Visiting Butlin's in Bognor Regis for the day with older children was a pleasant surprise - what can you do as a day visitor and how much does it cost?

It has always been a firm family favourite of ours. Being a only a short journey along the A27 it was always perfect with smaller children and we have visited many a time both staying over and for day visits at the holiday park which feels like a million miles away. However with one child now 13 and the other aged 11 I was unsure if there would be enough to entertain two older children who are far too big for its soft play area and smaller funfair rides. So as a result (and because of the impact of covid) we have neglected this little gem for a few years now. But I’m delighted to say I was pleasantly surprised by our return visit.

To visit, first make sure you have booked first at www.butlins.com/discover-butlins/day-visits – with tickets starting at £18 for an adult and £10 for children aged over two, depending on what day you choose to visit - and head to the day entrance which can be found at the Gloucester Road carpark at the end of the main esplanade right on the beach which in itself is always worth a visit. Once inside Butlin's you can access all of the free and paid-for activities, as well as the swimming pool which has been given a huge revamp (and has been moved) since my last visit. It is only the evening entertainment and special shows which are off-limits.

After we arrived we headed straight to the main Skyline Pavilion - called the ‘big tent’ by my children even after all of these years - to the new Skyline Eats food area where you can find Subway, Chopstix, Costa Coffee, Burger King, and Butlin’s own Scoop ice-cream parlour following a £3m project to bring them together under one roof.

There we grabbed a quick drink and breakfast snack before heading outside to the large funfair and activities area at the back of the pavilion where there is a miniature golf course – perfect for all of the family – as well as wall climbing, archery, laser tag, a zip wire and a high ropes adventure all which immediately grabbed the attention of my two children who wanted to have a go.

Now, first of all these ones are not free so make sure you bring extra money with you if you want to make use of any of these. But also be warned if you visit on a busy day such as a school holiday – like I did – the chances are they will already have been fully-booked by guests staying at the resort. But if you are lucky you can book activities on the day at the hub. My two were a bit disappointed there was no space for them that day, but were happy moments later when they headed straight for the (free) bumper cars which they were able to enjoy multiple times as the queues were very short. We then headed to the other side of the funfair where the iconic helter skelter could be found next to the waveswinger (or chairoplanes as we call them) and waltzers. So needless to say we set up camp in that area for a while so that my children could expel some energy. If it takes your fancy then there is also a carousel and a spinning tug boat in the free funfair area, as well as go-karts and bungee trampolines which come at a cost. Inside the pavilion itself there are also smaller rides for tots too.

When my children has decided they had had enough we headed inside the pavilion for an early leisurely lunch break, and supplemented our own packed lunch with hot drinks which we bought inside. We sat and watched a ‘extreme stunts’ show which involved footballs and BMX bikes which we were pleasantly entertained by. In previous years all I remembered the in-tent entertainment being for much younger children, so it was great to have something to entertain my older children.

After lunch we packed up and grabbed our swimming stuff from the car (you can leave and come back if you need to through the day) and headed to the part of the day my two were most looking forward to – the swimming pool. We actually loved the pool before the big revamp and were regulars on the flumes, so I was interested to see how the new pool compared for us.

The main pool area is split into zones which included a splash area and slides for little ones (and not so little ones) which was instantly appealing for my water babies. A wave pool and swimming area with water sprayers was also a big hit, as were the two ‘speed’ slides inside the main area with the queues for them going down quite quickly.

Then we headed towards the flumes – only two to choose from, one family slide on a ring and one traditional flume which were both enjoyable. But the star of the show in my children’s eyes was the indoor/outdoor rapids which was perfect on the hot and sunny day we visited and were neither too deep or fast. Needless to say they went on it repeatedly and didn’t want to leave.

When we did leave eventually the pool we were famished so weighed up our various food options, eventually opting for The Diner – an American-style diner which can be found outside the main pavilion serving everything you might expect. And as a top tip if you are looking for a hot lunch rather than a hot evening meal, many of the eateries do a ‘kids eat free’ offer until 3pm. We were warned there was a bit of a wait for food but that was fine as our drinks came quickly and we had lots to chat about. And when our food came it was worth the wait with my children enjoying their hot dogs, fries and chocolate brownies. Meanwhile I had barbacoa pulled beef dirty fries with a side cobb salad which was very tasty and very much needed after our pool adventures.

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After our meal we headed back into funfair for round two until it closed at 8pm, and then went into the pavilion to enjoy some evening entertainment which could have involved a trip to the bowling alley, playing pool or just pottering around the arcades - which is the option they choose. So we spend the evening enjoying air hockey, penny slots and arcade games before I finally dragged them away for our drive home after our mini break right on our doorstep.

Needless to say we loved our day, and it just went to show that our family have not quite outgrown Butlin’s just yet!