Our visit to Ponderosa

We visited Ponderosa on a very hot day in May to visit the animals and playgrounds. The last time we visited Ponderosa several years ago back when the Hiccups Family Fun Days were just starting out. It was nice to go back and see the improvements that have been made and to bring a number of new families there. 

The Ponderosa Rural Therapeutic Centre was established by a group of people who wanted to help bridge the gap between disabled and able bodied people.

Ponderosa has a wide range of different animals from all over the world, ranging from the Tropical Jungles of Brazil to the Sandy Plains of Australia. There are also zip wires, play areas, a reptile room, a bunny barn and lots more to visit!

For us, the size of Ponderosa was just right. It meant that you didn't feel like you were missing anything out. You got to see everything and the children still got a lovely play in the playgrounds (the boat and sand area was a firm favourite with my children. We spend a fair amount of our day there digging holes and burying legs. The 18 month old managed to find a sandy puddle and proceeded to play there for a very long time, delighting in sitting down and splashing in this puddle. She was down to her nappy by the end of the day. To me - always a sign of a good day out with the kids!  For a hot weekend day you never felt that it was overly crowded either. It was certainly busy as you would expect for such a fantastic venue but, for someone who is not keen on crowds, it was never uncomfortable. 

We missed the ponies as it had been decided that the day was too hot for them to be doing pony rides. It was a little disappointing but refreshing to see a place taking the animal's welfare into consideration in this way and to be honest, we wouldn't want it any other way. 

So that there was always a space available for the families should they need it, Little Hiccups hired out the Lakeside Restaurant which could hold 50 people. It was available for lunch or for a quiet space if needed. It just meant that families could relax a little bit more at lunchtime and I took the opportunity to catch up with a few families and grab a few photos. Which is always nice as sometimes on events like this you can sometimes not bump into many. Having this meeting spot was certainly helpful.  

"Thank you for a lovely day out! Was great to see everyone. Had a fab day xxx"

"Thanks for a lovely day. We all enjoyed it. Sadly no photos! ! But great to catch up with our lovely friends xxx"

"An amazing day Thankyou"

"Thank you Little Hiccups for organising a wonderful trip to Ponderosa.

"Thank you Little hiccups for a lovely day out to Ponderosa the pace was slow going in this glorious weather. But lovely to catch up with so many of you"

"Thanks so much for today. My boy made a friend in the play barn, watching him really play with a real person gave me all the feels. thank you so much for giving us so many opportunities to get out there!"

"Awesome day today can't thank you enough xxx"

"Thank you for today. Loads of fun had by all."

"Thank you Ponderosa and Little Hiccups. We had a lovely time."

"Thank you Ponderosa and little hiccups. We had an amazing time and even managed to pick up a few animals. Thanks again for a brilliant day."

Website: http://ponderosa-centre.co.uk/

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