Pleasurewood Hills takeover day

We are excited to be working with Pleasurewood Hills for a guiding exclusive takeover day on Saturday 5 October 2024, 10am – 4pm.

Tickets are £15 per person and include an exclusive event badge.

Book your tickets online here. If an alternative payment method is required, please contact the region office and we’ll be happy to send you a booking form.

Bookings have closed.

Important information for leaders and parents:

Parking: 

If arriving by coach please ensure that your driver knows to register their registration number at the reception building, situated at the top of the car park at the side of the ticket offices. 

If you are arriving by car please make sure you have prepaid your parking using this https://pleasurewoodhills.com/#/pick-your-place/be1d8ab2-6e77-4f21-98cf-c6bebcb860f9. Pleasurewood Hills use an external agency to manage their car park and want to ensure all visitors avoid fines. They have also worked with us to reduce the normal day parking rate to just £1 per vehicle. 

If people in your group are being dropped off or collected they have just 10 minutes to do so before they would be issued a parking fine. To avoid this if they are concerned about timings we recommend they either pay for parking (they would need to pay for each visit) or they register their registration numbers at the reception building. 

Arrival: 

Please note that our registration tables will be open no earlier than 9.30am, we cannot enter the park until 10am so please do not arrive too early. 

Your pack containing a printed map, badges, useful information and a stamp trail challenge will be waiting for you to collect. The packs have been arranged alphabetically by first name of the person who purchased tickets. Region staff and volunteers will be managing arrival with the support of Pleasurewood Hills staff. We will try to do this as quickly and efficiently as possible. We will need from you a confirmed number of over and under 18’s. 

Anyone using a season ticket pass must bring these with them or they will be recharged the cost of a standard ticket, £15. 

Ratio’s and groups: 

Leaders are responsible for ensuring they are in ratio at all times. Older girls are welcome to enjoy the park in groups but remain the responsibility of their leaders. 

All rides are clearly marked with any height restrictions or risks to be aware of. 

Recommendations on what to bring: 

We’d recommend all members to wear uniform. 

Lunch, snacks, water bottles. 

Spends for the shop. 

Suitable footwear. 

Change of clothing if riding water rides. 

Waterproofs or other relevant items depending on weather. 

Swoperz: 

Swoperz will be with us for the day with great activities for girls and donation bins if you would like to bring any preloved uniform. 

Refreshments: 

Some of the refreshment stands will be open, serving hot and cold food and drinks. There are plenty of areas for picnics too. 

Girlguiding Anglia stand: 

We will have a gazebo in the centre of the park near to the carousel, please come to see us with completed stamp trails and if you need any support or information. 

Shop: 

The gift shop at Pleasurewood Hills will be open throughout the day, we would recommend not leaving it until the end of the day to avoid long queues. 

Departure: 

The park will close at 4pm prompt, please ensure all relevant transport has been arranged and parents who are collecting know about timings and the parking requirements. The region team will be at the park exit to support leaders with anything they need. 

Contact details: 

If you need to contact the Anglia staff team on Saturday or after 4pm on Friday please contact either Stephanie Arnold on 07494 750126 or Bonnie Dillaway 07384 464864. 

FAQs

Will this be a Girlguiding exclusive event? 

Yes, we have secured exclusivity of the site for the day, meaning that there will be no other members of the general public around the park. 

Will Woody’s clubhouse be open? 

Yes, the clubhouse should be open from 10am to 3pm. 

Max height for this activity is 1.5m. 

Is Woody bear going to be there? 

Yes. 

What shows will be on? 

There will be 2 sea lion shows – likely at 12pm and 2.30pm. Capacity for each show is around 1000. 

The Birds of Paradise arena is currently being updated, but the team are hopeful it will be open in time for our visit. If so there will be 2 shows, likely at 1pm and 3.30pm. Capacity is around 250. 

Do younger members need to be accompanied on all rides? 

 Rides are height specific, all details can be found on the park map here, pleasurewoodhills.com/explore/park-map. 

If girls are under the height specification, they will need an adult to accompany them. 

Will the Pleasurewood Express and Woodland Express be running? 

Yes. 

What classes as an adult? 

A responsible person – someone who is old enough/responsible enough to take a younger child on a ride – could include 16–18-year-old young leaders or Rangers if they’re comfortable. 

Hautbois Activity Centre and our partners Swoperz will be joining us on the day.

The Hautbois team will be on site with soft archery and midi fencing. 

Swoperz will host an upcycling activity and have collection bins on site if anyone wants to bring preloved uniform to donate. 

Will there be any snack shakes open? 

Several food & drink provisions will be open but not the full offer. 

Food may be made to order, so please bear this in mind. 

Units are welcome to bring picnics and their own food and drink – there are plenty of spaces to sit and eat. 

Will the shop be open? 

Yes. 

There will be more staff in the shop throughout the day. They may temporarily restrict access if it gets too busy with a 1 in 1 out policy. Please try to visit throughout the day rather than leaving it to the end of the day.  

Will ride photography be available on the day? 

The ride photography will not be available on the day. 

Please note the cameras may still flash and go off, but the photo booths will be closed. 

Parking:

We are currently in talks with Pleasurewood Hills regarding the £3 daily parking fee – we will share an update as soon as possible. 

Coaches and minibuses are free and register their registration at reception. 

We are also looking at the 15 minute drop off and collect time slot to see if this can be extended – more information to follow. 

Season ticket holders:

There is now a season ticket holder ticket available for £2.50. 

Can we extend the booking window? 

We can confirm that the booking window has been extended to 25 September to support those units that were unsure of numbers so early in the summer. 

What to wear:

Please wear uniform for the event, although if going on any water rides you may want a change of clothes to travel home in.

Risk assessments and ratios:

Units are required to ensure their own compliance with the standard Girlguiding ratios and first aid requirements for offsite visits. Each adult also requires a ticket through the above booking process.

A generic risk assessment for the Pleasurewood Hills site is available to download here. Units will need to complete a risk assessment for travel arrangements and any specific needs within your unit.

Photo permissions:

Photos and/or videos will be captured throughout the event if you have a member who are unable to have photos or videos taken of your child please do make unit leader aware and be vigilant during the event. The team will do their upmost however it is not guaranteed.

Girlguiding Anglia, cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage of items that are taken on site or bought during the day.

Consent forms:

Consent forms are available to download here

We hope you can join us for a day of adventure, fun and friendship.

Please check back to this page as we will update the information when new information becomes available.