Diggerland in Kent

We were invited to along to review Diggerland in Kent and, being obsessed with anything construction related, T was very excited. Diggerland opens at 10am and we arrived shortly after that. (It’s just under an hour’s drive from Chelmsford). The Diggerland website promises to be 'the UK's most unique attraction where children and adults have the chance to ride and drive REAL full size construction machinery, under the guidance of our trained staff - no driving licence required!'

I would definitely recommend arriving earlier in the day as it meant that we were able to go on some of the rides before any queues built up. The park was smaller than I have expected but there was more than enough to keep us occupied for the day. 

All of the rides have a height minimum; some have a minimum of 80cm whilst others have a minimum of 1m and some rides have different minimums for drivers and riders, so adults can go on some of the rides with their children. All the rides and their height requirements are available on the Diggerland website and you are strongly advised to check this before visiting as, although children under 90cm gain free entry, they are restricted on the rides that are available to them. Staff are vigilant in checking heights of children before allowing them to ride too. 

But you really do get to ride on the diggers! I was surprised at the size of some of the diggers that we were allowed to use and to drive. Obviously they have restricted the speeds of the machines but this really didn't detract from the enjoyment of the ride. Being completely honest, I am not that interested in diggers, but even I felt a huge sense of accomplishment as I drove a dumper truck round a track and managed not to bump into anything! They are also much more difficult to drive than you think. The vehicles have a huge number of buttons and levers and even with just one or two levers to control it still took a lot more concentration than I had anticipated. 

There were other vehicles (I really should know the different names after spending a whole day on them - if you know the names of them please let me know and I will amend this post) that didn't move but you could use the levers on these ones to use the front loader (I did learn something!) to knock down skittles or to find buried treasure. We could take L (over 80cms) on these ones and  it turned into a bit of a race between two teams to see who could knock down the skittles fastest! Again it was much harder than it looked. 

We could also all go on the Tractor train ride around the park and L loved this. The train ride was interesting as we got to see the part of the park where the 'Diggerland Experiences' take place. On the day we were visiting there was some JCB racing going on and it was watching this that I realised the speed limit that had been applied to some of the other vehicles. JCB racing did not appear to be for the faint hearted! Other experiences offered by Diggerland include using a giant excavator and JCB's. They also host birthday parties for children. 

Alongside the rides there were is also a small climbing frame, a soft play area with arcade machines. and a restaurant, where we had lunch. The food was of reasonable quality and was good value for money. It is worth noting, however, that there are a number of coin operated toys and rides at Diggerland that are not included in the entry price, the dodgems being one of these. 

Another big positive of the day was that the staff in all areas of Diggerland were very polite, friendly and really looked as though they were enjoying their jobs.

Diggerland is now open for everyday through the summer. It is open rain or shine so if you know that rain is expected make sure you’ve got your wellies and rain macs!