Landmark Forest Adventure Park – Dinosaurs, Trails and Lunch
A few hours.
The route
Landmark Forest Adventure Park fills an old pinewood in Carrbridge with life-size dinosaurs, treetop trails and a hall of illusions, and young children can happily spend a whole morning there.
Afterwards, stroll along the village street to the old packhorse bridge arching over the River Dulnain, then warm up over lunch by the wood-burner at the Carrbridge Kitchen.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Park Cottage in Kincraig, 10 miles away. Sleeps 6; next free Fri 23 Oct to Sun 25 Oct.
Book Landmark Forest Adventure Park
Book Landmark tickets online for your date, as they cannot be refunded, and remember that from 30 October to 21 March the park opens only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, every day from 18 December to 4 January and 12 to 21 February, and never on 25 and 26 December or 1 January.
The day
Carrbridge
An easy morning in Carrbridge, north of Aviemore. Give the little ones the run of the park, then walk through the village to the old bridge and back for a warm lunch.
About three and a half hoursAbout 1 mile on foot
Landmark Forest Adventure Park
An attraction
Landmark has its own car park at the entrance. The park opens at 10am. Until 25 October everything is open every day. From 30 October it opens on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only, plus every day from 18 December to 4 January (but never on 25 and 26 December or 1 January) and from 12 to 21 February. Fewer things are open in winter and the prices drop: a winter day ticket is £16 for an adult and £14 for a child aged 4 to 14 at the time of writing, and under-3s go free. The Dinosaur Kingdom, the Tropical Hot-House, the illusions of the Bamboozeleum, the topsy-turvy cabins of Wonderwood and the Red Squirrel Trail up in the pines all stay open. Toddlers have the Kids Zone and Ant City to climb about in. NetworX, the bouncy nets high in the trees, is shut for maintenance until late November. Most of the paths suit a pushchair, and there are toilets in the park. Dogs on a lead can come round outside but not into the buildings. Wrap everyone up warm, as most of it is outdoors.
10 min on foot
The Old Packhorse Bridge
An attraction
When the children have had their fill, leave the car where it is and walk 10 minutes north-east along the village's Main Street to the Old Packhorse Bridge, a single high arch of rough stone over the River Dulnain. It was built in 1717 so that funerals could reach Duthil Church when the river was in flood, and it's still known as the coffin bridge. You can see it from the road bridge just beside it. Keep small children back from the edge, as the river runs fast and dark below.
7 min on foot
The Carrbridge Kitchen
Lunch
Lunch is at the Carrbridge Kitchen, a 7-minute walk back along Main Street from the bridge: a friendly village café using local suppliers, with homemade cake and a wood-burning stove in winter. It's open every day from 10am to 4pm, dogs are welcome, and customers can use its toilets. Over Christmas and New Year, check before going. If it's full, Landmark's own Foresters Café is open at weekends and holidays. From the café it's 3 minutes' walk back to Landmark's car park.
If it rains
On a wet morning, spend more of it under a roof in the Bamboozeleum, Wonderwood and the Tropical Hot-House, look at the bridge from the road on the way to lunch, and let lunch at the Carrbridge Kitchen run long by the stove.
Where to stay
Photograph by Landmark Forest Adventure Park via Google