We’d never heard of The Chocolate Factory, Hawkshead before. It was only through a recommendation from a friend in the Lake District that we became aware. With the weather forecast looking rather horrific for one of the days during our recent holiday we decided to book a visit and go.

Who doesn’t love chocolate?

Located in Hawkshead close the northern point of Esthwaite Water, The Chocolate Factory is only a short drive from Ambleside. A small shop, with a small chocolate making area, but packs a great punch for something to do on a soggy day in the Lakes.

The attraction is only bookable in advance, due to limited space but we were fortunate to be able to book ourselves in as a family visit for our time there.

After signing in we were equipped with aprons and hairnets before being greeted by 2 members of the team who would be taking us through our experience.

During our visit, we would be making 3 chocolate creations, first up would be a hollow chocolate shape, the kids and I chose to design a teddy bear whilst Sam chose to design a dinosaur.

First Chocolate Creation

First, we decorated the shell of our chosen shape with the opposite chocolate that we would later be filling it with. For example, Lewis wanted a white chocolate teddy bear so began decorating it with milk chocolate first. Afterwards, the shape was given a chocolate filling which we would be encouraged to shake to make sure the chocolate-covered the inside of the mould. Meanwhile, we were left to consume the chocolate leftover in our little pots from the decorating session.

Second Chocolate Creation

Next up we were given chocolate slab moulds filled with half white chocolate and half milk chocolate. We were to mix together the two chocolates by getting gooey swirling the chocolate about.

This was shortly followed by the arrival of various sugary treats, to decorate our chocolate slabs. Then a white chocolate piping bag to write our names on them.

Whilst the piping bags were out the kids were given the opportunity to have a chocolate face paint. Leah loved this but particularly enjoyed wiping the chocolate off her face with her fingers and then licking them.

Our Final Creations

Last but not least we were given our final chocolate challenge. Making caterpillars with chocolate and marshmallow.

We finished by topping them with chocolate and decorating them with any remaining sweets we had left from the creation of our slabs.

After a quick chocolate chilling session, all our creations were packed up for us to take home.

Our Verdict

Sadly, I don’t have a picture of our finished creations as we loved our visit so much we couldn’t wait to tuck into our chocolates!

If you are a fan of chocolate, be sure to arrange your own visit there if you’re in the area! We shall certainly return when we are next visiting the area.

Liked our post? Find out more about our adventures by visiting the Days Out Section of my blog.

** We paid for our own entry to The Chocolate Factory, Hawkshead. We have not been asked to review or share our experience from our day. All words and opinions are our own.