Address: Thetford Forest, High Lodge, Brandon, IP27 0AF, United Kingdom
Phone: +441842815434
Rating: 4.6
based on 579 reviews.
Parking
Pros:
"Parking is plentiful even on very busy summer days."
"Parking is good value, £12.50 if pre-booked."
"Parking prices are not too bad considering the facilities provided."
"Parking was included with tickets."
"We were also pleased to find ample car parking available at a reasonable cost."
"Parking is easy and close to the site, no tickets plate registration (enter your reg at the pay point when leaving)."
"Parking for the day is currently £12.50."
Cons:
"Parking can begin to add up if you stay for a few hours."
"It's just not worth the ridiculous parking charges. Save your money and go elsewhere!"
"Parking is expensive."
"Let down by the hideously over priced parking and poor staffing levels in the cafe at peak times."
"Rip off parking charge for DROPPING your child off at a birthday party."
"Car park price is expensive!"
"Horrendous parking fees!!"
Cafe and Food
Pros:
"There are 2 food outlets both selling lovely food."
"Food good, service with a smile and humour."
"Great food in the cafe and lovely atmosphere."
"The cafe food is good and not overly expensive - great for that mid ride munch 😊"
"The cafe impressed us with its use of locally sourced ingredients."
"Dog friendly, with lovely food. Even homemade dog treats by the till to buy, that our Sammy absolutely loved."
"The café has an excellent range of vegetarian and vegan food, so everyone is catered for."
Cons:
"However they NEED more food outlets on busy days... the take out cafe had run out of food and the cafe had a queue out to the green."
"Cafe is fine for drinks and ice cream, but they need to get management to sort the food out as it's a little bit school cafeteria style for the money they're trying to charge."
"Parking and cafe are expensive."
"The food and drink in the cafe is so expensive, even the friendliness of the staff doesn't justify it."
"Disappointing experience. Overpriced cafe."
"Both parking and cafe are extortionate and a regular latte is the size of a thimble."
"I can't speak for the pizzas but the 'food' from the cafe is over priced slop."
Activities and Attractions
Pros:
"Really great place to spend a day just playing in the woods and on the various musical instruments hidden around."
"A great array of activities by forest England."
"Absolutely fantastic day out."
"Great place for a family day out. Lots of activities for those that want them, plenty of space for those who just want to walk and relax."
"Loads of unique wooden sculptures for everyone to discover."
"Great open place for the kids to let off a bit of steam."
"The playground and various play areas provide plenty of entertainment for most ages."
Cons:
"Always very busy. Nice place, but not much to keep older children engaged."
"Everything's starting to look rundown, toilets messy, cafe very overpriced."
"Good cross country track (red) it’s a joke it’s for beginners... it needs serious maintenance been stung like no tomorrow."
"Just such a shame some of the play equipment is roped off, and has been for some time."
"We had quite a wait when hiring our mountain bikes due to lack of staff who came across as inexperienced."
"The red mountain bike trail here has gone from being fairly natural and interesting to paved over and boring over the last few years."
"half the kids climbing equipment that was free have been replaced with the go ape or other paid stuff or removed sadly."
Facilities and Cleanliness
Pros:
"Toilets clean and there’s parking."
"The area and the activities were very good and well maintained."
"Clean, well cared for and still plenty of space for social distancing."
"The toilets are many and surprisingly clean despite that many visitors."
"Greatly improved over the years, good play facilities for kids and lovely big green for picnics or games."
"Absolutely delightful, a peaceful walk in a chaotic world."
"Lovely place. Clean and relaxing."
Cons:
"Be aware postcode GPS will probably take you to the wrong place."
"We couldn't find any bins to dispose of our rubbish and massive queues to pay for car park before leaving."
"In other countries these are available to use for free and so is parking. The whole site is extremely expensive."
"Very busy when we went, so the toilet cleanliness wasn't the greatest."
"Shame about the two blocked loos and the door with no lock."
"Baby change available - my advice is DO NOT use the baby change in the ladies toilets, very cramped and unclean."
"If I had one complaint it would be the lack of waste bins."
Value for Money
Pros:
"Parking is expensive but as the money all goes back into the forest its worth it."
"Love this place, great for families, great for getting away from the daily grind. Well run, and parking is reasonable considering you're contributing to the upkeep of the forest not some parking company's shareholders."
"The car park fee has gone up from £9.50 to £12.50 since last summer, but even so it's still good value."
"Parking is expensive but I think there is a deal if you go before 11am!"
"What an absolutely fantastic place. Tons to do. I've seen a few comments about the parking charges. It will cost you around £12 to park all day but once you're in there you really don't have to spend another penny."
"Car Parking was £15 all day.... however that's all you have to pay."
"You pay per car not per person and varies depending on length of stay... It's well worth it!"
Cons:
"It's just not worth the ridiculous parking charges. Save your money and go elsewhere!"
"The food and drink in the cafe is so expensive, even the friendliness of the staff doesn't justify it."
"Parking can be a bit expensive but if you arrive on foot or bike it’s free and membership is a good deal."
"The car parking is around double of other forestry commission sites I've visited so you're better off parking at Brandon Country Park and walking up."
"My only criticism is that the car parking is very expensive."
"Update- parking is now £3 per hour and a coffee £3.40 for a small cup. Seems a bit pricey so bring your own."
"The reason for only 4 stars is that the parking is very, very expensive!!!!"