best out of your visit.
I have visited with my husband and our two daughters a few times over the year. My kids were just 4 and 8 years old the first time visited and then 7 and 10 years on our last visit this Easter. We had a truly fantastic day on both of these occasions and always spent the full day there.Â
I’d say you can do everything in about 4 hours but if your kids love it as much as ours, they’ll want to go back to some of their favourite areas more than once.
On both our visits we have found staff with some of the BeWILDerwood puppets greeting the children as they arrive. My girls then quickly ran off down the Treacherous Trail, a wooden walkway through the woods to the start of the activities, where we spotted lots of colourful fairy doors which they loved.
There are so many things to look at and do once we got to the end of the trail. We quickly spotted the sky maze and some of the huge slides, so of course, the kids wanted to do both straight away!
The slides are great fun and there are different heights and degrees of steepness to choose from.
My children love the the craft tent area where they have made things like crowns and bunny ears. They also enjoy listening to stories and meeting the characters in the storytelling area and of course all the play areas.
Grown ups can go on many of the play frames too so expect to do lots of climbing yourself! There are areas to sit at the base of many of the large play frames if you prefer and your kids are older.
What age is BeWILDerwood suitable for?
BeWILDerwood says that the ideal age is 2-12 years old and I’d agree with this. My eldest still loved it at almost 11 and we found plenty for our youngest on our first visit when she was just 4 years old.
The map that you are given show the areas most suitable for little ones, older ones and those that suit all ages. If you have mixed aged children, there is usually something for each very close together, like the mini zipwires for toddlers, right next to the main zipwires (minimum height 105cm).
The paths are all fantastic for pushchairs and wheelchairs so this is not something you need to worry about either. It was very muddy in places on our last visit in March but hopefully these will dry up as the season progresses.
A lot of the things are perfectly suitable for little ones with some help from a grown-up. The storytelling and craft area (more details below) are also fantastic for younger ones.
How much do tickets cost?
The ticket price for BeWilderwood Cheshire depends on the height of your children. Current admission prices are – for children and adults over 105cm tickets cost £22.50, for children between 92cm to 105cm tickets costs £20.50 and children under 92cm are free. Those aged over 65 years cost just £14.50.
When is it open?
Tickets to BeWILDerwood need to be booked in advance. They are open 10am to 5pm. Book your tickets here.
Things to do at BeWILDerwood Cheshire
There are so many things to do at BeWILDerwood for all ages. There are different areas to explore including play areas, crafts, storytelling, slides, den building areas, sky mazes, treehouses and more. Children need to be 92 cm to use the large slides and 105 cm for the main zip wires.
Storytelling area
There are 2 different shows each day in this small woodland theatre. The sessions alternate and run on the hour from 12 noon until the last show at 3 pm. The first session is a storytelling session A Boggle at BeWILDerwood, which introduces all the characters in the form of large puppets. The second show is a more interactive party where the kids learn new Boggle dances. My girls loved both sessions but especially the dancing.
These storytelling sessions do change and there are often seasonal ones such as over Easter.
Big hat crafting area
The Big hat crafting area is open from 11 am until 4 pm. It consists of two large teepees. My girls loved making BeWILDerwood crowns though. You queue up to be given a crown and a little paper cup of decorations then find a table where glue sticks are provided.
Den building area
Many kids love den building and my two are no exception. In this area you will find lots of large sticks for making dens. Obviously they are usually some already made which you can either add to or remove from to create your own den.
Slippery slopes
There are two sets of slippery slopes. The slides have different heights and degree of slope which results in different speeds and experiences. Some of the slides are wide enough for parents to go down with their kids too. There are staff at the tops of the slides to make sure everyone is using them safely. Although we had to queue for the slides at times, it was never for very long. You do need to wear a bag (provided) over your shoes.
You’ll also find large swings and balancing assault courses in these areas as well as dotted around the park.
Sky maze
Sky maze is a large, 3 story wooden structure that is really fun for all ages. It must have taken us over half an hour to find all 4 feathers and at least 2 attempts as we found ourselves at the exit without finding all 4 feathers.
The routes are as the name suggests a complete maze. You think climbing one set of stairs will lead to the next set of stairs to get to the floor above but it never does. As well as being a maze, there are also different obstacles to it like stepping stones and rickety bridges (nothing too much, suitable for all ages).
Telescope tower
A multi-story tower to climb up for amazing views of the whole of BeWILDerwood.
Wobberly wires
This is where you will find the 6 whizzing zip wires. Staff are on hand to make sure everyone takes turns and uses them safely. Right opposite you will find 2 mini zip wires or “Twiggle wizzers”. My kids love the zip wires.
BeWILDerville
This is another raised wooden play structure with a few colourful treehouses connected by bridges. My two loved this one.
The broken bridge
This is another large wooden structure with lots of different kinds of bridges, a slide, rope climbing frames. Are you brave enough to climb to the top and cross the wobbly bridge? We took our girls on this and they loved it.
Mish Mash Maze
This is a smaller maze at ground level with lots of twists and turns, a couple of bridges. Watch out for the signs that will try to send you in the wrong direction!
Tiptoe valley & Toddlerwood on the hill
These areas are play areas for little ones. They are located next to the large slippery slopes so that everyone has something to do. There are low to the ground treehouses, balance beams, baby swings and small slides. There is even a small sand pit in Tiptoe valley.
The towering treetop tangles
This is one of my children’s favourite activities. Expect to scramble and climb up into the trees.
Food and drink at BeWILDerwood
There are two places to buy hot and cold food in BeWILDerwood, the munch bar and cosy cabin. There is one near the beginning of the park and one near the back by the storytelling stage. They also sell a range of delicious ice cream.
You can of course bring your own food. There are lots of tables for eating both food you purchase on site and your picnic. It is all outdoor seating with a few tables covered by canopies but there is no indoor cafe.
Top Tips for visiting BeWILDERwood
- Arrive early (it currently opens at 10 am) and plan to be there for the full day (closing is 5 pm) as there is so much fun to be had. I promise your children won’t want to leave, although for some the promise of a small prize for completing the BeWILDerwood trail, may help to get them out of the attraction.
- Dress appropriately. Wear comfortable shoes (we walked over 4 miles on our visit) and clothes that you don’t mind getting a bit grubby! BeWILDerwood recommends clothes that cover your arms and legs fully for the slides.
- Arrive early for the storytelling sessions on busy days.
- It’s not that far back to the car park so don’t feel you have to carry a picnic or spare clothes around all day. You get given a wrist band on entry which means you can pop back to your car if needed. There is a dedicated picnic area, it did get busy on the day we visited.
- There are a couple of kiosks selling food and drinks too. We had delicious Snugburry ice creams.
- Dress for wet weather if it is forecast. There are no indoor areas where you can shelter.
- Don’t forget BeWILDerwood is for grown-ups too. Especially if you have younger children, you’ll find yourself on slides, climbing in treehouses and treetop mazes, you might even fancy a go on zip lines too.
- There are toilets at the entrance and a further 2 sets in the woodland near picnic/food kiosk areas. They were always clean when we visited. There are also disabled toilets with baby changing facilities.
- If you want somewhere quiet to breastfeed, try the nursing nook.
- You an buy all sorts of gifts from the gift shop including the book series.
- If you’ve been to BeWILDerwood Norfolk, don’t expect a boat ride at the Cheshire BeWILDewrwood.
Nearby places to visit
- Find out about the Delamere forest Gruffalo trail here.
- Looking for an indoor attraction? Find out about Catalyst Museum here.
- Find more great places to take a toddler here – Things to do in Cheshire with toddlers.
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