MOST children are enchanted by the tale of a young girl who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of weird and wonderful creatures.

And it was this Lewis Carroll classic that was the inspiration for one of Dorset’s best-loved family attractions which celebrates its 20th anniversary this Saturday.

Adventure Wonderland in Bournemouth first opened in 1991 as The Alice in Wonderland Park with a storytelling area, a few rides and a hedge maze that was about three feet high.

But over the past two decades the award-winning play park has grown faster than Alice after she ate that magical chocolate cake.

Today it boasts a range of rides and attractions including Wild Thing, an indoor adventure play centre and The Happydrome Theatre.

Russell Lucas-Rowe, managing director of Adventure Wonderland, says it was originally a place where people could pick their own fruit.

“We started pick your own strawberries and raspberries in around 1971 and we wanted to entertain the children whilst the parents were picking, so we thought it would be nice to have a garden and a maze.

“When we first started thinking about the design we decided it needed a good theme and the Alice In Wonderland story was ideal because the real Alice lived in Lyndhurst – so there was the local connection and the story itself has such an enduring appeal for children.

“We also wanted to do tea parties so the Queen of Hearts character lent itself well to that and it went from there. Within a few years we closed the pick your own because the park had just taken off.”

Mr Lucas-Rowe is the third generation of a local farming family based at Hurn.

“We still have a farm with cattle and horses but Adventureland has taken over now – although it is nice because it is still a green attraction.

“In the early days I used to have to help run the park and the farm.

"I would be putting on the Mad Hatter’s costume one minute and the next minute I would be changing into my old clothes to go and milk the cows.”

Mr Lucas-Rowe says even his wife-to-be got roped in on one of their first dates.

“I asked her to accompany me to a do in which I had to go as the Mad Hatter so she went dressed as Alice – fortunately she looks a little bit like Alice so that helped!

“Nowadays we have four or five people to play the role of Alice but it is still very much a family business.”

One of the park’s biggest developments was Wild Thing, the £1m indoor play area in 2005.

“Every year we listen to what people want and add a new attraction whilst keeping the original feel of the gardens and not being over-developed.

“But the indoor playground was the biggest break for us because it allowed us to stay open all year whereas we used to close for the winter.”

The park which is around 20 acres including the car park also accommodates Bournemouth’s Aviation Museum.

“We are in a lovely position between Bournemouth and Bournemouth airport – the airport is a wonderful sign post for us because everyone knows where we are.”

To mark its 20th birthday this Saturday the park is charging 1991 prices for entry which means everyone who has the voucher in yesterday’s Echo can get into the park for just £5 (normal price is £11.25).

He adds: “We are thrilled to celebrate our 20th anniversary and we hope many local families will come and join us.”