Crocky Trail

From Chester Wiki

"I am 28 years old, and up until 2 weeks ago I had never been to the Crocky Trail.". Oooo it sounds like some sort of Crocky Trail Anonymous meeting or something doesn't it? The fact of the matter is that if you live in Chester, and you haven't been, either you are over 60 or you are a bit booooooring (says the man who only went two weeks ago for the first time in his life:)

Situated in Waverton, and easily accessible from either the A51 or A41 heading out of Chester, this place had been going from strength to strength for years. Originally (and I am no expert here) it was set up by a farmer as a free adventure playground thing, but after the site started getting more and more popular he started adding more 'rides' and started charging people to visit. Fair do's he, must be loaded now.

I wen on a bank holiday and it was busy. The fee has recently gone up from £5 to £7, but in reality its still a cheap and fun day out for everyone. I'm struggling a bit to describe exactly what the Crocky Trail is so let me start a new paragraph and a new train of thought.

It's a big field with a stream running round it which is the general path that you take around the trail. Along the trail are situated various bridges, games, rope swings and other things which you play/walk/swing on when you feel the need. And oh my god do you feel the need. I reckon its been about eighteen years since I have had a scab on my knee, but I had one after my day at the trail. Basically it makes you feel like a big kid again, which can only be a good thing.

Upon arrival you park up, get changed into your minging old tracksuit bottoms and head over to the start. The start being a collection of a variety of 'rides' I suppose you would call them. There is a death slide (too scared to go on), a 45 degree room with a slippy floor that you can't get out of (my favourite) some poles that you have to walk across whilst other customers try and knock you off with pugel stick things (fun, I made it across easy) and some other things.

From there you head on to another playground section featuring the titanic (you know like on the film at the end where the boat tips up and everyone is falling from the end?), a rock climbing wall and king of the hill type of game where you have to run up and batter everyone else who is trying to be on top.

Needless to say I was absolutely knackered after all this and the trail hasn't even started yet really! After these areas you proceed onto the actual trail which, as I said, follows a stream around a few acres of land. On the way you find numerous rickety bridges, a couple of small mazes, some rope swings and a log to walk across. The queues were quite bad on the day I went, but it was bank holiday, so i expect that they are not usually too bad. The whole trail takes a couple of hours, but you can take a picnic and have a break for a while, or if you are feeling up to it you can go round again, and again, and again.All for seven pounds of the realm. Not too shabby.

You get a lot of families, and also unfortunately quite a few scally's messing about on the rides, but that is pretty much the only negative thing that I have to say about the Crocky Trail (the scally's, not the families).

Basically, to sum up, my advice to you, whether you are 2 or 52 would be to get down there, wear your scummy pants and your 80's trainers and either be a kid, or at least act like you are a kid again.