) I was dying to enjoy my time messing about on someone elses stuff without the worry.To greet you at the front entrance there is a JCB HydraDigger perched up on a plinth and furter down the avenue an angry Tank based crawler loader painted up inspiring you to go further in.
The actual building is very modern and fresh looking with inviting spacious entrance and a huge shop full of JCB and Diggerland goodies
£15 quid to get in for access to nearly everything (depending on age and height) is pretty good compared to a lot of other theme parks (Legoland cost us £90 and at the time my wife had just had a baby and my other wee fella was only 2) A mad price for not being able to do bugger all
There are some coin operated ride-on diggers (£1) to allow really young ones to have a go at digging sand by themselves - naturally helped bt daddy
and there also are coin operated cars, tractors and trucks that can be driven around a miniture town centre road network. This facility is adjacent to the indoor soft play area, food wagon and party room suitable for large get-to-gethers.The main Diggerland area is well laid out with tarmac paths and good open spectator areas for those just wanting to watch, picnic tables and cut grass at the far end.
Being so familiar with driving diggers there is not the same desire to queue and have a go - but my main emphasis was to give my wee fella all the fun of the fair. Incidently in the middle of summer on the Saturday that I went the queues were minimal - 10 - 15 mins wait just
Threres about 16 JCB 801s split into 3 activities - picking up plastic ducks, digging up treasure, and knocking down metal skittles with a ball and chain. In the middle two fields you can have a go at JCB robot driving (The wheels move but not the loader arm) and mini dumper driving (these are Neuson hydrostatic but embarassingly slow
) Further up the top there are 2 areas where you can have a go at real digging in 3 ton and 6 ton JCBs (the digging arc is of course restricted to around 45 degrees for safety purposes. There is a 3 stage Loadall in the middle with seats. This contraption takes you full height like you were a pallet of bricks and lets you enjoy the view for around 10 mins (I was absolutley shi??ing myself and completly doubted my faith in Mr Bamfords hydraulics for once 
)It feels so much higher up there than when your looking up at it from base
There are another few activities including the famous Digger Dizzy spin ride (not for me- Heave, boke boke
) Landrover driving (boring - only because I do it everyday) riding on the front of a Loadall over rough muddy terrian (rather good when the driver pretends to tip everybody out 
) and finally a ride in a JCB 3CX in specially made back seats - this ride would have had my biggest safety critism - there are no "Jesus" handles to grab on to and you're forced to plant yourself against the glass which if gives way some day will ensure you become part of a nice tractor tread. The potholes ensure minor brain damage and there's bound to be a claims direct case over some punters whiplash someday 
One thing (and I hate to be an old jobsworth
) which disapointed me was the state of the toilets - digger buckets and behind potacabins for us big burly blokes are fine but messy, smelly, wet modern facilities were not ideal for the children. (Get a mop Hugh 
) My other complaint would have to be the young age and attitude of the staff supervising some of the events. Much too young, inexperienced and riddled with bordom to be switched on to the potential dangers of this type of machinery. It's only a matter of time - 
Overall tho for a good day out family activity - yes thumbs up
and an official CJM rating of 8 out of 10.
