Gulliver’s Valley theme park, Rotherham, for families

The rides are gentle and the height restrictions are small at Gulliver’s Valley in Rotherham – making it a good starter theme park for young children.

Why visit Gulliver’s Valley?

Gulliver’s Valley is a relatively small theme park, aimed at smaller children rather than thrill-seekers. It’s next to the Rother Valley Country Park near Junction 31 of the M1.

You can think of Gulliver’s Valley as like training wheels for bigger theme parks such as Alton Towers or Chessington World of Adventures. There are plenty of fairground-style rides, such as the Dodge City Dodgems, Lilliput Carousel and the spinning Blackbeard’s Barrels.

Others are a little more expansive, including the T-Rex Tower giant waterslides, the Jurassic Jeeps that go around the animatronic dinosaurs and diggers in the Build Zone.

There’s also a mini farm, soft play area, several playgrounds and a mini golf course.

As theme parks go, Gulliver’s Valley is gentle and far from overwhelming.

Gulliver’s Valley with kids

The height restrictions at Gulliver’s Valley are important to bear in mind before booking tickets.

Most rides at Gulliver’s Valley are fine for children of any height to ride as long as they are accompanied by an adult. Where there are height restrictions, children usually have to be at least 90cm tall to ride – sometimes on their own, sometimes accompanied.

The real outlier is the Gyrosaur, a somewhat out-of-place thrill ride that repeatedly spins passengers through 360 degrees. You need to be at least 120cm to ride the Gyrosaur accompanied and 150cm to ride unaccompanied.

In terms of experience, queues at Gulliver’s Valley don’t tend to be intimidatingly long, but they drop to almost zero when most children are at school.

Gulliver’s Valley review: The best bit

Apache Falls, a rapids ride, is arguably the attraction at Gulliver’s Valley that offers the most fun for everyone. For grown-ups, it’s a welcome relief after cramming adult-sized legs into a lot of kiddy-sized rides.

Apache Falls does, however, tend to have the longest queues in the park.

Infants, juniors or secondary?

Gulliver’s Valley is realistically aimed at infant school children and younger juniors. Older children who have had their first proper taste of rollercoaster action elsewhere are likely to get bored pretty quickly.

Gulliver’s Valley entry prices

Ticket prices at Gulliver’s Valley fluctuate somewhat, depending on season. The cheapest tickets for when the rides are open cost £15, irrespective of whether you’re an adult or a child. The park does open its indoor play sections only on some days in winter, however, with cheaper tickets.

Booking online in advance will usually save you money.

Prices were last checked and updated on 7 October 2024.

Full day, half day or a couple of hours?

With young children you can probably spend a full day at Gulliver’s Valley. Older children will want to be there for a couple of hours, max, however.

Attractions near Gulliver’s Valley

A visit to Gulliver’s Valley can be combined with nearby attractions, including:

• The Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham.
• Bolsover Castle.
• Creswell Crags.
• Clumber Park near Worksop.
• The Rock Up climbing centre at Meadowhall in Sheffield.

Nearby cities

The closest city to Gulliver’s Valley is Sheffield. Other cities within a 90 minute drive of Gulliver’s Valley include Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, Wakefield, York, Leeds, Bradford, Hull and Lincoln.

Is it open on Mondays?

Gulliver’s Valley tends to mostly open at weekends and during school holidays. However, between April and October this South Yorkshire theme park is sometimes open on other days of the week, which means you might be able to visit on a teacher training day.

More information

For more information, visit the Gulliver’s Valley website.