Our Day At The Forbidden Corner

With the weather forecast showing it was going to be a bright and sunny at the weekend we decided to book up to go to The Forbidden Corner, Tupgill Park, North Yorkshire.

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Myself and Matthew had been to The Forbidden Corner with our older sons Cameron, Harvey and Mckenzie around 6 years ago, when I was pregnant with Caelan. Now that Caelan and Cohen are older we couldn’t wait to involve them in a visit.

The Forbidden Corner is situated in the Yorkshire Dales and hosts some magnificent views.

Now, if you can Imagine a combination of Alice’s Wonderland, Labyrinth and the dungeons of Hogwarts, you still won’t come anywhere close to describing what lies within The Forbidden Corner. It certainly lives up to its name

‘The Strangest Place In The World’

As you have to book in advance, you get an allocated time of your choice. This is to limit the number of visitors. Which I think is a fantastic idea as if this attraction was just open access I don’t think it would be so enjoyable.

Upon arrival, the car park wasn’t too busy. We went straight into the entrance area, which as lovely and clean, with toilet facilities. (I would strongly advice you go to the loo before entering!)

As our allocated time was 11am we went straight through to get ‘signed in’ and collect our ticket and checklist guide.

Once leaving the sign in desk you meet a gigantic pointing tree, directing us to the left!

Following the path we came to a yawning mouth of a giant cave, complete with teeth and lips only for it to let out a rumbling burp as we passed the dangly bit that hangs down the back of the throat. Which gave us the shock of our lives, but we soon saw the funny side.

Walking through the mouth we came to an ‘enchanted’ forest. The ‘enchanted’ forest was full of wonder and mystery.

We came across Bears playing a game of cards and a four way gate.

Which way to go?!

We came to some hedges…a maze! I honestly don’t know how many times we went around in circles. Coming to dead ends and finding lots of weird and wonderful statues! We even found some gnomes having a cricket match.

We eventually found our way back to the forest. This time we made our way across the forest and came to a stoney walled area. In this stoney walled area we came across some unthinkable things. A hole in a wall. Considering all the wonder we had come across, of course we were going to look through the hole! It was an astonishing view, but to our surprise a pesky little imp statue sprayed us with water!

Further along we came across a pair of legs sticking out of a wall, as if someone was being pulled through the wall. Above the legs was another hole to peek through. Tempted again we went between the legs to take a look. It was a mirror! Now believe me, that was a shock to see ourselves.

  

 This was my boys favourite part…

In between the cheeky little imp and the legs was a very cute innocent little statue of a little boy peeing! As you walked past it, it sprayed water at you! My boys were practically wetting themselves with laughter. Typical boy toilet humour, not like i’m not used to that.

Moving on, we came across a stoned walk way with the option to go  up some stairs….the temptation was there, we had to climb them to see what else we could find. It led to a great height, allowing us to witness the breathtaking scenery of the North Yorkshire country side!

Next, we came across a stairway going under ground! The corridor was dark, my boys were pretty scared. We came to what looked like a satanic underground layer, filled with dull red lighting and a statue of a devil surrounded by a fountain of water.

Making our way out of the giant door way, was giant Roman soldiers guarding the doors which led to stepping stones surrounded by water! We had to tread carefully, making sure we didn’t slip into the water! Half way across the stepping stones we got soaked by a stray of water!

Further along our way, we came across a horse peeking over a wall, then a door with a chicken on it!

How strange!

Behind the door was a castle type building. In the was three floors. One of them housed a spectacular glass window and the top floor again gave us a view of the landscape surrounding The Forbidden Corner. 

Back down the stairs, we made our way along a path that led us to the outside, of what looked like the maze area we went through towards the start. But, I could be wrong! By this time we had totally lost our bearings! We were just following paths and hoping for the best!

Back in the forbidden forest, we found a path with a grave stone! What could this mean?! Walking down a path surrounded by trees. Looking up there was a giant wooden warrior complete with a giant axe! Just like something from the movie, Labyrinth!

Next to the giant warrior was, the resting place of the Armstrong family! Our boys were too scared to go in so we didn’t go inside.

Another tunnel!

This tunnel was dark and creepy! It got smaller and smaller, leaving a tiny hole to climb out of. Or there was an option to go right, where we found ourselves at a giant mountain made of glass! It was so pretty! Like a giant crystal.

We then went down a tunnel to be taken to what I think was sewers, where a bunch of mice and rats lived. Even mice having a lesson at school! In one of the corridors was a giant mouse trap!

An Armoured Gate

Once back above ground, we came across a very royal armoured gate. We went through the gate to what looked like a woodland wonderland. Complete with wooden wild bores and a little summer house. Further down was a field full of sheep, grazing and relaxing. Giving views of the Forbidden Corner.

While watching the sheep we decided to check our checklist to see what we had already seen and what we had yet to discover!

Back to the Enchanted Forest

We decided to take a look at the resting place of the Armstrong family. I have to admit, it was like a scene you would expect from Halloween! My boys were very scared! Poor little mites clung to us as we walked along the passage ways! There were opening coffins and talking skeletons as well as a moving picture!

With no surprise, we were lost…Again!

Making our way again through the enchanted forest we found a door that we hadn’t come across on our adventure! It had a sign telling us to close the door behind us!

It brought us to a rocky area. To our amazement, some of the rocks had faces! I bent down to have a closer look, and yup, you may have guessed it…

I got absolutely soaked!

The only way to go was down a wooded path we came to a building with a black door. Inside was dark and the floor was wet!

There was the noise of a crow talking then yet again we got wet!

Turning to the left there was a beautiful Golden swan! Which was a delight to see after the darkness!

Leaving the darkened room was a grave yard with lots of grave stones! There was also an interactive a handle connected to an electricity source which made it sound like you were getting electrocuted!

The end was in sight.

Following another path and we reached a gorgeous gardened area filled with Yorkshire rose murals and flower beds. With a huge frog water fountain and bird house.

To our delight, In the gardens was a little ice cream stall. Which, with the glorious warm weather the ice cream was much needed. To our disappointment it only accepted cash, which we didn’t bring!

When leaving the gardens we found a block of toilets. Which then led round to the start of the Forbidden Corner.

We were more than ready for a rewarding treat  so we headed to the cafe area, where we bought 2 slushes, 2 locally made ice creams and a lemon muffin. Which cost just over £9. I personally thought that, that was very reasonable!

Overall we spent around 4 hours at The Forbidden Corner. It was worth the £44 it cost for the 5 of us!

We will definitely be taking another visit to The Forbidden Corner as we realised that we hadn’t found everything on the checklist!

Our Top Tips For Visiting The Forbidden Corner

• You MUST pre-book, but if you turn up early you can play in the grounds for a while. You won’t be allowed in to the main park before your allocated time slot.
• Grab the loo when you can. I’m not even sure how many toilet facilities there are in there. I know that there is one in the main entrance and one at the end near the gardens near the golden swan.
• If you are…..claustrophobic, anxious, nervous, or have accessibility issues this could be an issue.
• Small doorways, steps, and uneven grounds make this tricky for buggies and wheelchairs. Ask about access before you book.
• Take waterproof and a change of clothes.
• Be prepared for ‘surprise’ showers and unexpected drenchings.
• Wear shoes or boots – wellies are ideal. The ground is soft, and often wet
• There are water hazards all over the place, including in an underground grotto. Please take care with very young children.
• Food is not allowed inside the main park, and there is a restaurant. I would advise to take a picnic and eat in the grounds.

Watch Our Visit Here

For more information about The Forbidden Corner go to www.theforbiddencorner.co.uk

For more of our Days Out click HERE

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