Bicton Park Botanical Gardens

I took out a membership 8 months ago had numerous good visits. Recently visited with two friends, each of us with a 13 month old baby. One friend spent £15 on membership. We then spent £10 in the main cafe on coffee & cake, and later all bought lunch in the soft play cafe for a further £15. As I do everywhere I go, I buy food for myself from the venue, but then feed my baby the weaning food I have brought with me.

On this occasion a grumpy member of staff approached our table in the completely empty cafe to say we could not have a picnic inside. I thought she had made a mistake and showed her that we had all bought sandwiches, crisps and drinks from the cafe. She then pointed to the baby food and said you can't feed them their own food inside! We were expected to eat the food we had paid for in the cafe, then take the babies outside, into the cold to feed them separately. These were small babies, not long in high chairs, all eating weaning finger food including one baby with special dietary needs.

On leaving the soft play we went to get our membership cards (which they now make you hand in) only to be told they had been confiscated, and wouldn't be returned until we had been sent a letter informing us of our rules breach. I couldn't believe it, but assumed this was just a grumpy member of staff being overly strict (I can completely understand that you can't eat your own food in a cafe, but I have never seen this applied to baby food anywhere else).

I emailed the management expecting to get an apology (as the staff refused to find a manager for me to speak to). They didn't bother to reply to my email. They did reply to my wife and my friend who had her membership card confiscated 2 hours after buying it. They confirmed this is company policy, and if you are bringing baby food with you, no matter how much you spend on food for adults in the cafe, and no matter how young your children, you must feed them outside regardless of the weather. I feel these rules are outrageous and are designed to force you to buy from the tiny range of baby and children's food that they sell. I won't ever return again - they have lost what would have been a regularly visiting (and spending!) family for the next 10-15 years. Please beware if you are taking weaning babies, this is not a family friendly venue.

Love it here so peaceful yet loads to do for very active toddlers

Excellent place to visit come rain or shine!