Some super days out
As a family we try to get out and about as much as possible as our kids are generally climbing the walls by 7am. Heres some of our favourite local places to tire out the kids/stop them trying to kill each other.
- The Wild Place — Definitely one of my favourites, possibly due to my love of Meerkats. Really liked the indoor wooden play area which is fun without taking up too much time. Theres not many places you get to see Wolves and Reindeer as well as getting up close with the Lemurs. Some lovely outdoor play areas including barefoot trails and a giant spiders web. Really well laid out and a safe place to let the kids run around without getting lost. Harry’s highlight — Having a picnic.
2. Court Farm — Tractor rides, feeding goats, giant wooden castle play area, giant sand pit and a large variety of animals. Frank’s highlight- driving the (cozy coupe) car (which we have two of at home that they never use).
3. SS Great Britain — A really unique day out, much more to see than I anticipated. The ship is designed to recreate the past internally with models, smells and sounds. We decorated biscuits and walked around the base of the ship under a realistic glass water level. Harry’s highlight — The man pretending to be on the toilet and shouting when you open the door.
4. Bristol Zoo. I wont state the obvious, the collection of animals is fantastic including Meerkats! Our most recent discovery was the splash area, simple yet well designed water play that the boys were obsessed with. Plus a brand new wooden play and sand area has really made this a full day out. Frank’s highlight — Getting an ice cream.
5. Dyrham Park. We ventured here in an attempt to get max value from our National Trust membership and were pleasantly surprised. After navigating our way down hill cross country with a double buggy (hint-take the path) we had a tour of the house, a picnic in stunning gardens and a bus ride back to the car. We also came across a really cute garden/play area with real and toy tractors and a lovely vegetable patch. Frank’s highlight — Pressing the button on the bus.
6. Clevedon Court. A smaller National Trust property but also worth a visit. We spent a good half hour running around the steeped gardens, had a guided tour of the house and a very successful conker haul. Max’s highlight — running up and down the lawn 6479 times.
7. Noahs Ark. Went here on a half price Groupon deal and was really impressed with the layout and the animals. Kids however were not in the right frame of mind so we spent most of the day in the amazing indoor play area and spending money on ice creams and tractor rides. Would recommend a visit on a sunny day as is quite exposed and windy and definitely expect to spent a great deal of time on slides. Harry’s highlight — The bear doing a wee.
8. Puxton Park. Puxton seem to continuously invest in new activities and attractions and every visit is exciting. Kids particularly love the large soft play area, train rides, bouncy pillow and ride on diggers. The café is reasonably priced and the farm shop sells lovely spuds. Harry’s highlight — sampling cheese in the farm shop.
9. Clifton Suspension Bridge. Husband had this idea so I went along full of scepticism and was proved wrong. Kids enjoyed walking around the observatory and over the bridge and seeing cars below and we found a bonus wooden play area on the Clifton side. A refuel at the nearby Boston Tea Cafe for brownies finished off a tolerable morning out. Frank’s highlight — weeing in the bush.
10. Tyntesfield. Beautiful grounds and a stunning house, so much space for the kids to run around and very impressive gardens. We’ve had many picnics here and also had a go on the tennis courts. As ever, kids are most attracted to the play area by the café and a ride back to the top on the minibus. Max’s highlight — the sweet old lady giving him an apple to eat on the bus.
As you can see my kids level of enjoyment is usually dictated by toilet humour and eating and whilst they have mostly really enjoyed the above places, I often resent having to remortgage my house to pay entrance fees/rides/food/souveniers on days out. So we tend to visit these places on special occasions, or when include free/value for money days out…. watch this space.
Please do share and comment to let me know your views on the above places, where are your recommended days out and if your children are also obsessed with ice creams and weeing bears?
