Another weekday where we have had the opportunity to get out to break up the monotony of the working week, made better by the fact it was a Thurs day evening which meant only one more working day till the weekend!
Every year we have been visiting Robin Hill, a relatively famous country park made more popular in the early 2000’s by Rob ‘da’ Bank’s music Bestival widely believed to be the better of the two major music festivals held on the Island. I was never fortunate enough get a chance to visit before the Island venue was axed in 2017 but with famous act ranging from the likes of Duran Duran to Missy Elliot, it’s something I regret not getting on board with. Bestival is now held in Dorest / Shropshire, a real shame that the Island famous for its music festivals may never again host this event.
Robin hill itself is a great little place to take children of all ages to visit the park and gardens. It used to also be famous for a being home to many varieties of animals. I remember back when I ws younger visiting with my family there were monkeys and apes and notably a Baboon for some reason used to remember my mother and get so wound up when he saw her each time, he would literally throw himself at the caging screaming at her. Not really sure what that was about or indeed if it was specifically just my mum or what. Maybe he didn’t like what she was wearing! Other animals homed there were insects, spiders and snakes in what I remember to be a very dark and musty chamber. Parie dogs were also left to wildly run the grounds and you would often see them on the walk through the garden and up the ‘hill.’
Thursday’s trip to the Festival of the Dead started around 18:30 when many of the illuminations were visible. We were advised that much the park had been closed off – something typical when they hold the evening events however this event saw even more unavailable for access specifically the African Adventure area – one of the adventure playgrounds and so was a little disappointing for the kids. However, unlike some of the previous illuminated themed visits, many of the rides within the accessible areas were open. The Cows express; a cows themed train ride, The Pirate ship (speaks for itself) and the 4D cinema, which was showing sign of disrepair, entertaining, nevertheless.
Entry was £20pp which personally I though was quite expensive considering the amount of the park which was inaccessible. Saying that there were certainly lots of Mexican themed stall, inflatable and decorations. My favourite were the candy skulls (calaveras) with their vibrant colours which illuminated the area beautifully. There were giant inflatable Mexican puppets mounted atop of the entertains who also really engaged with the crowd.
My son and his friends made use of was open, playing amid the treetops in the bouncy netting – even I tried a go at this and for a November evening the temperature was a balmy 17 degrees C, enough so that it works up a sweat and appetite in us all.
The food I must say was incredibly disappointing for the price. We chose to have the 10″ chilli and rice burritos. To say that there was even 1% chili mince within the 5″ rolled burrito (I guess it was a 10″ flat bread to start with) would have been an overestimate. Indeed the rice was bland and for £5 each certainly no worth it. The only thing that saved us were the triple cooked chips which were few in number and a £3 a tray – again disappointing.
In summary, the evening was great. We all had a good time playing on the activities and marveling at the colourful illuminations. However, to consider that for the best part of £80 from 18:00 til late (we left at 21:30 after walking around the small complex twice and having food), plus £25 on food and drinks for us all (not including 4 chiros at £4.50 a bag), I would consider bringing you own food at least to make up for the relatively expensive evening.
I will be thinking twice before commiting to going again next year.
