Looking for an honest Flambards review? Find out whether this family-friendly theme park in Cornwall is worth your time and money. We visited with our 9 and 12-year-old kids – read about our experience with the rides, attractions, and what worked (and didn’t) for older children.
December 2024 update: Flambards theme park closes
Unfortunately, since we visited in August, most of the Flambards theme park shut down in November!
The BBC reported: “Families have been describing their disappointment at the closure of a theme park after 48 years. Flambards theme park in Helston, Cornwall, announced on Monday it was closing its doors with immediate effect due to “rising costs and a steady decline in visitor numbers”.”
Reading local Cornwall news since, they are trying to home the Victorian Village and Blitz Museum, keeping the collection together if possible, but as of December 2024 nothing has been decided. These remain shut to the public.
Flambards theme park rides have closed.
The indoor play area is still open for visitors. Their original Flambards website now redirects to Ferdi’s Indoor Play at https://www.ferdisindoorplay.co.uk/ where you can find more information.
Below is my original and honest review from our visit to Flambards in August 2024 when they were still open:
Overview of Flambards
Flambards Theme Park, located in Helston in Cornwall, offers a variety of rides and attractions designed for families of all ages, but mainly aimed at those with young children. The park’s entry fee is just shy of £15 per person at the time of writing and for our visit, which is quite reasonable, especially given that it has several rides included in the price. However, some areas and attractions seemed in need of an update.
As part of our recent family weekend away to Helston, we decided to visit Flambards Theme Park. Having heard mixed reviews and seeing that it catered mainly to younger children, we were curious to see if it would be worth our time as our children were 9 years old and 12 years old at the time. Would they be too old? Here’s my honest review of our experience.
First Impressions
When we arrived at Flambards, at the 10 am opening time, we were greeted by a quiet park, with just a few visitors milling about. This allowed us to enjoy several rides without long queues, even having the opportunity to have our first three rides to ourselves – as if it were a VIP experience, but also slightly strange! If you get annoyed with much larger theme parks such as Alton Towers and the hours long queues (which quite frankly are ridiculous and really put us off going) then you’ll find it a welcome relief to walk right to the front of a ride without needing to wait at all!
Our Favourite Rides
Rocking Tug Boat
Our first ride was the Rocking Tug Boat. To our surprise, we were the only ones on it initially. The ride turned out to be a mix of swinging and spinning, which had us all laughing as we thought it would be more like a Pirate Ship only swinging back and forth. The unexpected twists and turns made it a standout attraction for us and the kids wanted to go on it multiple times throughout our time at Flambards.
Skyraker
The Skyraker was another highlight. This ride, which combines sudden dropping motion from height with spinning, had us laughing and holding on tight! The combination of movements was exhilarating and different from other similar rides we’ve been on which only drop without turning around. Our eldest loved this ride and again, was able to ride multiple times during our visit! Something that doesn’t happen at much larger theme parks as the queues are always too long!
Go Karts
Although a paid feature, we had a blast on the Go Karts. There are choices of 1-seater or 2-seater karts and races, however our youngest was only tall enough to be a passenger so the 2-seater karts it was. It was £5 per kart, so this also kept the cost down for us paying for two karts rather than four! The course is a simple 8 shape and was a great introduction to Go Karting for our kids as passengers in our cars. My husband and son overlapped me and our daughter twice as I spent most of the time laughing and taking it slowly as I didn’t want to crash into the side… I’ve not driven a Go Kart before like this and found it so stiff!
Dodgems
We were pleased the Dodgems were still there for our visit. I don’t know if true, but other reviewers believed them to be a temporary attraction. The kids were most excited about the Dodgems and they were one of the highlights of their day.
Indoor Attractions and Facilities
Soft Play
There is an indoor soft play area and perhaps this is amazing, but unfortunately our 12 year old was too tall, so we didn’t make it past the entrance. So I can’t comment on whether it’s good or not, but perhaps it’s a great indoor activity if your children are younger and short enough. We’d welcome a larger indoor play area with older sections too for all kids ages to burn off some energy! Cornwall is definitely lacking in indoor adventure playgrounds, Ninja Warrior type places and larger soft plays that preteens can enjoy. It would a great addition to a park like this adding another fun element and something to do with kids (of all ages) in the rain in Cornwall.
Blitz Museum and Victorian Village
The Blitz Museum and Victorian Village were interesting but felt somewhat out of place in a theme park. While fascinating, they did not capture the kids’ attention and seemed more suited for a different type of visit.
Mini Golf and Outdoor Playground
The mini golf and outdoor adventure playground were nice additions but could benefit from some updates. The mini golf was free, which was a bonus, and the playground offered some fun, but my suggestions would be to upgrade the mini golf course which was very tired and worn in places, and also to add more children’s play areas or a much larger adventure playground suitable for all ages.
Arcade
The arcade left much to be desired. Some machines were out of order, our money was swallowed by two machines with no attendants in the arcade to assist us, and the overall selection of prizes particularly in the 2p games was lacking. This was a bit of a disappointment, especially as arcade games are usually a hit with our kids. An upgrade here would also make the park more appealing.
A Roundup of the Pros and Cons of Flambards
Pros:
- Affordable entry fee (in comparison to other theme parks, or if you consider the cost of fairground rides and paying for each ride separately)
- Minimal queues for rides
- Some fun and unique rides like the Rocking Tug Boat
- Enjoyable Go Karts and Dodgems
- Nearly all the staff we encountered were super friendly
- Free mini golf
- Good for younger children with a dedicated area with lots of rides and an indoor soft play and mini golf… (sadly not so great for preteens who really just want more rides and not soft play or museums )
Cons:
- Outdated appearance and some rides in need of maintenance
- Limited attractions for older children and adults
- Disappointing arcade experience
- Some attractions, like the indoor museums, didn’t appeal to our kids who were there for the rides and just wanted more rides! (I’ve since found out they have cheaper indoor only attraction days, so I’d like to return for this with my husband only as I know we’ll get more enjoyment out of the museums)
- Only one water ride (a log flume)
- Wish it was bigger and a place for a full day out with rides… we were content we’d seen enough and had enough turns on the rides we could enjoy after just a couple of hours.
Final Thoughts
Overall, our day at Flambards was enjoyable, though it didn’t quite meet all our expectations for our children’s ages, but we did know this before going having read the reviews. The park offers good value for money, especially for families with younger children who will get more out of this theme park in my opinion. I think our kids would have loved it more a few years ago when they could have enjoyed the small rides and the soft play. However, there are areas that could use improvement to enhance the experience for visitors of all ages. If you’re planning a visit, I recommend checking out the unique rides and being prepared for a park that feels a bit small and dated in many places but still provides a few hours of fun, if not a day of fun if your kids enjoy museum type installations.
Tips for Visitors
- Arrive early to make the most of shorter queues.
- Consider bringing your own food if you want to avoid park prices. There’s a large Sainsbury’s next door.
- Take money for the Go Karts if you want to ride as these are an additional cost.
- The Victorian Village is an attraction in its own right and if you’re not a fan of rides or theme parks, you may be a fan of their indoor attractions.
December 2024 update: Flambards theme park closes
Unfortunately, since we visited in August, most of the Flambards theme park shut down in November!
The BBC reported: “Families have been describing their disappointment at the closure of a theme park after 48 years. Flambards theme park in Helston, Cornwall, announced on Monday it was closing its doors with immediate effect due to “rising costs and a steady decline in visitor numbers”.”
Reading local Cornwall news since, they are trying to home the Victorian Village and Blitz Museum, keeping the collection together if possible, but as of December 2024 nothing has been decided. These remain shut to the public.
Flambards theme park rides have closed.
The indoor play area, Ferdi’s Indoor Play, is still open.
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