Peppa Pig World
The world's first Peppa land: Daddy Pig's car, Grandpa Pig's train and real muddy puddles for the little ones.
The world's first Peppa Pig World was built not in London or Orlando but on the fringe of the New Forest in Hampshire, inside a former country estate that became a family theme park in May 1983. When the Peppa land opened in April 2011, annual visitors doubled from half a million to roughly a million, and it remains the reason parents drive close to two hours from London: Peppa's yellow house, Daddy Pig's car winding through the trees, Grandpa Pig's little train, and muddy puddles where children are finally allowed to do the one thing they are forbidden everywhere else. The park is much bigger than Peppa, though: about 140 acres and over seventy rides spread across self-contained lands. Lost Kingdom is a dinosaur world with a suspended family coaster, Tornado Springs a 1950s American town holding some of the fastest rides on site, Critter Creek is for the small ones, and the newest addition, the Viking realm Valgard, opened in May 2026 with Drakon, the park's first inverting coaster. Between the lands run clipped gardens and enclosures holding around eighty species of birds and small animals, which is what sets Paultons apart from theme parks that are mostly tarmac and queues. Be honest with yourselves before booking: this is a park for children under about ten, and perfect for the two-to-seven bracket. A teenager who knows Thorpe Park or Alton Towers will find the thrills limited, so factor that in with mixed-age families. Children under a metre tall enter free, the paths are flat, wide and pushchair-friendly, and strollers can be hired near the gate. Tickets are dated and booked on the official site; entry starts from roughly GBP 46.75 per person online on quieter days and climbs in school holidays, gate prices are higher, and peak summer dates sometimes sell out entirely. The park usually opens at 10:00 (10:30 on quieter days) and closes between 16:30 and 17:30 depending on the season, stretching to 19:30 on Halloween evenings in late October. It is seasonal: open from March with some midweek closures until Easter, then daily to early November, weekends in November and daily through December for the Christmas season, then closed from early January until the February half-term. From Southampton it is about 13 km and a 15-20 minute drive along the M27 to junction 2, with free parking. There is no railway station at the park, so without a car take a taxi from Southampton Central (about GBP 20) or the X7 bus to Ower village and walk five to ten minutes up the drive.
The world's first Peppa land: Daddy Pig's car, Grandpa Pig's train and real muddy puddles for the little ones.
The new Viking realm (2026) with the inverting Drakon coaster and a 1950s American town hold the faster rides for children past seven.
Around eighty species of birds and small animals and clipped gardens between the lands, a rare breather inside a theme park.
Ower, Romsey, Hampshire SO51 6AL
If your children are between two and seven and love Peppa, yes: Paultons is prettier, calmer and usually less crowded than Legoland, and parking is free. If they are over ten, or you have no car, choose Legoland, which is closer to London and spans a wider age range.
Book a midweek date, arrive before the 10:00 opening and head straight to Peppa Pig World before it fills, leaving the faster rides for the afternoon. Summer dates sometimes sell out, so do not count on buying tickets on the day.