Day Out: Active Kids, Perth

On our way home from our visit to Knockdow House in the Cowal peninsula we knew we needed somewhere fantastic to stop with the kids. We needed to release them from the car like wee rats, let them dart about, run, jump, eat, play, fight, make up, repeat, before we bundled them back in the car again. This is how we discovered Active Kids in Perth.

First off, it’s ideally situated just off the A90 so it’s easy to find and handy for anyone in Perth, visiting the area or passing through.

When we arrived the priority was food. The colourful cafe stocks a range of children’s favourites, from snacks, to juices, lunch boxes and main meals. It’s also possible to eat at the outdoor picnic tables, either bringing your own food or buying in-house. From the cafe the tots plunged into the indoor soft play area (for under 7s) and bounced, slid, weaved and climbed for a good twenty minutes till we dragged them outdoors to the ‘Adventure Park’.

Outdoors is where the action happens. I was impressed by the scale and variety of what’s available. After a whizz around on the toy tractors in the Tractor Ted zone, we ventured to meet the farm animals which included sheep, goats, rabbits and even a two day old alpaca (much cuteness) with its parents. Active Kids is set on farmland, part of Burnside Farm, so having animals on site is a natural part of the package.

From there the tots discovered the huge inflatable pillows, or jelly bellies as they call them. My kids bounced themselves into a delirium for about forty minutes on these bad boys. We just had to sit and watch, how peaceful. What worked especially well is that the trampolines are zoned into suggested age groups so there was a jelly belly for Under 7s, and a separate one for over 7s. This saved my two year old being flung into a ditch by a heavy ten year old jumping enthusiastically next to him and propelling him skywards.

The playground area is excellent with the usual array of wooden swings, flying foxes and climbing apparatus but these great facilities were merely overlooked as the tots raced to explore the pirate ship. Who can blame them? With jolly rogers flying proudly in the wind, climbing ropes ascending the side of the vessel, and slides twisting down the side of the boat it was ideal for active kids.

Next stop was the fort. The St Andrews cross flew from the tower as my eldest skulked in the ‘Jail’ cell. He then carefully crossed the wooden walkway before finding the internal slides and descending them about fifteen times each. Watching the kids playing here almost made you dizzy. Truth be told there’s so much to do here that my husband and I had completely lost each other by this point, me chasing Mr Tot Snr, my husband pursuing Mr Toddler. They were having a ball.

Also on offer is crazy golf and go karts, the latter proving really popular with slightly older children. There’s also a toy and gift shop, and we saw local kids hosting lively birthday parties. At the end of July (Thurs 27 and Fri 28) Active Kids is hosting a Tractor Ted Party in the Park so that’s perhaps a date for the diary.

In summary I can safely say that the title of this attraction, Active Kids, says it all. They will not sit still here, they will be running about in the Scottish countryside utterly besides themselves, and you’ll be chasing them. It’s great.

THE LOWDOWN – The Adventure Park is OPEN until 29th October 2017. The Soft Play, Coffee Shop and Toy Shop remain open until just before Christmas. For pricing click here – you can pay for indoor access (for under 7s only), outdoor access (for all) or access all areas. Slightly complicated but the explanation is here.

OUR STORY – We drove from Dunoon, spending about two hours at Active Kids, before driving back to Aberdeen. I’d say we could easily have spent more time here if we weren’t on the return leg of a ten day holiday so I’d pencil out an entire morning or afternoon here.

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