The heat wave that seems to have lasted all summer finally gave us a break in mid August and we used the opportunity to head to Gulliver’s Kingdom for the first time! The furthest we’d travelled for Gulliver’s but still only a 90 minute drive from Leeds. This one is located in Matlock Bath and is the original Gulliver’s before the rest were built.

Annual Passports at the ready, this would be our first visit to Gulliver’s Kingdom after recently visiting Gulliver’s World and Gulliver’s Valley multiple times this summer already. Read more about these two in my recent posts:

We left our house pretty late with an estimated arrival time of 12pm just in time for lunch. We’d packed up a picnic so we wouldn’t have to worry about food, extra costs and finding somewhere to eat. So no food reviews from me today! We find this is the easiest and most cost effective method especially when travelling with a toddler. It saves so much time and money overall.

The beauty of having an annual passport means not having to arrive at opening time and still knowing we have plenty of times to go back and do any rides or attractions we miss out on this time. It takes the pressure off of trying to cram everything into one day!

When we arrived by car we were met with steep hills and cars everywhere! I couldn’t believe how tricky the climb was and the car park was intimidating with its small tight spaces all crammed on the side of a steep hill. Luckily as we drove higher and higher there were more car parks. Every car park was full so we ended up parked right at the very top. I didn’t know how far away this would be from the entrance but it felt we’d been driving higher and higher for ages. The fact all the car parks were full did not fill me with hope on how busy the park would be.

Of all the theme parks i’d visited, this was the strangest i’d ever seen! I can’t believe the fact somebody managed to build such a thing on effectively what felt like the edge of a cliff!

We walked only part way down the hill before coming to an entrance to the park.

Upon entry the lady told us this was the top entrance so it made sense with the amount of car parks there would be more than one way in. She told us the best strategy that most people take is to walk up to the top of the park and start there before working your way down to the bottom. Since we’d arrived quite late we felt this might work well for us because if everybody did this it would make the top very busy from opening time. Luckily we arrived 90 minutes after opening and probably missed the rush.

Heading up to Western World, we walked past the gift shop and saw our first glimpse of the park. The way to Western World was so unbelievably steep that they actually had conveyor belts taking you up! Never seen these before outside. Only ever at airports!

I was very glad not to be pushing a pram today.

On the way into Western World we passed some staff practicing line dancing and looking like they were getting ready to perform a show. Since it was midday and we were hungry we decided to stop for lunch immediately and nestled on the benches by the jamboree bears.

I was glad we brought our own packed lunch and could tuck straight into it no messing about. But there was a restaurant (The Canyon Grill) right by the benches serving fast food and it wasn’t busy at all. Good to know there are options! From where we were sat we could see attractions all around us. It said the bears sing a new song every 10 minutes so we knew we’d catch that at one point. We could also see the entrance to the log flume enticing us in, a play barn that our daughter, Hilda, kept wanting to explore and an outdoor play area too. We were also in close proximity to the Stagecoach Saloon Theatre that just happened to be about to start their next show!

So whilst having our picnic we saw one of the characters doing some line dancing. I had to resist the urge not to join in with Hannah Montana’s throwback to Hoedown Throwdown! During the show we even got to meet the character which would be our first of many today.

After a play on the outdoor slides, always Hilda’s favourite thing to explore, we headed towards the back of Western World.

Here, we found The Silver Mine a shooting ride similar to another we’d ridden multiple times at Gulliver’s Valley. One of our all-time favourite rides at Gulliver’s! So we knew to expect to be shooting targets. Whilst it wasn’t as good this one, the gun didn’t seem to work at all and nothing fun happened when the targets were actually shot like they do at Valley – The principle was the same and we still had fun. I think our three-year-old just enjoys riding in a mine train shooting a toy gun!

Afterwards, we walked through Mine Cave where we found the creepiest animals. All had buttons to press which would result in various animatronics moving. Similar to those in Sundown Adventureland and probably just as creepy!

There was a little kiddies merry-go-round style ride here, not too dissimilar to those you find in a supermarket. It didn’t say what age it was for so I figured I fit the requirements!

What I liked about Western World, besides how quiet it was, all the little extras. We enjoyed a game of ‘Western Throwdown’ which reminded me of the old carnival games.

With us starting at the top a little later on, there weren’t many people up here and it felt very secluded. Quite well suited for the wild west! I loved the little Western Village that we had all to ourselves too. We enjoyed running around hiding here for a while.

Also in Western World was the log flume. It wasn’t a particularly warm day so this didn’t appeal to me at all and everybody else must have felt the same since there was no queue. Hilda decided she didn’t want to ride. Of course my husband couldn’t resist so he enjoyed the ride all to himself whilst we pointed and laughed at him from the sidelines instead!

I actually really loved Western World. I felt there was a lot here and it was a great start to the day!

The next land we headed for was Safari Kingdom. It reminded me of Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World, just on a smaller scale. It was here the cable cars were located but we’d already decided we’d get the cars back up at the end of the day instead.

There wasn’t loads to do in Safari Kingdom but the sun came out so we used it as our Ice Cream break! We can’t go to Gulliver’s without enjoying some of their delicious ice cream!

In Safari Kingdom there was an interesting looking ride called Flying Bikes which is exactly how it sounds. Hilda is nearly 90cm but not quite so some ride operators let her on and some don’t, with this one she wasn’t allowed on so this time I was riding solo. Probably a good job as I could barely reach the pedals and it was much harder to move the bikes upwards than I expected! I did enjoy watching her play on the large outdoor play area in this land, she had lots of fun here.

On our way to the next land we came across Leonard the lion and since my daughter loves meeting characters now we had to get a quick pic!

When we headed around the park we came across a softplay area called the Adventure Play Port just down from Western World. We didn’t want to go in here but once Hilda had seen it she really wanted to explore it. It wasn’t long before she was stuck in here and unable to get back down so I had to venture in. I found this outdoor soft play area quite dirty and really uncomfortable to gain access. I could barely get through to go rescue her and i’m on the small side. I’d hate to be a taller or larger adult panicking because I couldn’t get to my kid. She did shout to me and a little boy tried to help her but luckily I was able to get to her in the end. Part of the floor was wet like a drink had spilt all over the place so I couldn’t wait to get out. I’d describe it almost like a soft play within a cage. Probably a good idea in principle but we weren’t a fan!

We carried on walking and came across Lost World which is normally our favourite at the other Gulliver’s since we all love dinosaurs! A quick go on the Dino Play Area before we headed for the Dino Cars. Dino Falls a giant water ride looked fun but we didn’t feel like queuing so we skipped this one!

We enjoyed Dino Cars, it was simple but had far reaching views across the valley and I really liked the setting. We also enjoyed spotting dinosaurs around the place. Great to finally see a good ride for an under 90cm toddler!

As we entered Lost World we saw a tree called Samson the Sycamore. It was only the tallest tree in all of Lilliput Woods! It might have only been a tree but it’s the uniqueness of the landscape that makes this theme park what it is. It really felt unique and magical and especially memorable!

Speaking of magical, next up was time for Fairy Kingdom. I was looking forward to this because the other Gulliver’s don’t have a Fairy Kingdom and I have a soft spot for fairies due to my love of all things fantasy!

This is where the upside-down house is located so we headed there first.

Just like the upside-down house in Munchkin Land at Gulliver’s World, this house also had a slide that takes you from the top of the house to the bottom. The house always makes me dizzy so I can’t stay in here long! I left to go explore the garden instead which was a nice pretty area.

We’d already eaten lunch in Western World but I made a mental note to eat lunch down in Fairy Kingdom next time as the views were great and on a sunny day it was a lovely area to eat!

The Cycle Monorail immediately caught our eye with people literally cycling above our heads around the edge of the hilltop! We knew this was for over 90cm and hoped they would let us on with Hilda. We got lucky and they did but as the vehicles only seated two it meant I was riding solo! I was excited for this one but I very quickly learnt I could barely reach the pedals so had to slouch to get a better shot of moving!

I wanted to enjoy this but from the moment I set off I was hit with a wave of vertigo! It was so high up being on the edge of the cliff, I could see all the way across the valley (which was very steep!) Because I was riding alone the cart lent to one side and I felt so uneasy being up in the sky. I did enjoy seeing the beautiful views but truth be told I couldn’t wait to reach the end and get off! I didn’t expect to be so scared of the height. I’m very glad I chose to sit on the side that wasn’t the edge of the cliff because had I of had to navigate that part, leaning over the cliff edge, I don’t know how i’d have coped!

Feeling glad i’d survived my first cycle monorail we headed out of Fairy Kingdom and on to Lilliput Land. This is back where we first entered the park and somehow all day we managed to miss a lot of the attractions in this land. We will definitely need to return to see the Hard Luck Bear Show, Ghost House and Dragon Lair. On our way out we had some fun playing a tune with some musical frogs – You’d have to see it to believe it.

This time we went for the Log Coaster. Hilda said she didn’t want to go on at first but then she changed her mind and there was no queue so it didn’t give her too long to dwell. We boarded straight away and went straight to the front of the coaster. She ended up absolutely loving it! Being able to see the track and being at the front of the coaster was a treat for her. She’s not been on many and technically she was too short for this one but the guy didn’t check and we knew she was only 1cm off so took the risk. It’s only a kiddie coaster and we held on tight.

We had lots of fun riding this and of course the moment we disembarked Hilda said ‘again’.. So we got back in line and this time sat at the back! It was so much faster but she still loved it and it was easily our favourite ride of the day so far.

We got lucky once again being in the right place at the right time because after the coaster we headed for Smugglers Wharf and bumped into Pirate Percy on the way over!

When walking around we saw some attractions that looked incredible. They were for bigger kids of course but had Hilda of been older we definitely would have got involved. They had an epic zipline (Riggers Revenge) going around the treetops as well as a high tops rope walk (Crows Nest Quest). I look forward to visiting these in the future.

In Smugglers Wharf we found Percy’s Pirate Adventure which was a nice little boat trip. This had no queue and was great for little kids and we enjoyed this. We also saw they had Pirate Adventure Golf that wound it’s way around the boat ride too. This looked like a lot of fun and we might try it out next time if we have more time.

It was towards the end of the day now and we’d finally made it to the bottom of the hill. Smuggler’s Wharf would be the last part of the park we’d visit today. We made it to the carousel which we see at all the Gulliver’s. Always one we go on and during Summer they are doing K-Pop Carousel which means we listen to Hilda’s favourite songs whilst we ride!

We ended the day on a high because Hilda was allowed to ride the Pirate Ship! She’d refused to go on this at Gulliver’s Valley as she was too scared but this time she fancied it. It goes really high so we didn’t quite know how she’d find it but she loved it! She loved it so much that we rode it straight away for a 2nd time because she didn’t want to get off! This was the best ride we went on all day because we had so much fun laughing at all our tummy’s turning. The pirate ship feels even scarier now that i’m older, don’t know why it gets me so much!

After our final ride we headed towards the cable car and through Bourbon Street. This was a little town of small shops and a mini museum also where the park entrance is if you park at the bottom. This was most similar to Gulliver’s Valley just on a smaller scale. We found the cable car in here.

The most we’d queued all day and understandbly as it was very near park closing time and we were about to head up to the top of the park. This was Hilda’s first time ever riding a cable car and admittedly my first time in a good few years! I was nervous to ride it alone after my earlier vertigo episode during the Cycle Monorail. Turns out it was fine and not realising my husband was taking a photo of me, I wasn’t looking! I also didn’t spot the ride photo at the end! Luckily Hilda did and we bought a nice keepsake photo to take away for £3 – One for the fridge i’m sure!

On our way out we were waved off by Leonard the lion and his DJ set. First time we’d caught a show at any of the Gulliver’s closing time, we are normally still on a ride! It wasn’t busy leaving as most people had already left, so we got out of the car park with ease.

A very busy summer for us at Gulliver’s but I’m looking forward to enjoying what’s still to come.. Halloween and Christmas here we come!

~ Visited Gulliver’s Kingdom on a Saturday in August 2026 ~

Useful bits

Website: https://www.gulliverskingdomresort.co.uk/
Location: Matlock Bath
Entry Fee: Prices differ throughout the year and vary depending on the seasonal events, day of the week and height of child. The annual pass costs £99 currently and allows entry to all four Gulliver’s Parks.
Bonus Factors: Free parking and plenty of it. Picnic areas if you want to bring your own food. Real old authentic fairground vibes.Far-reaching views across the valley. You must have a child with you to enter this park which makes it very family friendly.
Verdict: We had a great time here and found the park so unique in comparison to other theme parks. I loved the fact it was all built on the cliff-side. The views were a real bonus and the way the park was laid out meant it could be busy but feel secluded due to the separation of the lands across the hill. There were plenty of rides for all ages but definitely tailored better to children over 90cm. My daughters favourite rides were the ones she was technically too short to ride yet – She loved them!
TripAdvisor: Gulliver’s Kingdom