A NEW attraction in the UK lets you have all the fun of the fairground – just without the loud rides.
Thousands of visitors head to Thursford in Norfolk every winter to enjoy its award-winning £5million show, .
Performed by 130 cast members, its been going strong for nearly 40 years, with millions of people visiting since.
And now there’s a reason for families to visit the site the rest of the year, after they launched a new new adventure play fair earlier this summer.
My family love a themed playground and had high hopes that this would be up there with the woodland whimsy of Lillidorei in the North East, or Bewilderwood, which is about 45 minutes away.
Tucked away down windy country lanes, it was the perfect spot to stop and break our journey on the way to the coast for some autumn R&R.
The new wooden playground is inspired by a vintage fairground.
Slides, climbing frames and teacup spinners based on retro rides like a carousel, a Ferris wheel and a Helter Skelter were a big hit with my boys aged six, 11 and 13.
There’s a dedicated toddler area themed around funfair sidestalls and a kart track for kids to zoom around beneath aerial walkways.
The site isn’t huge but it’s incredibly well designed to make the best use of the space, with something new around every corner.
My boys’ favourite was the musical play fountains, where they got absolutely soaked.
Make sure you bring a change of clothes or swimwear as your youngsters will get wet…
The splashpad is the first of its kind in a UK park, with 100 programmable jets shooting out of the floor in time to music, with the control box disguised as an old Victorian organ.
There’s a handy bank of spacious and clean toilet cubicles just behind the fountains if you need to wrestle soggy children out of waterlogged clothes.
Plus there’s plenty of picnic benches to eat at and an on-site food kiosk serving pizza, burgers, sandwiches and soup.
It was lovely sitting in the autumn sunshine with a cup of coffee, looking out at trees whose leaves were turning golden and listening to happy children splashing and laughing.
Once you’ve enjoyed all the fun of the fair outside, you can head indoors to marvel at the world’s largest collection of steam engines and organs, with entry to the museum half price if you have tickets to the adventure play fair.
You can also pay extra to have a go on the museum’s collection of vintage rides, including gallopers, a children’s carousel and a gondola.
The museum has closed now until its 2026 season along with the playground, but visitors can still enjoy the adventure playground if you have booked to see Santa or the light trail on site.
Adventure play fair tickets are only available on the day during the winter season and cost £2.50 for adults and £5 for children aged three and above for an hour session.
Tickets to visit Santa’s grotto and light trail cost from £24 per child and £17 per adult
The Enchanted Journey of Light by itself is £18 per person off-peak and £24 at peak times.
Here’s what its like to go to the UK’s new National Fairground attraction.
Or there is a new indoor fairground themed attraction just for adults which opened in the UK this year.
