WHAT will be suitable for toddlers can be difficult to judge and with my son, Finn, slap bang in the middle of the “terrible twos”

I was not certain we would get a lot out of our trip to Diggerland.

Like most little boys, he loves tractors and diggers, but I feared he might be too small or find it a bit scary. I need not have worried.

As soon as he walked in, he was instantly caught up by the excitement generated by the friendly staff.

Our first adventure was a train ride, which gave us a good idea of the size and scale of the park, and some of the attractions there.

I had to sit with him on most of the rides, but he did not refuse to go on.

He just needed his dad for a bit moral support and wasn’t even fazed by the ride that takes you 60ft in the air, unlike his old man, who was pleased to be back on terra firma.

The staff were exceptional – as it was quiet they gave him lots of attention and made him feel at ease; it was like having a VIP tour by CBeebies presenters.

We were able to go on most things with me doing the driving and digging and Finn sitting on my knee.

I don’t know who had more fun – the childhood dream of driving diggers and is something that doesn’t leave you.

Gavin Havery

I FEARED we would be leaving Diggerland only 15 minutes after we arrived.

The Spin Dizzy ride – the site’s only real stomach-churning fairground attraction – turned my strapping husband a bit green.

Sitting in the bucket of a huge JCB, which spun round like a deranged member of Bob the Builder’s crew, was worse than a rollercoaster, said the man who used to work on a construction site. While he suffered from motion sickness, our eight-year-old daughter, Maisy, loved it, and was keen to indulge her inner tomboy.

She zoomed around a go-cart track, drove diggers through mud and even used the machinery to hook a duck.

She even took rising 60ft into the air on the SkyShuttle to admire the County Durham views in her stride.

The main reason for going to Diggerland was to celebrate our son Felix’s second birthday. His eyes lit up at all the shiny yellow excavators and he was thrilled to sit on my knee and wiggle the levers. A tour around on a toy train kept him entertained, as did throwing the ball pool in the play area.

He was so enamoured that he felt compelled to string his first sentence together when we left four hours later: “Bye-bye deegars.”

Lucy Richardson 

  • Diggerland Durham, Riverside Industrial Estate, Langley Park, County Durham, DH7 9TT Email: mail@diggerland.com Tel: 08712-277007.