Tuesday was Blackgang Chine day and the children’s excitement had ramped up several notches before the day had even started. Woo!
We were all up early making sandwiches and getting our bags packed. After yesterday’s stormy weather we were relieved to find that it was due to be a sunny day, but this did mean that we had to slather the children (and ourselves) in sun cream. It’s never a fun job!
The route took in gorgeous sea and cliff views, both of which were enhanced by glorious sunshine. However, the children were more interested in the animals we drove past. “It’s a baby lamb” from James and “look at the cows” from Genevieve. Megan got the upper hand though – as we got close to Blackgang Chine it transpired that one of the local residents had got hold of a retired model. “Look – it’s a velociraptor” she shouted. Brilliant!
We’d been forewarned about the new car park procedures that had been put in place, but upon arrival it was still very odd to see “socially distanced parking” put into action. Yet another odd side effect of COVID.
The grown ups had a chuckle on the way in as the smuggler statues guiding the way to the park entrance were wearing face masks. Very cute. We got to the entrance, queued, donned our own face masks, had our temperature taken, and then we were in. All a bit surreal but clearly the “new normal” in effect again.
The first order of the day was seeing the dinosaurs. I didn’t join the troops as there was an exceedingly steep slope down and back up again so I loitered at the top listening to a podcast. On the way down the slope they were confronted by a giant animatronic T-Rex. James was terrified of the beast but Genevieve just laughed at it (although we’re sure she was less confident the last time we were here).
James soon got over his ornithoscelidaphobia (fear of dinosaurs) and was soon clambering all over the statues, as was Genevieve.
In fact it was hard to stop them both from climbing on the poor dinosaurs and continue on the trail – they were having so much fun!
I could hear everyone a full five minutes before they reappeared back up the slope. There were giggles and laughter (as well as the occasional telling off) which was lovely to hear. It seemed to take them ages to climb the final part – I discovered that was because they were busy taking family photos (which was a very good excuse).
The famous Dodo Valley was next. I had only just cleansed the infectiously cheerful songs “sung” by the dodos from our last visit two years ago… and yet they all came streaming back. They’re the sort of annoying earworm that get stuck in your head for the rest of the day (and for several weeks thereafter). There was supposed to be a one way system in place on the cargo netting, but that was instantly ignored by both kids who charged headlong into the abyss. A quick shout followed by a minor telling off resolved the issue before they were off on their adventure again (in the correct direction this time).
Dodo Valley connected to an adventure playground “fort” so we left the kids playing in there for a while. Although we were stood by the main, obvious exit from the fort, both children annoyingly tried to find ways of escaping though the less obvious exits. Whoever designed the fort is clearly not a parent! Megan eventually tracked them down though and we were all soon reunited.
We’d put it off long enough – the time had come for the big rides. We were off to find the rollercoaster and water slide. We’d been measuring James all summer as the rollercoaster had a strict 1.10m height limit. He was up to 1.07m so we were hopeful we’d get him on, and he was beside himself with excitement about riding it. Genevieve (who’s two and a half years older than James) was tall enough when we came two years ago, but sadly the extra half-year of growth proved to be James’s downfall.
We had a (nearly) fail-proof plan – his shoes added a bit of height combined with putting his hat loosely on top of his head got him just above the 1.10m mark. But then we saw kids in front of us in the queue having their hats removed, so we tried spiking up his hair instead. Ultimately it was no good though – he was politely (but firmly) told that he was too small to ride. I had to carry him past the rollercoaster and out of the exit while Genevieve and Megan rode the ride. But he was so, so brave and understanding about the situation. He was an absolute superstar about the whole thing and was really grown up. “I’ll be tall enough next year Daddy”. What an absolute legend!
We stood and watched as Megan and Genevieve thundered around the track. We could hear Genevieve’s screams of joy for the whole ride – she loved it!
To make up for the rollercoaster we moved straight on to the water slide as James could definitely tide that one. It proved to be an instant hit with both children, and the queue was much shorter so we were able to go again and again.
Genevieve was so brave that she decided to ride by herself after a couple of goes. Despite the clear enjoyment we were having we couldn’t convince Grandma Lindsey or Grandad Lawrie to have a go (but they did an excellent job of clapping and cheering as we slashed down, and they looked after our bags superbly).
I had to sit and watch after a while – the slope and ramp up to the top of the tower was proving too much for me. It didn’t stop the others having an absolute blast though and it was amazing watching their glee-filled faces as they shot down the slides.
The was a slightly sad moment as we had to really shout at Genevieve when she wandered back up the tower by herself. We didn’t know where she’d gone. But we couldn’t stop the fun for long so Megan, James and Genevieve were soon back up to the top of the tower for another go.
Just before lunch we decided to have a ride on the teacups. We spotted a cup called “Smitty” so James and Megan just had to ride that one. It was fate!
Genevieve was insistent that I span the teacup as fast as possible (which of course I did). It’s amazing she wasn’t sick, but I did keep a close eye on her to make sure she was still enjoying the spinning.
We stopped for lunch in a picnic area overlooked by dinosaurs with a beautiful sea view. The perfect dining experience, although it was slightly odd having an animatronic beast grunting above our heads while we were eating!
After lunch we paused from a quick family photo overlooking the sea. It was incredibly windy but that just added to the drama of the photo.
We treated the kids to ice cream for pudding; unicorn flavour for Genevieve and bubble gum for James. Both ice creams were sickly sweet but were well received by the children (although Genevieve didn’t like the sherbet bits in hers as they tickled her throat). James did a remarkable job of retaining all of his drips. He’s clearly had a lot of practice eating ice cream!
We moved on to the underwater kingdom as I had happy memories of it from last time. Sadly the magic just wasn’t there this time though. The jolly music was missing and the animatronic characters weren’t as full of life as last time. Even the life-sized whale wasn’t enough to excite the children. Oh well.
At this point I went to sleep in the car as I was getting tired. I stopped for an opportune selfie with the iconic giant smuggler as I exited though.
While I was resting the others wandered down to the Haunted Mansion and then on to the Wild West area. There were lots of children wandering around with cheap plastic toy cap guns but somehow Megan managed to convince our two that they didn’t need a gun. I was mightily impressed at this superb parenting! The kids were more than happy enough riding the pretend horses and the stagecoach, as well as exploring the jail, saloon and other buildings.
I didn’t sleep in the car for long as it was swelteringly hot. When I re-joined the gang they were having fun on the pirate ships. Normally the bank of guns on the opposing ships would fire water, but there was no water this time (I assume because of COVID so it was probably for the best). The lack of projectiles didn’t stop James from pretending to shoot everybody though. In the meantime Genevieve was obsessed with the Vortex experience (a dark walkway encompassed by a rotating tunnel designed to make you feel dizzy) but both grandparents refused to join her as they complained that it made them sick!
It was nearly time to head home, but not before the kids had a final go on the fort playground before we headed round to the water slide. Sadly there was an extremely long queue so there was only time for one more go, but we still a lot of fun and it was the perfect end to the day.
The plan was to drive home via the fish and chip shop in Freshwater but we were a bit too early so we stopped to look at the sea while we waited. It presented an opportunity for Genevieve to look at the nearby lifeboat station which was needed for one of her Beavers badges.
Megan was one of the first in line when the fish and chip shop opened and was dismayed to discover that we should have placed and order. Luckily as we were only getting a small cod and chip for the kids the shop was able to sort us out, and Megan had the foresight to place the adults’ order for later in the evening. It would have been a disaster otherwise – I was all geared up for chips by that point!
We got back to the cottage and the kids literally hoovered up their dinner. I was in quite a bad way having overdone things so I went for a quiet sit down outside while the kids went to bed. Megan then popped out to collect everyone else’s dinner which went down a treat. It was an early night for us all – it had been a tiring but amazing day.
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