UK holiday ideas please for 1 and nearly 4 year olds!

[mnetter21]

I've been so busy with work lately and have been day dreaming about going on a UK break in the summer months. I have a 1 year old who is a confident walker and a nearly 4 year old. Instead of Peppa Pig world and places with big crowds, I'd prefer to take them somewhere closer to nature (but with playgrounds if poss and fun things to do).

For a long weekend trip, where would you recommend? We're based in Cambridge, and anywhere within a 2 hour drive would be a plus. Thank you!

At risk of pointing out the obvious, there's Centre Parcs - Elveden is the closest to Cambridge, and there's also Woburn which is slightly further.

I've never been but Forest Holidays Thorpe Forest is on my wish list.

Norfolk has great options for young children and most places are within 2 hours of Cambridge. There's the coast and the broads. Also Roarr Dinosaur Adventure park which is likely to be a hit with your oldest! And Bewilderwood which I've never been to but again it's on my wish list.

Kelling Heath is another place on my list, I can't see a lot of activities for young children on the website, so I'm not sure about that... might wait until my youngest is old enough to scoot/cycle around.

We are going to Searles in "sunny Hunny" which is more for the kids than the adults but should be fun!

Oh just to add we really like Wells-next-the-sea, there is a little train from the town to the beach.

At that age, we took ours to Bewilderwood as mentioned above. Nearby, we also went to Barton House Railway, Wroxham Miniature World and Wroxham Barns.
We stayed close to Wroxham, and on a baking hot day we took the dc to Caen Meadow for some paddling in the river (on recommendation from a local). There’s a lovely small sloping sandy beach. No formal car park but you can park on the road (or up by the church and walk down). As you come into Wroxham from Norwich direction it’s first left after the petrol station (just over the mini roundabout), follow the road around and next door to the large house that used to be the school is a gate where you walk down to the river.

Thank you both for the great suggestions! Sounds like a forest holiday is just what we need, and then we can use that as a base to explore surrounding areas? Is there usually enough to do for 3 nights at a forest holiday with two little ones, or will we need to be planning day trips out?