Regular readers of Edspire will know that Esther and William are big fans of In The Night Garden.

One of the first times William really giggled at television was at the antics of his good friend, Iggle Piggle. We do not watch very much television in the Edspire household but In The Night Garden is a firm favourite and an established part of our bedtime routine.

And so when the opportunity arose to go to Bewl Water to see In The Night Garden Live to write a review, how could we refuse?

We arrived at Bewl Water just after 9.00am ready for the 9.30am Ninky Nonk show. The show is housed in its very own inflatable show dome which is really quite spectacular. Once inside the large reception area has a buggy park, baby change and baby feeding facilities. The whole experience is definitely aimed at its preschool audience.

Esther and William were in awe of their surroundings as they sat and waited patiently for the show to begin, and with all the little ones in the auditorium the show started bang on time.

The first character that we saw was of course Iggle Piggle and I was very disappointed to see him standing no more than 50cm high. A puppet. My heart sank as I had been hoping for a life size cuddly Iggle Piggle and then my heart soared as the puppet skipped off the stage and the Iggle Piggle of my dreams skipped on to the stage to sing his famous introductory song, twice through!

Esther and William were entranced to see their television friend so real, so large and so close! I sang along to the songs bouncing Esther on my knee. She loved it. Being only one year old Esther and William did not exclaim and shout out the way the older toddlers did but I wish I had got photos of their faces. They loved the show and were amazed by the lights and the music and the characters. I was very impressed with the dancers and puppeteers who really did a wonderful job without detracting from the main characters.

The instantly recognisable songs of the birds drew Esther’s and William’s eyes to the ceiling of the dome where the birds and the Pinky Ponk were projected. The projections were great for the kids but David and I were a bit disappointed that they could not find a flat surface to project on to to make the pictures brighter and easier for all to see.

This 45 minute show is perfect for preschoolers. Esther sat through the whole show beautifully, clapping along with the music and waving at her favourite, Upsy Daisy. William, being a typical one year old boy, lasted the first 20 minutes and then needed to be off places. Because there are no individual seats William and Daddy were able to clamber around the empty parts of the auditorium without disturbing anybody. I liked that this freedom was available to us and other toddlers that needed to stretch their legs.

In The Night Garden Live is not a cheap excursion for a family of four, and I find it hard to believe that you have to pay the same for a babe in arms as you do for a three year old, but the show is good and it really does bring the magic of the Night Garden alive.

The show is running at Bewl Water until the 3rd of September and if you have a little one who loves the Night Garden and all its inhabitants then I would say it is well worth a visit. And Bewl Water itself is a fabulous family day out.

You can find more information about the show and about Bewl Water here. What a Pip!

Keep your eyes peeled here on the blog as we have an In The Night Garden giveaway coming ‘Upsy!’

See you later I’m sure x