Enchanted Forest Playschool 2026

Create Christmas memories to treasure at our magical event especially for pre-schoolers.

Enchanted Forest Playschool is an opportunity for little ones to play in our enchanted forest and to meet Santa himself!

"A unique, memorable Christmas experience, the children thoroughly enjoyed it and it was worth every penny." Lindsey 2020

You'll visit the woods at West Boldon Lodge for 1.5 hours and there will be a selection of crafts and games for you to do at your leisure, or you can simply wander and explore in our Woodland Realm, designed especially for pre-schoolers. The whole session will be outdoors.

You can also drop into the grotto and meet Santa, who'll amaze your little one when he knows they're on his nice list and gives them a gift.

Most suitable for ages 1 - 5 years old.

Friday 27th November 10am -11:30am 

Friday 4th December 10am -11:30am,  or 1pm -2:30pm

Friday 11th December 10am -11:30am, or 1pm -2:30pm

£15 per child. 
One adult may come free with a child ticket, additional adults are £3 per person.

This is a booking for our Christmas Forest Playschool for under 5's, it is NOT a booking for our Santa's Winter Woodland event which will not be taking place this year. 

If you require further information please don't hesitate to contact us. Please come prepared for the weather as a lot of the session will be held outdoors.

Santa Information

Upon booking you will be asked for some information about your child so that we can personalise your Santa visit and make it extra magical. We ask for a fact that Santa can know, which could be their pets name, their best friends name, what activities they like to do, or their favourite things, anything that only the real Santa would know! We also ask for you to let us know a present they will definitely be receiving at Christmas so that Santa can say that he will be bringing them this gift.  We do realise however that children can change their minds between the time of booking and the time of your visit so please do let us know via email if you have provided us with some information that later turns out to be incorrect to ensure that Santa can have the most up to date information on your child. To do so please email westboldonlodge@groundwork.org.uk and include your name, your child's name, the date and time of your session, and the new information for the Santa list. This must be updated 1 week before your visit to give our elves time to work their magic!

Accessibility

We are well equipped to welcome visitors with a range of abilities. Please inform us in advance if anyone in your party has any additional requirements so we can make sure you're able to access all of our activities.

Dietary Requirements

Please inform us of any dietary requirements or allergies anyone in your party may have. If we know in advance we can usually cater for any additional requirements.

Cancellation

If you are unable to make your visit, let us know as soon as possible and we will re-list your tickets. If they re-sell, we will offer you a full refund. If they do not re-sell, we will offer a voucher to re-book for another date or alternative event, but no refund.

Getting here

There is limited car parking on site, we recommend taking public transport if possible. When travelling around site, particularly around the car parks, please use the allocated footpaths and forest paths to walk and not the road. Do not use just the postcode in Sat. Navs as it often does not bring you to the right place. For directions visit https://tiny.cc/findwbl.

Clothing
Forest Playschool takes place outdoors. Full waterproofs are strongly recommended. You must wear sturdy shoes or boots and should wear long-sleeves and trousers to protect from insects and nettles.

Weather
Please come prepared for the weather with warm layers and waterproofs in bad weather.
In strong winds or severe storms it may not be safe to go into the woods. If our staff perceive there to be a safety risk, we may have to cancel your booking. We will notify you via the email address and mobile number provided at the time of booking as early as possible.

Supervision
All children must be supervised by a responsible adult at all times. There are various dangers including a road, lake, and National Grid sub-station on site which you will be informed of upon check in, or you can see our site risk assessment here.