For those of you that do not know who Peppa Pig is, then here’s a quick lo-down, according to the gospel of Wikipedia:

“Peppa Pig is a children's television programme. Each episode is approximately 5 minutes long. The show revolves around Peppa, an anthropomorphic female pig, and her family and friends. Each of her friends is a different species of mammal - their first name starts with the same letter as the type of animal they are. Peppa's friends are the same age as her, and Peppa's younger brother George's friend Richard is the same age as him. Episodes tend to feature everyday activities such as attending playgroup, going swimming, visiting their grand parents, going to the play ground or riding bikes.

 

The characters wear clothes, live in houses, and drive cars, but still display some characteristics of the animals on which they are based. Peppa and her family snort like pigs during conversations, the other animals make their respective noises when they talk, with some exhibiting other characteristics, such as the Rabbit family's enjoyment of carrots. The Rabbits are also the sole exception to the rule of human-like habitation, in that they live in a burrow in a hill, although it does have windows and is furnished in the same way as the other houses.”

Anyway – recently, Claire and I took Jack to Peppa Pig World, which is a new addition to Paulton’s Park, based in Southampton, and I was bracing myself for something painful.

It turned out to be really good, much to my surprise! Peppa Pig is great for kids, I mean, Jack loves it. For the adult, it’s not so bad, unless you have seen the DVD over and over and over again, and then feel the need to buy another so that there’s some variation in the content!

Peppa Pig World opened only recently, from what I understand, but it was heaving with children and their parents, all pandering to their kids’ desire for the pink pig.

True to the cartoons, the park does offer helicopter and balloon rides, rides on boats, cars and dinosaurs (don’t ask – it’s part of the cartoon), all of which are safe for a two year old to go on, along with his parents!

The rides are (or were) in immaculate condition and the attention to detail in the park was phenomenal. From the music, to the rides, the background scenery, everything really looked great. Not that I was looking to, but I couldn’t find fault there, really.

Being as though it’s a few hours away from our house, it was a bit of a trek; We got there in the afternoon mid-week, had a couple of hours inside there before it closed for the day, and then bombed-out back to a hotel for the night, and then returned the following day to pick-up from where we left off previously.

Apart from the trip to the bottom of the country to go there, I can honestly recommend it as an enjoyable time, particularly for smaller children. The rides would have also entertained slightly older kids too, but much older kids would still have fun in the rest of Paulton’s Park, as it’s all contained within the same theme park.

Just thought I’d tell you that really – won’t bore you with the details, but it was good.