We haven’t been to Merry Hill for years, so when we were invited to visit Quest at intu Merry Hill we weren’t really sure what to expect. I was looking for a separate building with soft play, climbing and a laser quest. I didn’t realise that all these things were actually part of the shopping centre. Whoever came up with that idea is an absolute genius. If you have to take the children out shopping with you then you can treat them with an hour in the soft play area or an amazing experience climbing through the rafters of the shop. Seriously genius.
To fortify us before getting started we were given a lovely breakfast in one of the party rooms. From just £8 per person you can hold a party at the venue. .
Altitude high ropes course
Molly couldn’t wait to get started as she was desperate to go climbing on the Altitude high ropes course. This cost £6.50 which is an amazing price for such a unique experience. There is a minimum height is 1.1m. All children under 1.3m must be accompanied by an adult. Once you get up to the first level it is higher than it looks from the ground. There are patient staff members on hand to help you across the bridges and offer encouragement and make sure you are safe.
The course is made up of lots of different bridges and walk walks suspended high above the entrance to the shopping centre. There are steps to climb to each level and then you can choose you own path around the route.
If you enter the shopping centre to see lots of people staring upwards then they are trying to see their loved ones high up in the roof. Apparently the view from the top is pretty spectacular.
Sky Tykes Mini Ropes Course
Younger children can go on the mini ropes course. They are fitted with the same safety harness so can feel really grown up. This costs £2.50 for up to 30 minutes.
The twins are five and really loved this as it felt exciting for them but was close enough to the ground that they were not scared. Again you are able to choose your own path around the course. They had lots of fun.
YU Kids Soft Play
The twins favourite part was the soft play area. You have to be under 1.25 metres high so this is definitely for the younger children. I really love the colours in this soft play area. They are really fresh and bright. They make the pictures look a bit like a boy band cover. This is a great place to stop after shopping as adults can have a well-deserved cup of coffee while the children play.
We really enjoyed the variety of different play equipment. There were lots of things we hadn’t seen before. The girls really liked the fun merry go round. There was also a room full of balloons and a baby area for the under twos.
They particularly liked the giant slide. It was transparent and had colourful lights underneath. There was even a little slide that looks like you are floating on water. Prices for the soft play are really reasonable; £4.50 with no time limits or £5.50 including the Mini Ropes.
Nerf Blaster Target Range
We finished our day with a go on the Nerf blaster target range. Here you can shoot darts or discs at the targets and try to get the greatest score. There is a vast array of different Nerf guns for you to choose from. It took us a while to master the technique as we hadn’t used them before. Tickets for this cost £3.50 per person, with £1.00 for an extra bucket
We all had a great time at Quest. It is such a clever idea to have it in the shopping centre and definitely makes trips to the shops much more fun for children.
Disclaimer: We were invited to a blogger day and given a VIp pass to the activities for the purposes of this post.
