The Cocoabean and Dark Space – Chocolate, Play and the Stars
A day.
The route
The Cocoabean at Twynholm is a chocolate factory where children make their own chocolates behind a viewing window and then disappear into the soft play.
In the afternoon, a short drive away in Kirkcudbright, the Dark Space Planetarium puts Galloway's starry skies on a dome above their heads. It's a whole day out for families with young children, and almost all of it is under a roof.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Book Kirkcudbright Dark Space Planetarium
Book an afternoon show at the Kirkcudbright Dark Space Planetarium online, once its visit page shows that month's opening days (usually Wednesdays, Fridays and weekends outside the summer holidays): shows start at a quarter past the hour, and the last is two hours before closing.
Book a chocolate workshop at The Cocoabean Company
Book a morning chocolate workshop at The Cocoabean Company on its website, especially in the school holidays, after checking its calendar for the day: it opens every day in the holidays and usually Friday to Sunday otherwise, and the ticket includes the play areas all day.
The day
Kirkcudbright
Aprons on for a morning of chocolate and climbing frames, then an afternoon looking up at the planets.
About six hours
The Cocoabean Company
The Cocoabean is a chocolate factory on the edge of Twynholm, signed in brown from the A75 by a giant dinosaur, with a big free car park and disabled spaces at the front door. It opens every day in the school holidays, 9.30am to 5pm, and usually from Friday to Sunday the rest of the year. Its days change month to month, so check the calendar on its visit page before going: in November it opens on most weekends and some Fridays, 10am to 5pm. Book a chocolate workshop on its website, especially in the school holidays. In the children-only session, for ages 3 and up, grown-ups watch through the viewing windows; in the family session everyone makes chocolate together. Each lasts about 45 minutes, and the children take home three chocolates and an apron. A workshop ticket includes the play areas all day: a multi-level soft play with an under-4s zone and, from April to October, a pirate ship, a castle maze and a flying fox outside. Play on its own costs £13.50 for children aged 4 and up and £8.50 for ages 1 to 3 at the time of writing, and adults go free. Lunch is in its own café, which serves meals from 10am to 3pm and has a children's menu. The building is all on one level, with toilets and baby changing, but the outdoor play is uneven wood chip for a pushchair. Dogs are welcome at the picnic tables by the front door, but not inside.
9 min by car
Kirkcudbright Dark Space Planetarium
Drive 9 minutes on into Kirkcudbright, to the Dark Space Planetarium in the Johnston on St Mary Street. The Johnston has a car park with free spaces for Blue Badge holders, and the signs show how long you can park. Book an afternoon show on the planetarium's website before setting out, and be there in good time, as shows start promptly. It posts its opening days a month at a time on its visit page, and outside the summer holidays it usually opens on Wednesdays, Fridays and weekends. Shows start at a quarter past the hour, and the last is two hours before closing. Each show runs 45 minutes, a live talk about the night sky and then a film all round the dome, and afterwards there are hands-on space exhibits to try. Tickets are £12 for adults and £6 for children under 16 at the time of writing, and under-3s go free. It's step-free throughout, with accessible toilets and baby changing, and only assistance dogs may come in.
If it rains
Almost all of it is under a roof: only the Cocoabean's outdoor play, open April to October, is out in the weather, and the soft play is inside.
Photographs by Mark Malone, The Cocoabean Company and Frances Coombey via Google