Looking for something to entertain the children over holidays? Here are some of our favourite family-friendly days out in England.
Cornwall
The Tamar Otter & Wildlife Centre
Nothing could be better than watching wild otters playing in a Cornish river, but here’s the next best thing: at this centre (previously known as the Otter Sanctuary) rescued otters as well as home-bred otters from Cornwall and further afield can be seen (and smelled) at close quarters doing ottery things in big pens watered by natural streams and pools. The new name for the centre reflects its growing population of deer, tame enough to be hand fed by children, as well as wild cats, owls, chipmunks and wallabies. www.tamarotters.co.uk
© Tamar Otter & Wildlife Centre
Paradise Park
With all this free and natural bird entertainment on hand, a trip to the bird sanctuary at Paradise Park might seem an unnecessary expense, but behind the gaudy advertisements are seven gorgeously planted acres of serious conservation at work and children seem to love it especially on dry afternoons, when some of the birds are allowed out of their huge and imaginatively designed aviaries and fly freely. Like the Monkey Sanctuary near Looe, Paradise Park was created by a single individual, whose hobby developed into a passionate cause. It began with a pair of parrots, kept as pets. Mike Reynolds (who, in his professional life, led the Milky Bar Kid advertising campaign in the 1960s and 1970s) soon saw his love for the birds advance into a concern for the threat to wild populations; in 1989 he set up the World Parrot Trust, a charity which supports conservation and education projects around the world. One of the trust’s greatest successes was a project to save the rare echo parakeet of Mauritius, whose numbers in the wild had dwindled to around 15 known individuals by 1990 but can now be measured in hundreds. Reynolds, who died in 2007, also set up the world’s first ever Parrot Action Plan, which has become a blueprint for conservation programmes around the world. His family still runs the conservation centre at Hayle and one of the latest projects is to re-introduce the red squirrel to Cornwall. I went, because I wanted to find out more about their chough breeding programme. David Woolcock, the head keeper, explained that the relatively recent wild population of choughs in Cornwall (page 237) has been traced genetically to a very small number of breeding pairs, who arrived on the Lizard, blown off course from their native Ireland. ‘Imagine if the human population of Hayle were descended from just one couple,’ he said, keeping a perfectly straight face. ‘You’d hope for some new blood to strengthen the gene pool, wouldn’t you?’ Indeed you would. Which is why at Paradise Park they have been breeding Welsh choughs, with the future aim of introducing them to the wild, but purely Irish, population. However would you do that? ‘A straight egg swap,’ replied David. ‘We simply swap our Welsh chough eggs with eggs from the nests of the wild birds. The parent birds should not notice a thing.’ www.paradisepark.org.uk
Launceston Steam Railway
Cornwall is not short of enterprising, energetic (and often eccentric) collectors who have dedicated their lives to the object of their passion. For Nigel Bowman it’s all about steam locomotives and motor vehicles from the heyday of British engineering. From the moment in 1965 when he decided to give up a teacher training course in order to restore Lilian, a steam locomotive he had found languishing in a Welsh slate quarry, Nigel’s passion and determination produced remarkable results. From the station booking office and tea room, housed in a building first erected at the 1919 Ideal Home Exhibition, the two and a half miles of track runs on the old bed of the North Cornwall Railway, following one of the prettiest stretches of the River Kensey to Newmills, where most people get off for a picnic or go for a walk, before catching a later train back to Launceston for a peep at the railway museum and workshops. The indomitable Mr Bowman is very keen to build his line as far as Egloskerry, three miles on down the valley, to where it is hoped the Camel Trail will one day extend, enabling cyclists and walkers from Launceston to travel off-road to Bodmin and Padstow. www.launcestonsr.co.uk
Read more in Slow Travel Cornwall
Devon
Pennywell Farm
Forget conservation and endangered species, this hands-on animal place is just that – its aim is to bring humans and animals as close together as possible and as such it offers one of Devon’s most rewarding experiences for children. Just look at the expression of a little girl gently stroking a tiny dozing piglet, and you’ll see how well it works. Or sometimes doesn’t: the squeals of disgruntled piglets can be heard from far off, but whenever a baby cries there are nursemaids – or nursemen – on hand to take it back for a soothing word or two. Pennywell has been selectively breeding miniature pigs since 1992 (see box below), with the result that a piglet weighs just eight ounces at birth and grows to about the size of a springer spaniel. It’s not just the miniature piglets you can hug. Although I would challenge the statement that ‘Pennywell animals love to be cuddled’ (very few animals really enjoy being held), the rabbits and older piglets are remarkably tolerant of human attention, and selected ones are held in pens where visitors can join them for a stroke. As a pig enthusiast I was just as thrilled as the little kids around me when a piglet collapsed on its side in ecstasy as I scratched it under the chin. Every half hour there is something different happening, such as ferret racing, pig racing (14.30 daily, in season), bottle feeding or a falconry display, and there are plenty of non-animal activities for children too; much of it is under cover. www.pennywellfarm.co.uk
© Pennywell Farm
Dartmoor Otters and Buckfast Butterflies
The butterfly centre was founded in 1984 by David and Sue Field, who added the otter part in 1988 because of the proximity of the river Dart. ‘It seemed an obvious thing to use this in some way. Originally we wanted to divert a stream to run through the grounds to create otter pools but this wasn’t permitted, so the water is pumped out and in each day so they are swimming in river water.’ Even on a gloomy autumn day there were plenty of eye-catching butterflies in evidence, including my favourite, the brilliant blue Amazonian morpho, but Sue told me that they are far more active on bright, warm days. More easily studied are the rows of chrysalises attached to bamboos, showing the range of colours and sizes of these pre-butterflies.
Otters, on the other hand, are completely protected from the elements by their thick, waterproof fur, and are particularly active before feeding times: 11.30, 14.00 and 16.00. There are three species here, North American, Asian short-clawed and British, all displaying different characteristics. The large North American river otters, for instance, are particularly adept at balancing upright, meerkat style. ‘That’s Toronto,’ said Tim, the keeper. ‘He’s nicknamed Kenwood because he’s such an efficient food processor and never gets full.’ www.ottersandbutterflies.co.uk
Read more in Slow Travel South Devon & Dartmoor
The Gnome Reserve
The little fellows deserve their reserve; after all there are over 2,000 of them, dotted around the dark mossy woods and involved in every activity you can imagine. You’ll find them cycling, skateboarding, wielding a tennis racket, a javelin or a violin and riding anything that moves: a bicycle, aeroplane, duck, pig, and a snail (at least I think it’s a snail). There are two gnomes on their potties, mooning at delighted children, and one luxuriating in his bath. All in all they are having a wonderful time, and visitors are expected to play their part. You are greeted by the indefatigable owner, Ann Atkin, who asks you to select an ‘almost compulsory hat’ to wear as you tour the garden. Trained as an artist, she has been collecting gnomes since 1979 and it remains a family concern, with her daughter-in-law Marg baking the scones for the cream tea that any visitor should indulge in before going gnome. www.gnomereserve.co.uk
© Hilary Bradt
Read more in Slow Travel North Devon & Exmoor
Dorset
Monkey World – Ape Rescue Centre
In a 65-acre park between Bere Regis and Wool live some unlikely Dorset residents: over 250 rescued and endangered apes and monkeys call Monkey World home. As well as making a perfect day out for children and adults, this is first and foremost a rescue centre and every one of the animals at Monkey World is there because it needs to be. The centre has about 60 chimpanzees living in four social groups, plus orang-utans, woolly monkeys, squirrel monkeys, capuchins and more. One of the highlights for visitors is a walk-through lemur enclosure, which allows you to get up close to these curious creatures.
New Yorker Jim Cronin started the rescue centre in 1987, on the site of a derelict pig farm near Wool. There was a good degree of scepticism in the local community and beyond, but Jim had a vision and the energy and enthusiasm to bring it to life. He met his wife Alison when she visited in 1992. She had a background in biological anthropology and animal behaviour, and had been working on the rescue of bears. Jim and Alison married in 1996 and, together with Jim’s right-hand man, Jeremy Keeling, continued to rescue primates. Their work and the centre drew international acclaim and touched a wide audience through the television programmes Monkey Business and Monkey Life. Sadly, Jim died suddenly of cancer in 2007 at the age of 55, a year after he and Alison were awarded the MBE for services to animal welfare. Alison, Jeremy and their team continue the centre’s valuable work and the realisation of Jim’s vision.
Monkey World was one of the world’s first primate rescue centres. Initially its mission was to provide homes for chimpanzees rescued from a miserable life as props for beach photographers in Spain. By necessity, that mission expanded to rescuing primates from circuses, laboratories and the entertainment industry worldwide. Monkey World now works to assist governments around the world to stop the smuggling and mistreatment of primates. The centre also runs important captive breeding programmes for endangered species, including orang-utans, golden-cheeked gibbons and woolly monkeys.
In January 2008, Monkey World completed the largest primate rescue in history, when 88 capuchin monkeys were rescued from a medical research laboratory in Santiago, Chile. They had been living in solitary confinement in small cages, some for as long as 20 years.
Like the capuchins, many of the rescued primates who arrive at Monkey World have been kept in unnatural conditions, neglected or suffered cruel treatment. They arrive in poor condition, with physical and psychological problems. As you wander around Monkey World, it is a joy to see the rehabilitated animals living in large enclosures with plenty of stimulation and good company. Watching the antics of Monkey World’s primates is bound to bring a smile to any visitor’s face. The keepers are a devoted bunch, and hold regular, informative talks. Guided tours are available by appointment and you can even get married here.
Monkey World does not receive government funding: it depends on donations and funds raised by opening the rescue centre to the public. By visiting you are helping to support the valuable work conducted here. If you are as moved by the centre’s animals as I was, you may wish to consider primate adoption. In exchange for a small fee, you can ‘adopt’ a particular primate. Monkey World will send you a photograph of your chosen primate, an adoption certificate, three editions of the centre’s newsletter and you will receive free entry for a year. Adoption also makes a great gift – I gave my mother adoption of a young orang-utan and she was delighted. (I suppose that makes the orang-utan my stepbrother!) Further details are available on Monkey World’s website. www.monkeyworld.org
Moors Valley Country Park & Forest
The emphasis is on family fun: you can walk, cycle (bike hire is on site) or catch a narrow-gauge steam train around the park; there are high-ropes courses, adventure play areas, orienteering, segways and an 18-hole golf course. Coarse fishing is available from June to March; you can buy a day ticket or season ticket from the visitor centre, but note that anyone over 12 years of age will need to show a valid Environment Agency rod licence. Wheelchair access is good, and dogs are allowed. You can bring a picnic or take advantage of the restaurant. www.moors-valley.co.uk
Read more in Slow Travel Dorset
East Anglia
BeWILDerwood
A little way along the A1062 Horning Road, BeWILDerwood describes itself as a ‘curious treehouse adventure park’. Certainly, it’s designed to exercise and stimulate the mind as much as the body. It’s a magical place for children – forest folk like Mildred, the vegetarian Crocklebog who lives in Scary Lake, and the Twiggles, litter-hating goblin-like figures, are BeWILDerwood residents, as is a giant spider called Thornyclod. BeWILDerwood’s environmental pedigree is certainly impressive too. The treehouses, ropewalks and boardwalks are all built from sustainable wood, while the 50 acres of marshland and woodland that make up the site are entirely pesticide-free, guaranteeing that no harmful chemicals leak into the broads. If that were not enough, some 14,000 broad-leaved trees have been planted since the park’s creation and the food on site is mainly locally sourced and organic. BeWILDerwood won the British Guild of Travel Writers award for best new UK tourism project in 2008; as Jane Anderson, who nominated the park for the award, attests it ‘harks back to a pre-playstation, pre-mobile, pre-iPod era’ even if its creator Tom Blofield does admit to having been partly inspired by the 1990s computer game Myst. BeWILDerwood is open year-round and those under 92cm/36 inches tall go free. Bikes are available to rent at the Norfolk Broads Cycling Centre in the car park (www.norfolkbroadscycling.co.uk) which also provides useful free cycling maps. www.bewilderwood.co.uk
© BeWILDerwood
Welney Wetland Centre
Welney, a small village sitting on the Norfolk bank of Hundred Foot Bank, one of the Fens’ prime manmade water courses, is home to the splendid Welney Wetland Centre run by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. This nature reserve has plenty of interest throughout the seasons but really comes into its own in the winter months when vast numbers of wild swans – both whooper and Bewick’s – gather on the Ouse Marshes here to feed and avoid the far harsher conditions in Siberia and Iceland. One of the joys of watching wild swans here is the centre’s heated observatory, which gives visitors a birder’s eye view of proceedings while they languish in relative comfort – a far cry from shivering with a telescope outside at the mercy of the elements. The swan feeds, in particular, are quite spectacular, with the birds gracefully thrashing about for grain right beneath your comfortably warm nose. Children and adults tend to love this, even those not normally bowled over by natural history close up in the flesh. Feeds take place between the end of October and the middle of March around midday and just before sunset. Another feed takes place at around 18.30 by floodlight and this is usually the best attended, in bird terms, as many swans fly in to the lagoon to roost after dusk. For all the feeding times, it is best to arrive half an hour before. The eco visitor centre has all the right-on environmental credentials: loos that flush with rainwater, solar power electricity, geothermal heating and reed bed wastewater cleansing – plus a decent café, a gift shop and a pond room with giant-sized models of creatures found on the reserve. In the warmer months, there are walks around the reserve and children can try pond-dipping. www.wwt.org.uk/welney
Read more in Slow Travel Norfolk
Minsmere RSPB Reserve
Minsmere is well known, a flagship reserve established in 1948 with year-round interest in its pools and reedbeds. The reserve is a popular place with both twitchers and beginner birders and there’s a wealth of information about the place in the visitor centre. Two circular trails around the reserve take you through a variety of habitats, and some of the seven hides are accessible to wheelchairs. Typical reedbed species such as bittern, marsh harrier and bearded tit are all present and it’s
pretty hard to miss the elegant black-and-white avocets that grace the ponds here. You are far more likely to hear a bittern – a deep ‘boom reminiscent of a distant foghorn – than see one. You might hear nightingales, too, in early summer in the woods close to the visitor centre. The visitor centre has a shop and a tea room and there are guided walks available as well as plenty of activities for children.
Read more in Slow Travel Suffolk
Northumberland
Segedunum Roman Fort
Segedunum (meaning ‘strong fort’) was built under the order of Emperor Hadrian and marks the end point of Hadrian’s 73-mile wall across northern England (hence the town’s name, ‘Wallsend’). Inside the fort, a tall viewing platform, which looks like an airport control tower, rises over this industrial and archaeological site providing an amazing bird’s-eye view of the garrison buildings (not that impressive in itself because hardly any stones remain in situ) and enhancing your appreciation of its scale. It provides an equally clear view of the Tyne above the famous Swan Hunter shipbuilding yards (you can still see the rectangular inlets where hulls including the Mauretania were constructed). An indoor museum contains displays (many geared towards children) and some Roman objects including a rare stone toilet seat, and exhibits detailing the industrial heritage of the area in more recent centuries. Outside, the main attraction is a full-scale reconstruction of Europe’s only fully working Roman bath house where part of the hot-room floor has been removed to show how the Romans engineered under-floor heating. Other Roman buildings are marked out in lines of stones; they were only rediscovered when the terraces of Victorian housing running down to the shipyards were demolished. www.twmuseums.org.uk/segedunum
The Discovery Museum
The Discovery Museum is one of the most engaging and well visited museums on Tyneside, devoted mainly to the region’s industrial and maritime heritage, and is conveniently found a ten-minute walk from Central Station. Dominating the interior is the 115-foot-long Turbinia – the first ship to be powered by steam in the world – which was launched into the Tyne at Wallsend in 1894. Displays are not just related to science, however, and you’ll find rooms devoted to various aspects of Newcastle’s social and cultural history including 26 27 the excellent Toon Times exhibition showcasing an extensive display of Newcastle United memorabilia. For young children, a water-based installation themed around activities on the River Tyne provides lots of fun (waterproof aprons provided). www.twmuseums.org.uk/discovery
Hay Farm Heavy Horse Centre
A short walk east from Heatherslaw Mill (under a mile) to see Hay Farm’s Clydesdale horses is recommended for families and anyone who finds these friendly giants endearing (who doesn’t?). On demonstration days, horses are ridden in their finery and you’ll hear about their traditional duties when they worked the land. At other times, visitors are welcome to get up close to the animals and see the displays of horse-drawn machinery. Built in the 18th century (with 19th-century additions), the farm’s historic barns, stables, granary and engine house are an added attraction. In the summer there is a dedicated heavy horse show, the Festival of the Heavy Horse (.www.heavyhorsefestival.co.uk), which makes for a great family day out. Watching the horses being ridden and pulling vintage machinery is quite a sight. It is also an opportunity to sample sample regional foods produced by local farms, and watch craftsmen and women demonstrating traditional skills (there’s a wheelwright blacksmith, for example). www.hayfarmheavies.co.uk
© Hay Farm Heavy Horse Festival
Read more in Slow Travel Northumberland
Yorkshire
The Forbidden Corner
This place in Coverdale, west of Middleham, quite justifiably advertises itself as ‘The Strangest Place in the World’. It is brilliantly unique and although it was voted top family day out in a national survey, beating Alton Towers and Legoland, it was never intended as anything more than a private family folly. It was the brainchild of the owner of Tupgill Park, Colin Armstrong, who in the 1980s teamed up with architect Malcolm Tempest to design a series of walled gardens, tunnels, grottoes and towers which linked into a three-dimensional maze for his family and friends to explore. As it developed it was opened to the public and its fame spread by word of mouth, to the point now where it can barely cope with its own popularity. What makes it so good is that it is a genuine adventure. On arrival you are given a leaflet which is not a map, but a series of cryptic messages. ‘All the clues to finding your way around are on the sheet,’ a girl at the reception said. ‘They’re just not in the right order.’ The entrance though the gaping mouth of a giant stone monster sets the tone and away you go. I first came here in the early days when my children were small and they absolutely loved it. We spent hours climbing, crawling, getting lost, studying clues, groping along dark corridors, planning routes from battlement viewpoints, getting lost again and finally finding the way to the underground temple. At times I was genuinely unnerved, for example by the revolving room with identical doors, and after two subsequent visits, some secret corners have still managed to evade me. This is a must-see place, especially if you have children, but I would strongly recommend coming at less busy times to make the most of the sense of exploration. www.theforbiddencorner.co.uk
© Welcome to Yorkshire
The Old Workhouse
Up the hill from the town centre, this austere Victorian building is now home to a range of enterprises. The Nidderdale Museum (www.nidderdalemuseum.com) catalogues the grim goings-on in the building’s past among other things. It is an absolute gem, run by volunteers and a bargain for families – children accompanied by parents enter free of charge, hence our two-hour family visit cost a couple of quid. At first, the museum appears ever so slightly stuffy with a few items from the olden days pinned up on a wall with others displayed in a glass cabinet – but from here, it simply gets better, as visitors become drawn into the fascinating world of Nidderdale life. Each exhibition is split into themed rooms exactly as you would anticipate finding them – the cobbler’s shop, the joiner’s shop, agriculture room, Victorian parlour, workhouse and general store all bring the area to life, with implements and exhibits donated by local people. Set aside at least an hour, but don’t be surprised if you find yourself there for considerably longer. The Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty office has lots of information on the walls about the AONB, its geology and environment, and also posted are details of countryside events throughout the year, from pond dipping to dragonfly walks, volunteer fence building to acorn collecting, and guided walks. The King Street Workshops and Number 6 Studio Gallery form the building’s creative hub, giving space to six craftsmen and women plus an exhibition area where art courses take place. www.theoldworkhouse.org
Read more in Slow Travel Yorkshire Dales
Ryedale Folk Museum
The small and unassuming frontage to this museum, on the village main street, gives no clue to the delights hidden behind. Over 20 buildings, strung-out down a long, thin, three-acre site, house recreations of Ryedale country life through the centuries, all the way back to a thatched Iron Age roundhouse. Many of them are genuine historic buildings moved from their original sites, and rebuilt stone by stone, to house the artefacts of many rural craftsmen and craftswomen, like blacksmiths, wheelwrights, coopers, saddlers and dairy-maids. Trails and activities are provided for children, and many hands-on events are put on throughout the year, usually with an old-fashioned theme; the ancient board-game of Merrills, for instance, once had its world championships held here. Recent attractions have included a cottage cooking weekend, harvest festival, dry-stone walling taster, bee-keeping workshop and Maypole dancing. The Ryedale Folk weekend is a regular feature in May. www.ryedalefolkmuseum.co.uk
©Tracey Phillips, North York Moors National Park Authority
Read more in Slow Travel North York Moors and Yorkshire Wolds
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