To ask your favourite places to take your DC?

[Onthescrounge]

I’m trying to create a list of places to go or activities to do around the country. I’d love to know your favourites, especially if they’re educational or do special events.

I’m based in the South East, home educating and have covered most places within an 2-3 hour radius and googled what I can for the bigger options (National Trust, Zoos and the London Museums) around the country, but would love to hear recommendations for the little local places that are great but no one seems to know about!

What have your DC and yourselves really enjoyed?

The tank museum in Bovington in Dorset is great

Places mine loved include:
Wookey Hole
St Fagans Museum - asked to go back a couple of times
Pitt Rivers Museum
Bekonscot Model Village
Roman Baths in Bath

Oh Pitts Rivers! What a wonderfully creepy place that is.

Greenwich in London has the National Maritime Museum, Queens House, Cutty Sark, and Greenwich Park, all in a lovely setting by the river.

I'm south east too op. Newhaven fort has just reopened after a major refurbishment and is a great day out, gorgeous views too.... Entrance is an annual ticket so you xan go back many times.

Lewes has the castle, priory, Anne of Cleves house and loads to look at.

Chatham Historic Dockyards was excellent

I'm in Derby but in laws are in London so I have spent a lot of time there. Places I loved taking the kids at that age:
The Horniman Museum
The Museum of London Docklands
The Museum of the Home
Greenwich for the market, park, museum and planetarium (although I think that's closing soon for a couple of years).
Kew Gardens.

My kids favourite place they’ve been to in the UK is Skomer Island to see the puffins.

https://www.butserancientfarm.co.uk/

My kids are obsessed with animals and natural history so I’m going to add:

• The Booth Museum (Brighton) - it’s closed until next year I think as they are having repairs and maintenance.
• Grant Museum of Zoology (UCL, London)
• Tilgate Park (Crawley) - has a small zoo, lovely gardens, a great play area, lots of woodland, and a lake where you can hire SUPs, pedalos etc.

Beaulieu motor museum (Beaulieu )
Aerospace Museum (Filton, Bristol)
Steam museum (Swindon)
Helicopter museum (Weston-super-Mare)
Stirling Castle

If you spend a few days in the Wells/Frome area trips could include
Shepton Prison
The Bath and West show
The Roman Villa at Castle Cary
The Fleet Air Arm museum at Yeovilton
SS Great Briton, Bristol
Longleat
Wookey Hole
Cheddar
Various places in Bath

Eden camp (to understand life during the war)
York railway mueseum (fantastic and free). Can follow on with chocolate making or a cruise on the river...Santa cruise is fun if you go in winter)
Eureka in Halifax

You were right the first time!

Beer Caves in Devon.
Hellfire Caves in West Wycombe.
Definitely Monkey World, we all love it there.

Day trip to liverpool by train? Beatles Story, Titanic museum, brilliant art galleries, planetarium, ferry across the mersey

Down House (Charles Darwin) and Christmas Tree farm is good near Biggin Hill recommended above. Churchill’s house and Hever Castle also good days out. Painswick for the summer. Horniman Museum. They’ve just redone Maritime museum in Greenwich. The London Docklands Museum. Mudchute city farm. Leeds Castle. Old Macdonalds Farm in Brentwood. Cotswold Water Park. Bewl Water. Eltham Palace.

Eden Camp - WW2

Yorkshire Wildlife Park - lots of animals and Polar Bears

Whitby - you have the Abbey, Dracula, Whalebone arch, Bridges, seaglass hunting

Scarborough Sealife Centre

I was amazed that my DC loved RHS Wisley in Surrey. They loved climbing all over the rockery, watching the carp in the formal pond, walking through the formal gardens, smelling every rose in the rose garden, swinging on the swings down by the river (if that bit is open - often isn't but the playpark before you get to the orchard is good), the amazing hothouses, the sculptures, paddling in the little foot streams by the hilltop area and then having an ice-cream on the roof terrace there. They liked choosing their favourite dahlia or daffodil in the trial beds. I gave them pedometers so they didn't whine about walking all over the place. They were so impressed by their own step counts and kept walking further.

They also used to love the Maritime Museum in Greenwich but that was a long time ago and it has been closed for a while so it might be very different.

The Science and Transport museums were huge favourites - we went back there dozens of times.

Hollycombe steam train and fairground place near Liphook - they loved that.

The Postal Museum is good. You get to ride the tiny carriages that used to carry post underground through London.

Edited to add - Birdworld was a big hit too. They loved it.

London:
Granary sq (water jets)
Southbank centre Jeppe Hein’s invisible rooms (water jets)
Tate Modern (near above)
V&A courtyard (water fountain for kids to paddle in)
Elephant park (water play)
Science museum wonder lab
Natural History museum (there is a new dinosaur cast and park area)
V&A Childhood museum (Bethnal green)
Columbia Road flower market (near above)
Museum of the Home (near above)

Can’t get bored in London, even on wet days, so like 99% of the year.

Hogmoor Enclosure
Fishers Farm
Portchester Castle

Seconding Butser Ancient Farm! Ideal to combine with the Portsmouth St Malo ferry crossing if ever heading to Brittany.

Thank you so much for all the suggestions so far!

We’re out at the moment but I will be googling all of the these when I get home and putting some trips in place!

I’ve never explored England myself and now with DC not being educated in school I find we can travel a bit!

Well, if you ever venture to the East Midlands let me add:

The Children's Country House at Sudbury (this is absolutely amazing for younger kids so the sooner the better with this one). It's really close to Alton Towers if you wanted to combine it with that.

Calke Abbey especially during the summer when they have games in the garden or at Halloween.

The caves in Nottingham. The Galleries of Justice is also worth a visit.

Belton House in Lincolnshire (my favourite NT place for kids).

Could I also suggest you get a Blue Peter badge for your child and an Art Fund pass for you? Will save you lots of money.