Diggerland Devon - Review for families

Best for:

5 – 8 / 9 - 12

OK for:

Any child over 90cm in height

Cost

£££ - It’s just under £20 per adult and per child on the day, with a small discount if booked online in advance. Children under 90cm go free.

What’s on offer

This is quite a small attraction, catering to a niche interest. It’s nothing like Crealy’s Great Adventure Park, so appreciate Diggerland for what it is. Aside from the sky ride, dodgems, zip line and youngsters’ play area available, the big draw of Diggerland is the fact that children can dig!

Both children and adults can drive real life tractors and construction machinery, such as dumper trucks, 4x4’s and actual diggers. There’s also a JCB theatre showing a film about the attraction’s main theme. Essentially, there’s a lot here for the digger-enthusiast in your son or daughter.

Facilities include a café and restaurant, but there are picnic tables available. Baby-changing facilities and disabled toilets are on offer on site, along with a gift shop and free parking.

There’s also a campsite for families to stay, which is exclusive to the Devon Diggerland. There are three other Diggerland’s in the UK, all offering the same experience..

Highlights

Children (who are over 90cm) will love this place for several reasons, but perhaps one of the biggest is that they’re allowed to do all the hard work themselves. They’ll really enjoy digging a hole in the ground when they know that they are the ones in control of the JCB. It’s easy to go at your own pace here, too. It’s not like other theme parks where you wait in a long queue, ride for two minutes and do it all again. All day. Forever.

The rides are also as a rule generally slower and more easy going than other theme parks which is a plus, especially if your child doesn’t like fast rides such as rollercoasters.

They have polite staff and clean facilities. Bonus - it’s generally quiet during term time and much less busy than you’d expect during the holidays. It’s also nice (and hilarious/ terrifying) for parents and grandparents to watch their small, very young children operating and driving real life diggers!

What to watch out for

- You might get a bit muddy! Don’t wear your Sunday best.

- Height restrictions are a big deal. Pay attention to them. Any child under 90cm in height is RESTRICTED on the mechanical rides they can go on. They can barely go on any, in fact, even with an adult accompanying them. This is why such small children don’t pay in. Check on the website or contact the staff to find out more and how this will affect your child.

- Diggerland will accept Tesco Clubcard vouchers/points but will not accept Days Out tokens or Tesco Rewards. Unless you’ve got a digger-obsessive on your hands, this attraction might not feel like excellent value for money without a discount. Clubcard is your best bet for discounted entry.

- The ticket price includes all day admission and unlimited rides on anything than isn’t classed as ‘extra’ or anything that isn’t coin-operated. Dodgems are classed as ‘extra’. Bring along some cash for coin-operated rides as there may be one or two depending on which site you visit.

- Families usually spend between 3 – 5 hours here, so plan your other activities wisely.

MFM tips:

- If you have very tiny children, wait until they are taller than 90cm before you visit!

- Nearby attractions include Devon Railway Centre and Knightshayes Court.

What the owners say

“Diggerland is the UK’s most unique attraction where children and adults have the chance to ride and drive REAL full size construction machinery, under the guidance of our trained staff - no driving licence required!

With 4 sites across the UK located in Kent, Devon, Durham and Yorkshire you’re never too far away from digging to your heart's content.”

Visit the official Diggerland website

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