Having a blast at East Links Family Park

Earlier this spring we popped along to East Links Family Park, a play farm with lots of different animals, just outside Dunbar. It's one of our Little One’s favourite days out, so he was excited the moment he saw all the big flags they have from around the world flying at the entrance as we parked up. He spotted an unusual animal before we even went inside – a Welsh dragon waving, that is. “Roar!”

The carpark is a decent size and even on the wettest days doesn't get too muddy. So you can rest assured the car won't get stuck if you do put on their puddle suits and wellies and venture out on a rainy day. (We've done that before and actually it's great as you've practically got the park to yourself.)

Tickets and annual membership

We made our way to the ticket office just opposite the cafe. The staff were friendly as ever and super helpful, quickly sorting out Annual Membership for Little One's Dad. (It's worth looking into if you visit a lot as you only have to visit around four times a year to start saving money compared to individual entry tickets – check out the park website for details.

Special events

One of the lovely things about East Links is the unexpected special events you often find running. We struck gold on this day as the staff told us lamb feeding was happening in one of the barns. They said when to be there to bottle feed them, and circled the location on a map for us. Unlike so many attractions, this bonus activity was included at no extra cost.

Bunnies and bantams

Tickets sorted, it was on into the park! Literally the moment you step inside there are cute animals to say hello to – a pen with hens and fluffy bunnies. Little One loved helping to open the gate to the pen and making sure it was securely shut so no sneaky bantams could run out after us.

Wallaby field

Little One sprinted along to the fence next door to say hello to the wallabies. They've got such a great space to hop around in and really are characters with cheeky personalities. The fences throughout the park are all simple wire ones so toddlers get an amazing view without having to keep lifting them up to see. (But do follow the signs advising that some animals can nibble, as they will!)

Outdoor play area

The area when you first enter the park is set around a large courtyard with lots of fun play activities, including little pedal tractors and a four-floor wooden play fort with a giant slide. Little One is going through a jumping phase, and inspired by his wallaby pals, went for a boing on the massive inflated jumping pillow and trampolines. This kept him entertained for a good twenty minutes or so – perfect to burn off some energy while Dad grabbed us a coffee from the cafe.

Ball blaster room

Next we checked out the indoor air cannon ball blaster play room, just next door to the mini train station. This was great fun. It's got air powered canons that kids put foam balls in and fire at one another and at targets across the room. There's also a little conveyor belt you use to transport the foam balls to the higher platform levels – which have more canons too. Little One enjoyed firing these at Dad and giggling. He'd have probably happily carried on the whole day in here but we had a train to catch next door!

All aboard the safari train

No doubt one of the most exciting things to do is take a ride on the park’s mini train. Departing every hour on the day we visited, this takes you on a tour around the perimeter of the park, right through the main animal field. A really brilliant idea is that for 50p, you can buy little cups of animal feed from vending machines on the platform to take on board. Off we went, meeting some very greedy sheep, llamas, ostriches and very cute young Highland cows along the safari track. Little One found it hilarious as the sheep got quite competitive, butting one another for animal feed he threw from the carriage.

 Wheely wild karts

Having enjoyed being transported around the park, Little One was extra keen to get into one of the free toddler karts they have to wheel along the paths. This is another great idea they've thought of as little legs could get tired on a walk along the animal fields. We didn't have our buggy today so this saved us tired arms and was fun too. (Although in the past we have – the paths are a good surface for wheeling a pram if you do.) For slightly bigger kids, there's also giant go karts the whole family can pedal round the park.

Ee-aw! Snort! Bleat!

Little One enjoyed getting a good vantage point in the kart, telling us to “Stop!” whenever he spotted a new animal to get out and feed. We quickly emptied our animal feed cups treating everything from donkeys, pigs and goats, to some very pecky rheas!

One of the paths was a bit waterlogged after an insane month of rain, but really helpfully signposted. And despite this, we didn't miss seeing any animals. So we turned back and made our way into the woodland maze.

Musical maze

Inside the little woodland is a musical maze, which was a calm, sensory activity after all the excitement elsewhere in the park. It's got xylophones and big metal tune pipes which Little One really enjoyed discovering and playing on our way through the maze. We could have easily spend half an hour or so here. But we had lamb feeding on the schedule so we got back in the toddler wagon wheeled our way to the animal barns!

Farm barn sheep.

We got to the lamb feeding (“baby sheepses”) just in time as the staff showed the kids how to hold the bottles and approach them. You could tell by the way they spoke how much they cared for the animals. They also had incredible patience with the children and a wonderful way of explaining things. It was a nice opportunity for the parents to step back and watch the kids help one another to feed the lambs, with the older ones giving the younger toddlers a hand – really a great social activity.

Cute wee creatures

Next door to the sheep barn there is a little animal barn with rabbits, guinea pigs and very cute newly hatched chicks on our spring visit. Little One was fascinated by the heat lamps to keep them cosy.

 Ready for the picnic barn

The park has really thought through the outdoor hand washing station to keep any bugs at bay, particularly from the more hands-on animal barns. All clean, we stopped to eat a late packed lunch in the picnic barn. It's got loads of tables under cover inside. Good timing too, as the heavens opened!

Sledging slope

 Not exactly the first thing you think of at an animal park! Our son absolutely loved zooming down the sledging slope. Admittedly quite fast considering he'd just had lunch. But all good! After racing down the slopes on the plastic sledges provided, Little One enjoyed digging and building castles in the sandpit too. Buckets and spades provided to save carrying them.

One last train ride

Before thinking about heading home, we had to have one last loop on the safari train. (Luckily the carriages are under cover!) Then a whistlestop at the gift shop on our way back to the car. A fun day all round.

Indoor Fun

The park also has an indoor soft play (for under 7s) or the hay barn, which has stacked bales to climb over and explore, particularly if the weather takes a turn. The hay bales are also a really good photo spot!

Teeing off

There's also a crazy golf course we look forward to having a shot at one Little One is a bit bigger. That's included too, other than a small 50p charge for a golf ball.

Getting there by public transport

The closest bus stop is 'East Links Family Park Stop' which is a 5-10 minute walk away.

There is a train station in Dunbar. The bus stop is just outside it where you can catch the X7 or the 120 to the East Links Stop. The X7 runs hourly and takes 20 minutes to get to the stop.

Top tips

If you live local to the park, definitely look in a yearly membership. They have indoor soft play for under 5s, which means even if the weather is bad you can still visit the park. East links hold a number of really good events across the year, visit their website for more details. The park is also next door to the car park for John Muir Country Park. It's also only a five minute drive into Dunbar town centre, which has a great swimming pool with slides. So it's possible to pack lots into one Dunbar day out.

Click here to find out more about East Links Animal Park