Best days out

DOVER CASTLE

We visited Dover Castle in August 2014 with our three grandchildren, and thought it brilliant, loads to do with very helpful guides. I give it 10 plus.
The tunnels are very exciting and tell the story of WW2 and Dunkirk. They were planned from the tunnels which go on for miles and were carved out in Napolionic times. The castle is freer with lots of towers, staircases and rooms to explore. We met Henry II which impressed my little Henry. A super day out, they are still on about it.

10/10 (from sweetpea)

BATEAUX LONDON THAMES DINING CRUISES

(June 2013) Excellent lunch cruise along River Thames with views of Big Ben, House of Parliament, St Pauls, London Eye etc. Very enjoyable and very professionally done. Duration 1 and 1/2 hours. Great day out with Bateaux Cruises, from Embankment Pier, London.

10/10 (from Gilly70)

BATTERSEA PARK ZOO

(Nov 2011)

Excellent - Lots of interesting animals for the little ones - pigs, goats, monkeys and best of all - meerkats. All very close and personal - the keepers feed the meerkats at 11.00 and monkeys at 11.30 and make that fun for the children.

There is also a really large play area with lots of things for the children to go on, all included in the admission price

10/10 (from lighty)

BEAMISH OPEN AIR MUSEUM, DURHAM

(March 2012) My 8 year-old grandson loves riding the trams, horse drawn carriages and the train. He also loves the fairground with its steam driven carousel and 'shuggy boats'. We can go as often as we like for £16 a year...bargain!!

10/10 (from Solitaire)

BOCKETT'S FARM, Nr LEATHERHEAD, SURREY

(May 2012) The farm is totally geared towards everyone whatever the age and my gc's love it. Brilliant food in the huge barn, great shop, lots of animals to pet, feed and sometimes watch being born - brilliant play areas for all ages. Plus - and a big plus -they have all the toilet/washing facilities for little people (and big people of course) that you could possibly want.

(July 2012) A brilliant day out for kids of all ages. The animals are beautifully kept and the sheep and goats love being fed, the play areas cater for everybody, lovely restaurant and shop and great thought given to hand washing and safety at all times. Went again last weekend - saw the mini pig racing this time - great fun. Totally recommended

10/10 (from Bellesnan)

CARDIFF CASTLE

(Nov 2011) Really enjoyable and interesting day out

10/10 (from weather)

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, THEATRE ROYAL, LONDON

(Feb 2014) Fantastic! We are great fans of the book (and the film/s) and jumped at the chance to go along to see it at the theatre. I did wonder how it would translate to the stage - and the answer is...brilliantly.

The acting is great. The music is great. The show as a whole is great. And the staging is absolutely magnificent. So complex (even after they explained to us afterwards how various things worked I still couldn't quite get my head round them!) - but unbelievably clever and effective. Each show involves 138 cast and backstage crew members and with the costume changes alone (particularly for the Oompa Loompas) it's not hard to see why.

The stage show remains truer to the book than the film (I'm thinking of the original Gene Wilder one) and is all the better for it. The songs are specially written too, with the exception of Pure Imagination which was in the movie. (We confess we would have quite liked the Oompa Loompa song from there to feature too but the fact it didn't didn't detract from our enjoyment!)

The whole cast was excellent (there are 4 Charlies who rotate and 3 for each of the other children) - have to say we particularly liked all four grandparents (no bias - honest!) We also loved the adaptation of the Mrs Teevee part. And the Gloops were very funny - it was almost a shame to lose them first.

If you are taking children - and it's not a necessity by any means, it's perfect for grown-ups too - their advice is that the show is best suited to those aged 7 and over - and I would completely agree with this. It's not that younger ones (note under threes are not admitted) wouldn't love it too but I do think being a bit older means they would get more out of it. And as West End theatre isn't always the cheapest of treats (tickets for Charlie range from £25 to £67.50) I would definitely wait a bit longer before taking DD.

All in all a really great night out though (or afternoon - there are matinees too) and I highly recommend.

10/10 (from CariGransnet)

DEEP SEA WORLD, NORTH QUEENSFERRY, FIFE

(Jan 2012) A brilliant family day out, suitable for all ages. I took GC aged 4 and 12 and they loved it.

10/10 (from marsco)

DICKENS ABRIDGED

(Dec 2013)

Absolutely brilliant! I have not laughed so much in a long time. Adam Long, the writer/director (who is also one of the founding members of the famous Reduced Shakespeare Company) actually took part in this show as one of the actors was off ill. Nothing like an overachiever - he had a great voice!

There were only four cast members and they were bouncing on and off the stage like excited kids on Christmas morning, changing costumes every ten seconds to showcase another of Dickens' marvellous characters. For those who aren't familiar with Long's work, the show is a quick (and I mean quick!) comedic musical precis of most of Dickens' work. For instance, Little Dorrit consists of a seconds long ditty, although some (e.g. Tale of Two Cities) take a bit longer.

It's the run-up to Christmas, it's clearly the moment we're all obsessed with Dickens - and this is the perfect pre- (or post-) Christmas outing.

There's something so appealing too of watching a show where the performers seem to be having such a great time. It's infectious. If there is even one person who walked out of there not having had a great night out - well, bah humbug to you!

10/10 (from LaraGransnet)

EASTNOR CASTLE, NR LEDBURY, HEREFORDSHIRE

(July 2012) A really good venue for under 10s. Castle grounds extensive with good maze (yes we got lost!) Junior Assault course and GREAT adventure playground with treetop walkway accessible for 4 year old, but 8 year olds thought it good too. House an interesting interior with quizzes for all ages. Lunch boxes healthy and adult meals catered by a local cafe/deli. All in all a great day out

10/10 (from eGj)

FARMER GILES AT TEFFONT

(May 2012) A great day out for all the family, lots for little ones to see and do. A lovely indoor area where little ones can pet small animals. Tractor rides and lots more. I recommend this to all my friends

10/10 (from banananana)

FARRINGTON GURNEY PLAYBARN, BRISTOL

(Jan 14) Excellent, you can spend hours here. The children absolutely love it. Just be warned - we noticed lots of children getting hurt on the big slide; it's very fast - even for adults. There are plenty of tables to sit at, a cafe inside and there's a farm shop on site and an outdoor play area. We'll definitely be returning soon.

10/10 (from Banananana)

FINKLEY DOWN FARM, ANDOVER

(Aug 13) Absolutely brilliant day out for the kids - so much to do outside and in. I'd recommend taking your own food as it's very expensive - I paid £12 for two kiddie boxes and one sandwich for myself, and £4 for three drinks. Children and adults have to wear socks indoors. Highly recommend it, it's kiddie heaven.

10/10 (from banananana)

FOLLY FARM, TENBY

(Nov 11) A fantastic treat for all the family, from young to old there's something for everyone, plenty of activities indoors if the weather isn't too nice, including a vintage funfair. Not only does it have exotic animals but there are the animals that children can touch and feed. There's just so much to offer! Take a picnic or buy food from stalls or cafe, you're bound to have fun

10/10 (from consolexport)

GODSTONE FARM, GODSTONE, SURREY

(Oct 2012) Beautifully located site in the Surrey hills with a wide variety of domestic animals in generous pens and fields, a petting corner, large indoor play barns, various sandpits, zip wire, grass toboggan run, several indoor and outdoor picnic areas, cafe, shop etc. Very helpful and knowledgeable staff. Great for a day out - even in inclement weather. Easily reached from South London.

10/10 (from hoopoedi)

HATFIELD HOUSE, HERTFORDSHIRE

(Feb 2012) Fantastic The farm has rare breeds, with plenty of information given out about them and then you can visit the adventure playground, called Bloody Hollow, which has a replica of Hatfield House and lots of swings and climbing a zip slide, my grandson loves it.

You can also visit the house, there are a few shops and a wonderful coffee shop which sells a lot of home produced food.

10/10 (from Edsnan)

LEGOLAND, WINDSOR

(Oct 2013) I'm always a bit wary of books/places etc that EVERYONE tells me I have to read/go to (inevitably I'm disappointed). But Legoland is an exception to the rule and lived up to the hype in every way.

What impressed us most of all is it's not just for kids to enjoy - we had every bit as good a time as DD and none of us can wait to go back.

Favourite ride was the Altantis submarine. In fact we loved it so much we went straight back on. The pirate show was absolutely fantastic. But actually everything we went on was enormous fun (DD may disagree about the dragon rollercoaster!) and we had an absolutely brilliant day.

Oh - one tip - there are a few great rides where you end up getting wet. There are coin operated drier cubicle thingies but taking waterproofs or a change of clothes would be wise. I speak as someone who had a damp derriere for much of the day (which didn't - fortunately - detract from the fun)

Also of note: the staff around the park were, without exception, really friendly and really helpful. And the food was better value than what's on offer at many theme parks and there are a number of gluten free options too (DD had a huge GF pizza and a huge GF garlic bread made especially for her)

It helped that the sun was shining and it was midweek so there were no queues, which meant we got to do everything we wanted to in one day. But we still want to go back! Perhaps for one of the fireworks nights or the Halloween "Brick or Treat".

Can't recommend highly enough.

10/10 (from CariGransnet)

PAIGNTON ZOO, DEVON

(Feb 2012) A really great day out. Full of fun and educational activities. Took the grandchildren there in half-term and although two very different ages (8 and 14yrs) both children thoroughly enjoyed it.

The adults also enjoyed it - once admission is paid you are not bombarded for extra admission to various houses - the only additional charge we saw was for the train and that was only 50p. Obviously ice creams etc and the restaurant are available but again the costs were sensible.

A wealth of animals are able to be seen at very close range, there is also a great children's area where goats etc can be stroked - plenty of handgel available too!

There are also plenty of play areas constructed from natural products to fit the environment, nature trails and good pathways.

One small warning (that cannot be helped because there are lots of hills in Devon!) is that there is a lot of uphill walking to see certain animals but it is very disabled friendly - wheelchairs are available and we believe there are even electric buggies for the disabled that can be hired.

The day we were there, there was no admission to the giraffe house but this was due to a new arrival so we really didn't mind and will visit the 6' tall baby in due course!

10/10 (from Sbagran)

POTS 'N' PAINTS, LITTLE TORRINGTON, DEVON

(Nov 2011) Great fun - we all had a go on the potter's wheel and the pots have been glazed and fired and posted to us after the holiday!

Well worth a visit - a great laugh and enjoyable for all of us. Think you might need to book

10/10 (from betejaid)

POWIS CASTLE, WELSHPOOL, POWYS

(Nov 2011) Plenty to do and see, great day out for all ages. Plenty of teas and benches to sit on in the grounds, loads of space for the kids. Stunning day out, well worth a visit.

10/10 (from kitty57)

THE MAKING OF HARRY POTTER STUDIO TOUR

(Nov 14) We went to see the Christmas update in November 2014. My 8 year old Harry Potter fan and myself (who read most of the books before he was even born!) I wasn't sure what to expect but I have to say it's very clear that JK Rowling had some control over this because nothing felt cheap or rushed. The main thing was that there was LOADS to see. Videos with the special effects wizards behind the scenes, costumes, sets - the Great Hall was particularly impressive and there's a great kids passport too you can get at the ticket office where kids can follow clues to collect stamps - it's also a very nice (free) souvenir. Food options are not great and are only available at the start (there's a Starbucks) and the middle and there is no-backtracking so eat plenty before going in. The highlight easily was the flying broomsticks element where you can sit in the flying car in front of a blue screen as a family and try out a broomstick too. They lend you robes to wear and there's even a wind machine and a director suggesting moves etc to fit in with the footage they will put on afterwards. yes, to buy the DVD is expensive £25, but really it's a chance of a lifetime to have a video of yourself (or your child) flying over Hogwarts on a broomstick! We loved it and will definitely take our youngest when they are old enough to appreciate it.

We were given complementary tickets to attend, but the cost I think would have been well worth it for the magic we encountered!

10/10 (from GigiGransnet)

THINKTANK, BIRMINGHAM

(May 2014) A wonderful interactive experience for all children, involving them in everyday items and activities as well as showing and demonstrating things from the past. Excellent facilities and you're able to take your own food. A full day of fun and activities. A must place to visit.

10/10 (from credlandjohn)

TRENTHAM GARDENS, STAFFORDSHIRE

(March 12) Just off Junction 15 on the M6, this is a wonderful place for adults and children. It is much, much more than gardens. My little ones love a day here. Lots of space in which to run and play. There are reasonably-priced places to eat, a wonderful children's play area with lots of deckchairs on the grass, a barefoot walk and a large garden centre and small shops as well. Visit the website for more details.

10/10 (from ameliaanne)

WARWICK CASTLE

(Feb 12) Fantastic day out for kids and adults of all ages, can be expensive to get in so look out for offers.

10/10 (from karenholder7)