Smart Trees

This morning (16th Dec) we made our annual trip to Smart Trees for the Grotto Experience and as always it was fantastic. The Elves were cheery (especially the young chap at the Grotto door) Santa was magical. The Reindeer were enchanting and the Christmas activities were excellent. My 3 year old especially loved the games after the grotto - it was a great way to burn off some energy! This year was also my extended families first ever visit and they all said what a super time they’d had and they definitely want to visit again next year. We thought that Caribou had some lovely present ideas and we purchased some new decs for the tree. Afterwards we visited the independently managed Cafe on site (Rise & Grind) and enjoyed our visit there too. The whole site was fantastic and all the Smart Trees staff were awesome! Thank you.

Despite having a time-slot booked it took nearly an hour in a cold wet queue to get on the tractor ride, before then having to queue again to see Santa. The whole thing took over an hour and a half. Thank goodness there were two of us, no idea how a single parent would manage! The whole thing seems mismanaged, the lady at the entrance advised the queue would take 30 minutes and that people kept going in for different slots, I don’t know why bands weren’t checked and people stopped to help manage it! The queue in the barn for Santa was better as there are reindeers and a wishing well and lots of snow which makes it feel a bit special and some entertainment for children, the first queue however is way too long, all for a tractor ride that is completely overrated!There is also only a handful of tables and half are out of the covered area so weren’t useable as they were wet from rain! Unfortunately we won’t be back next year, it’s overpriced for what you get, took too long and was underwhelming in the end!

Please avoid if you are in anyway disabled or care about the way they are treated.A wonderful experience completely ruined by an older female staff member. Shouted at for parking in a disabled bay as someone in their thirties couldn't possibly have a blue badge, no apology when one was presented. Then laughed at when we explained we'd been told we would be able to skip the tractor ride on the phone before booking due to my mobility issues. We weren't looking to skip queues etc, more than happy to sit outside and wait our turn but told impossible. So to avoid spoiling the experience for my son I was forced to hobble round the barn in the queue, then heaved in to the trailer along with my walking frame (unbelievably humiliating as an audience watched). Imagine our surprise when we discover the entrance to the santa section is just a short walk along a completely flat section of pavement! The after effects of this left me bed bound for days but I had no choice without breaking my little ones excitement.Every other part was excellent. We had a great experience in the cafe chatting with the staff etc and spent a small fortune in the shop (absolutely worth it, their stuff is beautiful). The teenage 'elves' were great and showed 100 times more empathy and common sense than the older women who seemed to be in charge.Honestly the single worst experience since becoming a disabled parent that could have absolutely been avoided with just a sprinkling of compassion. I only became ill a few years ago so maybe someone more experienced could stand up for themselves more but I was just left feeling ashamed that I'd tried to give my son an experience all his friends with 'normal' parents get to do.

Site closed early (2.30pm), no mention in booking email or most recent emails (all said until 4pm), nothing when entering site, lots of children disappointed as couldn’t experience hot chocolate, sweets, feeding reindeer or the general Christmas atmosphere, which was a shame. Despite enforced time slots there was still a 45minute wait to start tractor experience, standing in a confined queue it was difficult to leave to get hot drinks/kids to go to toilet etc and no where to sit down so not ideal if mobility problems.Santa was good. A kind lady in the shop unlocked doors to get the prizes for doing the trail, which was nice.

Magical Christmas Day out- great effort by everyone involved. It was our first time visiting smart trees after hearing good things for a few years now & it didn’t disappoint. So much going on for the kids to enjoy and it really was full of magic.Very muddy around the site but we were dressed for it and the kids loved jumping in all the puddles!All of the staff were lovely and very engaging.Will definitely be back next year.

Hi, just wanted to say a massive thank you!!! We come every year to smart trees and we love it, but this year was exceptional!Our elf helper was lovely and friendly and took photos while we queued.Our Santa was amazing, he was friendly, chatty, engaged really well. Wasn’t rushed and took time to listen to my daughter who has special needs. Please tell him what a wonderful job he did!Thank you very much smart trees team

Love a trip to smart trees. We always get our Christmas trees there and the kids love the reindeer and seeing Santa! Play area is lovely too when it's not too muddy.

Our first ever visit 9th Dec, before you even arrive, you are sent several reminder emails, which at this time of year with everything going on is a blessing. The emails are packed with useful info.When we arrived it looked incredibly busy, but the guys doing the car park were great at getting you parked up. We then went and got our wristbands from a lovely guy in the hut, who then sent us round to meet Elf Lottie, who informed us of what we had to do and when.My only criticism is the area around where you need to queue isn't a big space and it started hammering it down with rain and everyone was crammed in trying to shelter.I then joined the queue with our elf as the rest of the group were enjoying their hot chocolate and the staff were happy that only one person was in the queue. The rest of the gang joined as we got to the front and headed off on our tractor ride.Our Elf then took us to meet Santa, at the grotto. Before you get to Santa you walk through an indoor enchanted wood with reindeer to pet and some photo opportunities. All the elves we met greeted us warmly, asked if we were having a lovely time and wished us a Merry Christmas.Santa and his Elf were warm and friendly. Our 10 month old grandson was intrigued by Santa and had lots of smiles for our Elf.When you finish you are in an open barn with opportunities for a hot drink and snacks. You can get your face painted, do some colouring and play some games.The younger members of the group all got their faces painted.We then headed back to the main site. We ordered some food from the wooden hut, the guys in there were rushed off their feet, but they were happy and polite and because we weren't in a hurry, it didn't bother us.We didn't do the Christmas tree trail, but speaking to people around us their children had enjoyed it. It was incredibly muddy, but if you go dressed correctly the kids were having a whale of a time, most were very muddy, but great big smiles.All in all a lovely afternoon, with great memories made.

We visited smart trees for the christmas grotto on Sunday 3rd December 2023. We had a time booked of 10.45 and received several emails prior to the date reminding us to be on time, as if late we could be denied entry.We arrived at 10.20am giving ourselves plenty of time. On arrival we were ushered into a barn to queue for our ride to see Santa. The queue was easily 45+ minutes long, begging the question as to why they give out time slots and are so specific about being on time when you then have to queue for almost 1 hour.We had 2 children with us with additional needs, who after 20 minutes in the very noisy and cramped barn were very distressed. After speaking to a manager we were told that we could make use of their 'virtual queue' system and come back to the front of the queue in 30minutes time. We gratefully accepted this, however after already telling 2 members of staff on entry that our children had additional needs it would have saved alot of upset to be given this option from the beginning.Whilst the event has some lovely elements, it does not cater for children with additional needs well at all, as even the barn where you queue (again) to see santa is very crowded and dark. Again, difficult for children with sensory needs.Overall a dissappinting visit and we won't be returning.

Awful start to Christmas.Far too many tickets sold just pure greed. HALF the amount of people should be there so it’s actually a nice experience!!!!We queued for over an hour to get on our tractor ride to see Santa.The queue was full ofScreaming upset kids fed up of waiting. Mine included.The place was hell!The staff in the hut outside doing food weren’t friendly.The place was flooding, had to walk through a huge puddle to get into the grotto.Literally 3 mins spent with Santa.Just on the whole a total waste of money. We left deflated and drained.Let alone soaked and muddy. While you can’t help the weather you can help the amount of people which would mean more indoor space to shelter.This visit has made me promise myself to never book to see any Santa again!!!!