Milky Way, Devon

The Milky Way is an adventure Park for the whole Family. It is situated just off the A39, or Atlantic Highway, which is the main road going across North Devon and Cornwall. The Milky Way is not far from Clovelly and is situated about halfway between Bideford in Devon and Bude in Cornwall.

It is best reached by car. During the summer you can get a bus from Bideford at 9.24am that takes you to the Milky Way and then returns you at 2.55pm. ...
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The Milky Way is open daily from March until the end of October and then weekends and school holidays during the winter.

Tickets start at £4.50 for winter prices and go up to £8 in the summer. Discounted family tickets are available and under 3's are free. The price also depends on whether you buy in advance online or wait until you arrive.

On arriving at the Milky Way we drove into the grassy ... more

The Milky Way is an adventure Park for the whole Family. It is situated just off the A39, or Atlantic Highway, which is the main road going across North Devon and Cornwall. The Milky Way is not far from Clovelly and is situated about halfway between Bideford in Devon and Bude in Cornwall.

It is best reached by car. During the summer you can get a bus from Bideford at 9.24am that takes you to the Milky Way and then returns you at 2.55pm. These are the only buses all day so miss them and you have had it. You will also only get half a day, so not ideal. The train station is miles away, so that would not be an option unless you planned to pay for a taxi from the station.

The Milky Way is open daily from March until the end of October and then weekends and school holidays during the winter.

Tickets start at £4.50 for winter prices and go up to £8 in the summer. Discounted family tickets are available and under 3's are free. The price also depends on whether you buy in advance online or wait until you arrive.

On arriving at the Milky Way we drove into the grassy car park. This was a good size and so you should have no problems in parking. We had arrived bang on 10am, which is the opening time. There was a few other cars there but we had a feeling they were staffs'.

You have to cross a small road to the entrance. Being mid December it was very quiet and not a problem, but might be an idea to watch the little ones in the Summer. Fortunately we had been greeted by a three legged dog, which we later discovered was Benji, and he took us straight to the entrance so no chance of getting lost.

The entrance is large and I guess can get busy but an undercover walkway would prevent you getting too wet if it was raining and you had to queue outside. Having already bought our tickets online it was a simple processed and once we had all had our hands stamped we were free to come and go as we pleased for the day.

During the winter only the indoor attractions are open and as it was obviously not getting to get particularly busy, the rides were on session times, but the play area was open all day. On entering we soon discovered we were the only visitors. Since we were we decided to check out the shop first. This had a good selection of gifts, and all the usual chocolates, biscuits and fudge to take home. The prices were average and being near the end of the year there were a few bargains.

We then moved into the main part of the building. It seems to have been created from a number of outhouses. One thing worth noting is that there is no heating installed, except in the play area, so it can get very cold.

We passed the Clone Zone, as this was not open until 11.30am, so moved on to the Pidler Country Collection. This collection contains every aspect of historic farming life from domestic to mechanical equipment and pieces. Before becoming an adventure park, 'Downland Farm' was a simple farm. It was later opened to the public to give a taste of farming but in keeping with peoples desires these days the farm is now more 'fun' orientated. However the family have tried to keep the Farming side and this collection helps to preserve it. You can also learn about the history of the farm and a couple of displays have been set up to show a kitchen and bedroom from the past. My children were fascinated by the toilet on display, however they thought the best part was the fact they were allowed to climb and sit on the tractors.

Beyond this is the Pets' Corner. This was closed for the winter but we were still able to see some of the animals in a smaller section at the side. The Milky way is home to the usual small animals. Rabbits, guinea pigs and chipmunks. But they also have some ferrets that enjoy regular flying displays. Sadly, the man in charge was away the day we visited so we were unable to see this. However we did enjoy a bird of prey display later in the day. Indoors in winter, and shorter than normal, but still very fascinating.

After a visit to the animals we returned to walk back through the Pidler Collection. This brought us out by the Druid Destroyers, which are dodgem cars. By now a few other people had arrived, however we were the only ones in the queue for this ride. The ride is included in the entrance price and rides are unlimited. Children must be over 1.2 meters to ride in the fast session, but every time a young child reaches the front of the queue they operate a child and parent session. This is a gentler experience with no bumping allowed…..not that my daughter took any notice of that!

Escaping the dodgems with not too many bruises we headed for the play Area, aptly named 'The time warp'. It is a huge area containing 3 slides from the gentle bumpy to the 'Black Hole', a 25ft dropslide. There is the usual ball pools and a number of assault courses to tackle with rope bridges, nets and all the like. The great thing is that it has been designed for both adults and children so we were able to scamper around as well. Unfortunately we did not quite have the energy or stamina of the children and headed to the 'galactic Café' above which overlooks the play area. This serves all sorts of fast food and also had a good selection of drinks. You are permitted to bring the drinks down provided you stay in the seated area in front of the play area. Behind this area are 3 small areas dedicated to the under 5's.

At 11.30am, we decided to check out the 'Clone Zone'. I am not sure how I would describe this area. It was a bit like a haunted house only in space style. The people at Milky way describe the journey… "Beam aboard a crashed scouting ship, beam up to the mother ship in outerspace, explore, make contact and try to find your way back to Earth". This in fact was being taken by a guide to a dark room with lights on the floor, waiting a few seconds whilst they flash on and off (beaming up to the mother ship) before being taken down a dark corridor with uneven floor to a tunnel with another uneven floor and eventually being led to another guide waiting to place you on the suspender coaster (to fly back to earth). The ride itself wasn't too bad. You are only suspended a couple of feet off the floor but in pitch dark you are only aware of swinging from side to side as you round the corners.

I have to say that it didn't exactly hit the fright factor, but the children enjoyed it especially as they were ordered to scream every time they saw an alien as this is how they are scared off. Personally I never saw any but it did not stop the children from screaming.

We decided at this point to head back to the café for our lunch, with a quick trip on the dodgems first. Being all fast food it was limited choice. Basically chips, chips or chips. Fortunately in the summer there is also the 'Thatched Café' outside which serves a more varied menu, or you could take along a picnic to enjoy in the grounds. Despite not being a chip lover the food was appetizing and not too costly. The drinks were the most expensive although we did later find out that you could have a large jug of juice for a reasonable price.

The café caters for birthdays and starts at £8. This includes entrance, food and a badge. For every 5 children one adult goes free.

Since the children had just eaten we headed for the sports area. Here you can have a go at laser shooting and also practicing your golf swing in the golf nets. You have to be over 8 to do the laser shooting but we all had a go at the golf. In the Summer you can also try out the 18 hole mini golf. All of these are included in the price.

Also here is the Archery section. This is extra cost, but is just £1 for a lesson plus 6 arrows (£1.50 for 12). The lessons were all one to one and anybody over the age of 2 can have a go. Personally I was absolutely useless, but my 7 year old that has learning problems was excellent. I am not sure if I find this a little worrying or not but could be something we may consider him taking up as a hobby since he enjoyed it so much. Everyone who takes part gets a certificate.

The Sports area is also home to a collection of classic and custom vehicles, mainly motorbikes, but fascinating to look at and ideal for teaching the children a bit of history.

Having allowed our dinner to go down we now headed back to the play area, again diverting through the dodgems first.

The Milky Way is open until 5pm wintertime, but we left a little earlier than this as by now our bums were getting a little sore from sitting watching the children. This I think would be my only gripe. Despite the huge play area there were only three or four benches to sit on. Being very quet this meant we always had somewhere to sit but a litttle uncomfortable after a while.

When the weather is warmer and the outside attractions are open, you can also have a go at finding your way around the maze made from trees. Or you could take a trip around the grounds on the Lynbarn railway which has been recently restored. Apparently it has some fabulous views over the North Devon coast and dartmoor, so well worth a trip.

And just incase the children need to burn off a bit more energy there is an outdoor wooden assault course.

The large grounds include a lake with an island in the middle, along with a big arena for the Birds of Prey and flying ferret shows.

The entire inside was wheelchair friendly, and there were some disabled toilets too. I am not sure about the rides but I would imagine this would not be a problem. The toilets were all clean and tidy and also included a seperate mother and baby room.

I guess the visit would be more enjoyable in the Summer, with a few more things on offer but we still had a fun-filled day, and would consider going back if ever in the area again. The staff were all very friendly and a mixture of ages which was nice to see. It is a very family friendly orientated place, probably as it is family run, and so friendly they even sent us a Christmas card which we received on our return home.

If you want any more information you can visit the website at www.themilkyway.co.uk or telephone 01237 431 255.

The website includes a shop area in case you want to buy goodies online, and details about nearby accommodation should you be wishing to plan a holiday in the area.

 

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