Diggerland, Kent
Disclosure: We were gifted complimentary tickets to Diggerland, but as always my opinions are my own.
Diggerland in Kent is located in Medway Valley park. It’s very easy to get to, being just off the M2 and there is lots of parking.
On arrival, we were greeted warmly and told all about what was included in our ticket price and then we were pointed in the direction of Diggerland. On arrival, it looked clean and well laid out. We set off in search of diggers. We didn’t have to go far. There were lots of rides just on the other side of the entrance. One where you needed to hook a duck with a ring on a digger, one where you needed to knock down skittles and another where you could dig out treasure (bricks).
Austin’s eyes were quickly drawn to the train. The train is pulled by a dumper truck and then tows the main carriage and a number of barrel carts. It looked really fun to ride on, so we headed over to get aboard.
Austin wanted to sit in the main carriage right at the back and we enjoyed bumping around the park, seeing all there is to do. There are a couple of steep ridges which you go and up and down whilst on the train, which makes this journey even more fun. A great start to our day at Diggerland, Kent.
After this, we had a go at driving some dumper trucks around a muddy course, dug out some mud using the mini-diggers and then took a spin on the JCB Robots, also known as skid loaders.
It was then time for lunch, so we headed off to the Dig Inn – the on-site restaurant. If you’d prefer to bring your lunch, there are plenty of picnic tables dotted around Diggerland. There are also a few tables in the soft play area – ideal for a particularly cold or rainy day.
At the Dig Inn, ordering our meals was straightforward. Pay at the till, you are given a pager and it buzzes when your order is ready. I thought the kids’ menu was a bit limited but realised when we left there was a sign saying that you could have smaller portions of almost anything on the main menu. This may have been printed where the kid’s choices were shown and I may have missed it, I’m not sure. But it’s useful to know. The food we ordered was nice. I had a jacket potato with chilli and it was a really delicious chilli. Rob had a hotdog and chips and Austin had chicken nuggets and chips. Both enjoyed their meals – especially as they aren’t meals we have often at home.
After lunch and a bottle for Autumn, we headed over to the far side of the park, so I could take Austin on a drive of a full-size JCB Backhoe Loader. What fun that was! The chap in with us was really friendly and helped Austin up into the JCB. He also made sure he felt safe and comfortable and didn’t fall off the seat whilst I was driving. It was really nice to know that I could have a drive of something and Austin be okay as well. As we had baby Autumn with us, only one of us could go on a ride at a time.
Then we had a couple of turns on the go-karts before stopping for an ice cream and a cup of tea. We returned to have another go on some of our favourites but soon it was getting late and we thought it would be time to head home. Austin was very upset that Diggerland would be closing – a sign of how much fun he’d had. And there were a short-lived few tears as we were loading the children in the car.
Although Austin was too small for some of the attractions and rides, there was still plenty for him to do and we made a whole day out of it. The queues at Diggerland were short, even though we visited on a Saturday, so we got to go on everything we wanted to – some rides even more than once. There was plenty of seating in the restaurant at lunch, the toilets were clean and the staff were so friendly and helpful.
I was really impressed as it was a fun, stress-free day out for all of us. We also took baby Autumn with us and although she was obviously too small to go on anything, it was easy to get around the park with a pram. We had no trouble getting hot water to warm her milk and as the queuing system was well-placed at each ride, we could stand ‘together’ as one of us was queuing with Austin. Ticket prices are £25.95 for adults and children over 90cm. Tickets are cheaper if you pre-book them online. We had a lovely day out at Diggerland, Kent.
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