Our very own Mel Sorge, her husband Elmo and three children Ame (12), Louis (8) and Nieve (4) visited Paultons Park and Peppa Pig World in the New Forest. They had lots of fun with a friendly clown, exciting rides and of course Peppa and George. Read on and find out what the Sorges got up to at Paultons Park and Peppa Pig World.

Day 1

7.00am We set off from home for Southampton with 3 very excited children in the back.

10am We arrived just in time for park opening time! We gathered our things and off we went. As we arrived at the entrance the children saw a clown. He introduced himself as Scotty, did a few tricks for them and told them they must not miss his show during the day.

We instantly loved Paultons. Just the atmosphere and feel of the place is great. We made our way in and the kids were drawn to a large water feature, a big granite world which is moved by water. Very clever. Of course the children put their hands on it to try and get wet! Everyone enjoyed themselves. The park displayed bright colours and Peppa music was played which the little ones loved.

We saw two signs, one said "Paultons Park this way" and the other said "Peppa Pig World this way". Having the worlds' biggest Peppa Pig fan amongst us we thought we had better take that route first.

As we made our way in we saw flamingos, pelicans and wallabies which was a lovely welcome. When Nieve (4yrs old) saw the wallabies she said "Look Mummy, giant rats!".

During the morning Zoe Zebra and Suzy Sheep walked around meeting the children and Peppa and George came out several times during the day for the children to see and wave to and maybe sneak a cuddle!

1pm We took a picnic with us so I was really pleased to see lots of grass and picnic areas with ducks walking around. It made everywhere feel so natural and relaxing. Everywhere was so clean and well kept too.

We had a quick bite before the kids asked to go into George's Rocket Indoor Play Area. They loved it! We [Elmo and I] took a bit of time out and had a coffee. I was surprised how reasonable the prices in the cafes were and the Peppa Pig Store was really reasonable too!

2.30pm After all the fun we made our way to watch Scotty the Clown which was great fun. Then we walked around looking at all the animals; the ostriches, meerkats and a large range of birds.

3pm As we had our 2nd Park Day FREE, we decided to leave and make our way to the Marriott Meon Valley. This was our home for the night and the children were excited to be able to go for a swim there. The hotel was straight down the motorway, about a 30 min drive, and it is set in a gorgeous location. Surrounded by a forest, it seemed really tranquil on arrival.

3.30pm We were greeted by very happy hotel staff who chatted to the children and asked them about their day. They told us about the hotel and took us to our room. I immediately noticed the smell. The hotel and corridors smelt so lovely and modern. Our room was great with enough room for everyone.

We quickly changed for the pool. The ladies that work in the fitness suite were lovely and asked the children if they were excited about swimming and how long were they staying for. This made the children feel very important. The changing facilities were very nice and the pool was great. There is a jacuzzi, steam room and a sauna which was very relaxing.

We had a lovely meal in the Zest restaurant at the hotel. The staff gave the children colouring things and made them feel very welcome. We went to bed feeling full and very tired but excited for another day at the park.

8am Up bright and early, we went down for a gorgeous breakfast. I was impressed how the families seemed to be separated from the more executive guests, this put us at ease rather than worrying that the children might be a little loud and disturbing them. The staff put out toys and a Peppa Pig tent for the little ones so after breakfast they went to play for a bit which gave us time to go over the Paultons map with our eldest child to see where we needed to go that day.

10am We arrived at the park. The kids ran to Scotty the Clown and hugged him as if he was a long lost friend! The second day was going to be all about Paultons, Peppa would get a quick look in but there was so much to do the kids didn't want to leave anything out.

They went on all the rides. Louis and Ame loved The Edge and Magma and Nieve finally got on the Log Flume. There's also a bouncy castle, go-carts, a giant slide, Dinosaur Land and the 4D Cinema which was awesome and so many other attractions.

We had hot dogs and popcorn for lunch and ate it in very well kept gardens surrounded by owls and other birds. After lunch the children wanted to go into the water play area, so they stripped off and spent a good hour or two getting soaked but they absolutely loved it. The weather was lovely and warm. We stayed until the park closed. None of us wanted to leave

5pm As we left the park we went 5 mins up the road to The Mortimer Arms for some dinner before the drive home. The Mortimer Arms is a bed & breakfast and they serve fantastic food. The hotel was busy and the staff were very friendly and were happy for the children to move around if they became a bit bored. With stuffed bellies we begrudgingly made our way home.

Our time in Southampton at Paultons Park and Peppa Pig World was amazing. The park catered for the whole family and we had many laughs. Paultons Park has a heart-warming family feel to it. The Marriott Meon Valley is gorgeous and we will definitely be visiting the Park and that hotel again. The children can not wait to go back!

From the very happy Sorge family