My day out at the UK’s best theme park – with no queues for any rides

A YELLOW warning for wind isn’t ideal for a trip to a theme park . . . or is it?

Last week, a friend from the school gates and I decided to ignore the alert from the Met Office about high-speed gusts and still visit Paultons Park in the New Forest.

Paulton’s park

Ghostly Manor won Best New Attraction at this year’s UK Theme Park awards[/caption]

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The kids enjoying the ride[/caption]

And it turned out to be an excellent decision, because the longest we queued for a ride was about four minutes.

And it was two minutes for popular rides Al’s Auto Academy and the Farmyard Flyer rollercoaster.

That fact alone makes this my favourite theme park in Europe. Because it doesn’t matter how good the rides are if you’re waiting up to an hour for each one.

On the kids’ favourite rides, such as the Velociraptor and Cat-O-Pillar coasters, we were able to fit in about three rounds in 15 minutes.

Paultons is the perfect starter park for toddlers, and I first took my son there when he was two, lured by its famous Peppa Pig World.

Shoot ghosts

He is in year 2 now, so has grown out of Peppa and moved on to the entry-level coasters, of which they have several.

We were travelling with a three-year-old and two six-year-olds, and the park had more than enough for them all.

It has long been the park of choice for younger families, but in the last few years they have been investing heavily in attractions for older children, including Valgard, a viking-themed land opening next year that features two rollercoasters and a swing ride.

Then there’s Ghostly Manor, a new interactive ride where you shoot ghosts with a laser gun.

I was proud of my high score of 68,000 until I clocked that the highest of all time was an incredible 325,000 — by a very nonchalant-looking teen.

We’ve done similar rides at some of the best-known theme parks and my son proclaimed that this was by far the best.

And he is not the only one to think so. Ghostly Manor won Best New Attraction at this year’s UK Theme Park awards, one of ten gongs Paultons bagged, including the coveted Theme Park Of The Year.

I’d have to agree with that gong, thanks to many key factors. Those short queues, incredible customer service (employees all cheerful), the cleanliness (bathrooms spotless) and the attention to detail.

For example, the fact that they don’t charge for parking, unlike several other big theme parks, and that they have leaflets at the entrance telling you all of the events that are on that day.

If you’re thinking of paying a visit before the end of season, their Halloween offering runs from October 16 to November 3.

Plus, autumn is a wonderful time to explore the surrounding New Forest.

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The Sun’s Caroline McGuire in her spacious Premium caravan[/caption]

We stayed ten minutes down the road at the Green Hill Farm Holiday Village in Landford in a Premium three-bed caravan that had something of the Doctor Who Tardis about it.

From the outside it looked much like your average, high-end static caravan, but on the inside there were three spacious bedrooms — two twins and a master bedroom with an en suite — plus a family bathroom.

But most impressive was the open-plan living room and kitchen, which was enormous and had French doors leading on to a verandah.

The details were very considered, with thick carpets, chunky tartan curtains and sturdy wooden wardrobes.

The beds were super-comfy too, with soft sheets and extra-squishy pillows. Elsewhere on site, there was plenty to do, too.

Pig racing

Our kids enjoyed a bounce on the trampolines followed by a stint in the adventure playground.

Meanwhile, my mate and I equally enjoyed wine from the comfort of the restaurant overlooking the play area.

Then there was a wildlife trail, petanque, table tennis and a mud kitchen, alongside paid-for activities such as den building, bike hire, fishing, air rifle target shooting and archery.

Nearby there was also Longdown Activity Farm, Bolderwood Deer Watch Trail, crabbing at Lymington Town Quay and Cholderton Rare Breeds Farm — a very cute, smallish farm where we fed sheep, horses, goats, cattle, pigs and chickens, and also got to watch the hugely popular pig racing.

So despite the yellow weather warnings, we spent the entire weekend outside, grinning from ear to ear. And we were blown away, in the good sense.