I went to one of UK's best waterparks Blackpool Sandcastle and was instantly transported back to my youth

I’ve always been a water baby. I love the water and my three young children love it to.

So when I heard Blackpool’s Sandcastle Waterpark had been named as one of the best in the UK, I thought it was about time I revisited my youth and let my very own water babies experience it for the first time.

So, on a busy Monday at the end of the summer holidays me, my husband and our three children packed our swimming stuff and headed down to the Sandcastle.

We were all really excited. The children, who are all under 4, could barely contain their excitement.

As we stepped inside - a wave of nostalgia hit me. Apart from obvious upgrades over the years it looked, smelled and sounded the same.

The children loved the jungle themed cafe. The first big difference I noticed was how you book a slot now rather than paying for entry for the full day. We got there for 9am and we among the first through the door.

You also rent a locker. You pay a deposit and get half of the money back once you hand back your wristband.

But after the quick and smooth check in - we made our way down the stairs. There were beaming faces of little ones of all ages all around.

Conveniently, the changing rooms as unisex and they have been family sized cubicles meaning we could all go in together to get changed.

After a quickly popping on our bathers we had the obligatory quick cold shower and made our way inside.

The first thing I noticed was the blast of warm air on my face and and the roar of excited chatter from all around.

The children, two girls and a boy, were awestruck. We had told them about the lazy river so after a paddling in the water fountains and several goes on the pirates ship slide we made our way to the river.

For those who don’t know the lazy river is a loop section of the pool that has a current that pulls you along while over head buckets of water fall on to you.

With the children being young they had their armbands and rubber rings tightly fastened but they were in their element. They were beaming from ear to ear.

They loved how flowed with the river without any effort and loved it when they got splashed.

After several trips around the loop and trying to convince the little ones to explore further we managed to break them away from the lazy river for a short time at least.

The eldest and my husband queued up patiently for several goes of the yellow and blue slides.

There was a little bit of disappointment when the eldest was ruled too small to go on a ride that flows the whole way around the park but with a promise of a trip to the wave pool he soon forgot it.

Then that brings me to the wave pool. It is every but as thrilling as it was when I was a child. As the claxton sounds the water becomes more choppy as the waves rave. My little ones loved paddling waist deep jumping the waves as they arrived.

I was impressed at how much there was to do for all ages and abilities.

While we were there we saw a grandmother with mobility issues being pushed through the pools in a specially adapted wheelchair.

There were loads of lifeguards on duty at the sides of the pool and even liaision staff in the pool checking children and adults alike were safe.

There was even a whole rail of safety vests in different sizes for those feeling a little nervous in the water.

After tiring ourselves out we descided to head to the showers instead of grabbing some food pool side.

The Sandcastle is everything it promises to be and more. Whether you young and a little scared of the water or a seasoned swimmer it has something for everyone.

If you haven’t been for a while or you’re looking for a day out with the kids - make sure you check it out.

My innerchild was certainly not disappointed.

To book tickets visit the Sandcastle website here.