Chesterfield, peak district, Alnwick and Edinburgh holiday!

[Chepstowmonkey]

We are going a holiday next week and stopping at Chesterfield, peak district, Alnwick (only for 1 night) and Edinburgh.

Just wondering if anyone could reccommend any toddler friendly days out or good (reasonably priced) places to eat?

They are all such great places that I'm sure there are masses of great things to do but my holiday planning has been so poor this year that I'm worried I'll miss all of them!

If you are going to Alnwick, I would recommend a day at the beach, brilliant beaches nearby , bamburgh is lovely make sure you visit the great playpark at Embleton on your way back to Alnwick.

Almwick gardens is lovely but not a huge amount for toddlers , yesthey have the mini diggers but if its busy , you have to wrestle for one! My 3 year old wasnt completly enterainted at the gardens , it is so expensive to be honest. We found the food awful!

If you are into books dont miss Barter books at Alnwick, my advice is to go toddler free ( if you can ) in the evening.

oh just had a thought, will you be near chatsworth? I recommend there , maybe not the house but the gardes etc are great, much cheaper than Alnwick!

oh another thought on your way to Edinburgh from Alnwick you mast do the steam railway from Heatherslaw to Etle ( i think its etle) It is lovely about there, walk up to the lavendar tea rooms ( I think, its the only tearoom anyway) we had the best day out ever there.

apologies for spelling, trying to type too quick

That is really good advice thank you! I did look at the cost of Alnwick castle and gardens and wondering if it was worth doing both. I'd love to go to the castle so I think I'll save us some money and give the gardens a miss and go to Chatsworths instead.

Boating lake in Chesterfield. See if there's any kiddy shows on at the Winding Wheel theatre.

Whereabouts are you saying in the Peaks? Chatsworth is great, especially the adventure playground & farmyard.

There are lots of great puddle jumping walks (Paddly George, Monsale Head, Baslow edge, Edale). Lathkill Dake nature trail. Ice cream, park, feeding the ducks & pottering round the market in Bakewell. Running round the courtyard at Haddon Hall. Maybe exploring the plague village at Eyam.

Have fun

Puddle jumping walks??? That sounds amazing - what are they?

Ha, I just meant scenic but very easy little walks where your toddler can point out sheep, whack on some wellies and splash about in little streams or bug puddles -free and fun!

If you're near Alnwick, the beach at Newton by the Sea is gorgeous, toddlers will love it. If you're then heading down south via North Yorks etc would HIGHLY recommend The Forbidden Corner in Leyburn North Yorks. I've done 7 years of children's attractions now and the Forbidden Corner is by far the best!

Edinburgh - National Museum of Scotland has great toddler areas. And a bistro.

Alnmouth Beach is fabulous as well. Alnwick Gardens are as good as Chatsworth IMO, but I find the castle is poor value for money. It is expensive and you don't get to see many rooms.

Not too far from Alnwick is Warkworth which has an excellent ruined castle, although the keep is pretty much intact and brilliant to explore. It doen't cost the earth to get into either. We first took DD there when she was 18 months and she loved it.

Just back from seahouses and thought alnwick castle was fab. Kids had a ball. They made soap, clay tiles and went on a broomstick flying lesson which they loved. Well worth the entry fee. It's a full day out. Worth taking a picnic though as food is expensive.