The Family Day Out Thread
Discussion
For those staying in Devon.Get the big boat at Totnes with a "round robin ticket",sail down the Dart for about 1.5hrs with cometary etc to Dartmouth,then catch an old steam train from the old refurbished original Dartmouth Station to Paignton,return to Totnes via a scenic route on an open top bus.Plenty of runs in the time table to suite stops in Dartmouth or Paignton.
jackal said:
The Discovery Centre in bracknell.
Lots of science experiments and clever interactive stuff. Kids go nuts for it for some reason.
You can also go across the road afterward to Coral Reef swimming pool which has lots of slides, water jets, fountains, jacuzzis etc..
Great outdoor play area for kids too - and its free. Also lots of cycle routes through the woods, I regularly take the kids there for cycling and walking.Lots of science experiments and clever interactive stuff. Kids go nuts for it for some reason.
You can also go across the road afterward to Coral Reef swimming pool which has lots of slides, water jets, fountains, jacuzzis etc..
Dodsy said:
jackal said:
The Discovery Centre in bracknell.
Lots of science experiments and clever interactive stuff. Kids go nuts for it for some reason.
You can also go across the road afterward to Coral Reef swimming pool which has lots of slides, water jets, fountains, jacuzzis etc..
Great outdoor play area for kids too - and its free. Also lots of cycle routes through the woods, I regularly take the kids there for cycling and walking.Lots of science experiments and clever interactive stuff. Kids go nuts for it for some reason.
You can also go across the road afterward to Coral Reef swimming pool which has lots of slides, water jets, fountains, jacuzzis etc..
Big fan of RAF Duxford in Cambridgeshire. Its a very big place with lots to see. Costs are very reasonable with under 16 getting in for free.
We usually go every couple of years but have not seen an airshow there. Also for £109 you can have a flight in the Dragon Rapide, a pre war plane that seats 8. The noise alone makes it worth it or for more money you can go in a Tiger Moth or a WW2 fighter.
http://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-duxford
http://www.classic-wings.co.uk/
We usually go every couple of years but have not seen an airshow there. Also for £109 you can have a flight in the Dragon Rapide, a pre war plane that seats 8. The noise alone makes it worth it or for more money you can go in a Tiger Moth or a WW2 fighter.
http://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-duxford
http://www.classic-wings.co.uk/
The Star Wars Experience is quite good there. With all of the films featured in them, iirc. You can press a button and the scenes animate. There is an excellent Tatooine scene, where the Millenium Falcon takes off, it's huge!! The ROTJ scene is quite good as well.
What with a large number of 2 for 1s "everywhere" I'm sure you can easily reduce the full paying price of going there.
I think the quality of the day you have will depend on the age and height of the children you have.
We also stayed in the Hotel recently, which was amazing, there is just so much Lego detail everywhere it's stunning!
What with a large number of 2 for 1s "everywhere" I'm sure you can easily reduce the full paying price of going there.
I think the quality of the day you have will depend on the age and height of the children you have.
We also stayed in the Hotel recently, which was amazing, there is just so much Lego detail everywhere it's stunning!
jackal said:
Dodsy said:
jackal said:
The Discovery Centre in bracknell.
Lots of science experiments and clever interactive stuff. Kids go nuts for it for some reason.
You can also go across the road afterward to Coral Reef swimming pool which has lots of slides, water jets, fountains, jacuzzis etc..
Great outdoor play area for kids too - and its free. Also lots of cycle routes through the woods, I regularly take the kids there for cycling and walking.Lots of science experiments and clever interactive stuff. Kids go nuts for it for some reason.
You can also go across the road afterward to Coral Reef swimming pool which has lots of slides, water jets, fountains, jacuzzis etc..
Brooklands Museum in Weybridge is excellent. Lots to see there, but it's best to book the Concorde Experience in advance if you want to get on that - there may be a bit of a wait for it if you don't prebook.
We spent half a day there and had to just dash through the hangar with all the bombs and stuff because we ran out of time. Definitely going to go back though!
The REME museum at Arborfield Garrison is good, too. Plenty for the kids to do there - lots of little quizzes to fill in, things to make, buttons to press... And it has the added benefit of being at a working military site, so the kids get to see "real soldiers" (as they put it) as well. The garrison is due to be decommissioned in 2015 and the collection will be going to RAF Lyneham (I think it was...) then, so at least it's not going to be lost or put away where nobody can see it.
We spent half a day there and had to just dash through the hangar with all the bombs and stuff because we ran out of time. Definitely going to go back though!
The REME museum at Arborfield Garrison is good, too. Plenty for the kids to do there - lots of little quizzes to fill in, things to make, buttons to press... And it has the added benefit of being at a working military site, so the kids get to see "real soldiers" (as they put it) as well. The garrison is due to be decommissioned in 2015 and the collection will be going to RAF Lyneham (I think it was...) then, so at least it's not going to be lost or put away where nobody can see it.
Edited by SGirl on Thursday 6th September 13:16
Went to Legoland a couple of weekends ago for the first time.
Got a 2 day pass for 2 adults & 3 kids plus a night at the Crown Plaza Heathrow for £250 which I thought wasn't too bad. To stay in the Legoland Hotel it was over £500!
You should have seen the look on the kids faces when we drove past the hotel on the way in and told them that's NOT our hotel :-)
They soon forgot about that when they got in the park.
A great 2 days. It wasn't very good weather but that did keep the crowds away.
Even for the more popular rides (submarine, rapids etc..) we only queued for a max. of 30 mins. Most were approx. 15 mins.
The hotel was good with the added bonus of a decent pool.
They were offereing vouchers for the evening meal at £25 per head including a drink and upto 2 kids per adult ate free.
Food was very nice and even the kids were impressed.
Staff were excellent and seeing numerous Air Stewardesses walking in and out the place kept the Dad's interested!
Got a 2 day pass for 2 adults & 3 kids plus a night at the Crown Plaza Heathrow for £250 which I thought wasn't too bad. To stay in the Legoland Hotel it was over £500!
You should have seen the look on the kids faces when we drove past the hotel on the way in and told them that's NOT our hotel :-)
They soon forgot about that when they got in the park.
A great 2 days. It wasn't very good weather but that did keep the crowds away.
Even for the more popular rides (submarine, rapids etc..) we only queued for a max. of 30 mins. Most were approx. 15 mins.
The hotel was good with the added bonus of a decent pool.
They were offereing vouchers for the evening meal at £25 per head including a drink and upto 2 kids per adult ate free.
Food was very nice and even the kids were impressed.
Staff were excellent and seeing numerous Air Stewardesses walking in and out the place kept the Dad's interested!
Had a great day out at Whipsnade zoo yesterday with the wife and kids. Loads to do over a large area, so good for getting the kids to scooter and walk for hours. Apart from the wide range of animals there is a new play area that is very smart. There are bird and sealion shows and also 2 places to grab a bite to eat. You can either walk around or take your car in, with an extra charge, and drive from place to place and get out and wander.
We now have anual passes so we can also go to zsl london zoo which seem good value for the amount of times we seem to go to the zoo!
We now have anual passes so we can also go to zsl london zoo which seem good value for the amount of times we seem to go to the zoo!
ibisti said:
Had a great day out at Whipsnade zoo yesterday with the wife and kids. Loads to do over a large area, so good for getting the kids to scooter and walk for hours. Apart from the wide range of animals there is a new play area that is very smart. There are bird and sealion shows and also 2 places to grab a bite to eat. You can either walk around or take your car in, with an extra charge, and drive from place to place and get out and wander.
We now have anual passes so we can also go to zsl london zoo which seem good value for the amount of times we seem to go to the zoo!
It's great. We worked out to make the cost of a family membership worth it you need to go 4 times in a year - we have been 13 times already this YTD! The play area is great, and being 20 minute drive from our house the wife can take them for some soft play if they have nothing else to do.We now have anual passes so we can also go to zsl london zoo which seem good value for the amount of times we seem to go to the zoo!
Legend83 said:
It's great. We worked out to make the cost of a family membership worth it you need to go 4 times in a year - we have been 13 times already this YTD! The play area is great, and being 20 minute drive from our house the wife can take them for some soft play if they have nothing else to do.
Another vote for Whipsnade from me too.I took my 7 year old lad last week. We got there early and stayed all day.
At 11.30am the kids get a chance to feed the Brown Bears by throwing fruit down to them, which my boy loved. Birds of Prey show and the Sea Lion show were winners too.
P-Jay said:
To be frank I found Legoland equall to a day stoking the fires of hell, but the 3 and a bit hour drive each way didn't help... Massive queues, massive Wasp infestation and so-so attractions. Loads of money.
Were there loads of right wing American tourists?Dreadful attempt at humour, I know.
If you are in Sussex with kids you cant go wrong with Southwater Country Park. I took the kids yesterday (ages 6 and 8) and they had an absolute blast playing and swimming in the lake which has bee designed with kids in mind as it has a beach style entrance (gravel) and is clearly marked out so they cant go too far/deep. Its surrounded by a grassy banks with plenty of space for picnicking and had several large bbq stands too. There is a nice walk too round the lakes in you have dogs (or not) Parking and entrance are free too.
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