A coastal resort that has faced harsh criticism from those who live there is to be recreated in miniature for children.
Once home to bustling streets and buzzing restaurants, recently Weston-super-Mare has come in for a bit of a kicking. Critics of the Victorian seaside resort said it is a shadow of its former self desperately in need of an upgrade.
During the pandemic the British public voted it the second worst seaside destination in the country, awarding it one-star ratings for scenery and value for money. Beaches, attractions, and peace and quiet were judged to be just two stars out of five.
Jan V, from Birmingham, is one visitor who came, saw and quickly condemned the coastal town. She wrote: “Weston Super Mare has often been described as a dump with a sea view, and from my experience yesterday following an absence of 30 years, nothing has changed much, except there is now the burned-out crumbling remains of the abandoned old pier left to photograph."
Another user on TripAdvisor also described the town as "a dump" and said the best part of the visit was the "motorway back home". He added: "Most of the arcade machines are broken or rob your money! Too many empty shops or spaces where things could be built." A third simply described it as a "bleak shadow of its former self".
Many argue that such criticisms are unfair and lazy, in no small part to the huge amount to do in Weston-super-Mare. It is home to a long, sandy beach, a helicopter museum, Weston-super-Mare Museum, Grand Pier, a now closed SeaQuarium aquarium, and the seasonal Wheel of Weston. Soon to be added to that list is a new Little Town Adventures.
Described as a combination of escape room style activity, theatre and role play, it is a miniature recreation of the town and includes its own grand pier, town hall, cinema, vets, police station, fire station, supermarket, and café. To make it as realistic and immersive as possible, many of the buildings will be up to five metres high and will have multiple storeys allowing children to explore both the lower and upper floors. The experience will feature actors, scripts, music and immersive effects.
The new attraction is the brainchild of husband-and-wife team Tom and Laura Filer, who own and operate award-winning soft play venues and children's nurseries across the South West and the Midlands.
"We could not be more excited to be launching our next innovative leisure venue in Weston-super-Mare and are this time bringing a world-first play concept to market following the success of our multi-award-winning Ocean and Space Adventurers venues,” said Laura Filer.
"The combination of role play, theatre, and escape room-style activities enhances cognitive development, social skills, and creativity, making it an exciting, truly holistic and educational adventure for children. Little Town Adventures will be an innovative fully immersive miniature Weston-super-Mare putting learning and fun at the centre of the experience."
Designed to provide entertaining and varied challenges to children from two-years-old to eight-years-old, live actors will help bring the stories to life as the children help the deputy mayor to solve a series of interactive challenges around the town.
Family Adventures Group was founded in 2019 by Laura and Tom after, they say, having their own often negative, experiences of visiting soft play centres with their young family. Today in addition to Little Town Adventures, the group owns and operates indoor play venues Ocean Adventurers in Cheddar and Space Adventurers in Taunton along with six Little Adventures Nurseries & Pre-School Group.
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