"I went to Cadbury World with school, I ate so much chocolate!" I lost count of how many people said this to me when I told them I was dragging the family up the M5 for a day out. It seems a trip to Bournville is a rite of passage for Bristolian school children.
No one seemed to have made a return trip since though, and no one could tell me anything about their visit other than I would definitely get some chocolate out of it. However, the promise of complimentary confectionary, plus an amber warning for extreme heat, persuaded me to pack the family into a Sunday morning drive to the air-conditioned attraction in the West Midlands.
As we drove through the village of Bournville, which was built by Cadbury for the workers when it was still a major factory, I did worry our sat nav has sent us the wrong way. My four-year-old certainly thought so as he repeatedly asked us where the chocolate was.
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I needn't have worried though, as Cadbury World sits in the heart of the village, opposite the park, surrounded by red brick buildings. As we arrived we saw coach loads of pupils proving it is still a big hit as a school trip.
On entering we were greeted by the biggest Cadbury shop in the world, which I had to convince my children we would return to at the end. You don't need tickets to Cadbury World in order to visit the shop something plenty of people seemed to be taking advantage of.
Fortunately the promise of free chocolate was fulfilled immediately as we showed our tickets and no less than a dozen chocolate bars were placed into my hands. Dairy Milk, Wispas and Dairy Milk Caramels filled my handbag which proved handy as strategic bribes to keep the children happy while we learnt about the history of Cadbury and how their chocolate is made.
While the rest of the visitors were making lots of "oohs" and "ahhs" at the first part of the exhibit - a tour from the Aztec rainforest all the way to Bournville - my children were determined to find something more interactive. I think it is safe to say they know no more about chocolate production than they did before, confirmed when my eldest shouted out "Hello potato" at an anthropomorphic cocoa bean.
Once the history part was over we followed the path through the former chocolate factory. Chocolate writing, making chocolate and nostalgic adverts were much up our family's street. Literally in some cases we walked down a recreation of Birmingham's historic Bull Street.
Once the main part of the attraction was seen, and we had indulged in some liquid chocolate, had our picture taken in the 1990s bathtub from the Flake ads, and rode the Cadabra ride we headed to the other part of Cadbury World.
This was perfect for our two under-fives. A giant play area allowed us the chance to sip a cold drink and snaffle some chocolate in peace was much appreciated.
There was also a kids' entertainment show staring Freddo which has now inspired my eldest play electric guitar (unfortunately) which of course included a dance-along to Baby Shark as every show aimed at young children has for the past five years.
Hesitant about the 4D chocolate adventure, due to numerous warning signs about it perhaps not being suitable for people of nervous dispositions or with certain medical conditions, we were assured by staff we could have seats close to an exit and leave if the children found it scary.
We needn't have worried, it was no scarier than a child's ride at a fair and far safer with a cinema screen and motion seats. From the iconic Crunchie rollercoaster to diving into a bowl of liquid Cadbury Dairy Milk it was a highlight of our afternoon.
As promised we dutifully returned to the Cadbury Shop at the end of our journey. As well as novelty items made on site, there are discounted versions of all your favourites and the much coveted Misfits - a bag of random Cadbury's chocolate which has gone wrong in production.
As we all piled back into the car, ready to tackle the 90 minute journey back to Bristol, with a car full of chocolate and two children so tired they slept door to door my partner and I agreed it had been worth the trip. Especially if it meant getting to eat a free Cadbury's Wispa in complete silence for a change on the way home.
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