Recommendations for dinosaur attractions in UK please? 😅

[Exhausted18]

Hello! I'm looking to take my kids away for a week in March, they will be 4.5 and 18 months. We're in Ireland and I don't want to spend long on a plane so looking at places in the UK. We don't need much! Some activities for the kids, nice family friendly restaurants, some nature trails or walking areas that are suitable with a buggy would be nice.

I was also hoping to surprise my oldest with something dinosaur related (maybe something like an interactive museum?) as she is absolutely obsessed with dinosaurs. I've Googled and found loads of places and now I'm overwhelmed with choice so wondering if anyone could recommend any from experience please?

This is our first trip away and likely last for a while so I want to get it right (or close as I can with two little ones anyway 😅). Thanks for any advice 😊

We took ours to Dorset years ago ( they are in their 20s now though )
There was a museum , there's the beach (name escapes) where loads of fossils were found
Though what it'll be like in March I don't know ......

Or , the Natural History Museum might do something , we did digging for boes ( in hue sand pits ) and there are life sized models ( then you walked along a walkway past a life sized TRex who turned towards you and roared )

Aaahh the delights of reliving the loves of dinosaurs (and your DD will test you on all thei names , were they vegetarian or carnivore and who would win in a fight between Tyranasaurus Rex and a Triceratops )

bones
huge sand pits

If you came to London you could go to Crystal Palace Park for the dinosaur trail there, in addition to the Natural History Museum.

Paulton's Park near Southampton (incorporating Peppa Pig World) also has a dinosaur themed area, with 'live dinosaur viewings' or something.

It is also near the New Forest for walking, and Longdown Dairy Farm where they can bottle feed baby goats amongst other activities.

The Isle of Wight fits the bill!

It has Dinosaur World (purpose built museum), you can pay someone to take you fossil hunting on the beach, and the IOW is completely set up for all of the other children-friendly stuff.

Sorry - it's called Dinosaur Isle.

I was a dinosaur-mad kid (still am really) and loved our family holidays to Dorset, Lyme Regis specifically. Can’t remember dinosaur exhibits and the like but I loved hunting for fossils on the beach. Very cold, though.

You can fly direct from Dublin to Southampton and from there it’s really easy to get to the Isle of Wight. There’s the Dinosaur Isle museum and a new dinosaur experience at Blackgang Chine (which usually opens for the main season in mid March each year). 10 minutes from Southampton airport on the mainland, there’s also a restaurant called Jurassic Grill which is heavily themed.

Kimmeridge Bay and the Etches Collection are great for fossils, the etches collection is a v new museum and is mostly plesiosaurs and marine life. You can take your finds along and look at them with their massive microscopes. But it’s not “dinosaur-y” in the t-Rex sense.

Dorchester has a dinosaur museum - it’s probably pretty good for that age range. And Lyme Regis is a very “fossils and Dino” beach location.

But I agree the the Isle of Wight would be perfect if you don’t mind getting the ferry over. Dinosaur Isle is a fantastic museum with loads of dino stuff for keen kids, and Blackgang Chine is utterly perfect as they have loads of very very good animatronic dinosaurs in one section - it’s like you’re walking through a dinosaur zoo. Loads more to do there too. Brilliant varied playgrounds. Perfect for your age range and older too. It’d definitely be worth getting the ferry over. Google Blackgang Chine dinosaurs :-)

How about the houses of Parliament - plenty of old fossils and dinosaurs in there.

PS. For the Thought Police: I mean attitudes, not ages.

Coombe Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park.

Combe Martin in Devon is good fun. here

Blackpool Zoo. No, seriously . Has a Dinosaur safari section

Or Roar! In Norfolk.

West midlands safari park has a dino bit.

Thank you so much for all the brilliant info! Unfortunately I'm stuck with March because of work but we don't mind if its cold, we've all the right clothes for cold days out (and my kids get really ratty in warm weather so would prefer to avoid it actually!).

I am really liking the sound of the Isle of Wight, or maybe Dorset! I'm going to look into some of these suggested options some more and see how it suits our budget. And yes @70isaLimitNotaTarget my DD is constantly rhyming off all the dinosaurs names and what period they belong to (I think I have Dinosaur train to thank for that because I didn't teach her most of them 😅).

Can't get over the amount of options, we have nothing dinosaury at all like these here in Ireland 🤣. Thank you so much everyone 😁

Scotland! Blair Drumming Safari Park in Stirling has excellent dinosaur walkthrough section, or in Aviemore there is Landmark Adventure Park, also excellent for this age.

Could be doable in a two site holiday with a few days at each area , and lots of other attractions to do in each location

@PenguinLove1 Ooh, that's tempting too. I have always wanted to see more of Scotland.

😂😂

There' a dinosaur park just outside Tenby in Pembrokshire. Other close attractions suitable for children are Folly Farm and Manor House Wildlife Park. Tenby is a lovely town with a nice beach, also St David's is within driving distance and a few castles dotted around the area.

Flamingoland in Yorkshire has a dinosaur section - dino themed rides for younger ones, a dino dig and anamatronic dinosaurs too,

Yorkshire wildlife park has a fabulous dinosaur area , it also has Englands only polar bears and from what I observed when I visited without children it has a lot of play areas .

The Yorkshire coast. Has just as many fossils as the jurassic coast (same geology) but less well known. The rotunda museum in Scarborough and the Whitby museum both have exhibits, although it is more focused on the pleisiosaursand ammonites that have been found along that coast. Various play parks and and flamigo land mentioned up thread isn't too far. Flight into Leeds Bradford or Teesside.

Probably one to leave til the kids are older, but there are fossilised dinosaur footprints to be found along the coast. You can get a guided walk to look for them but we have also found some in rocks when playing at the beach.

Charmouth in Dorset - you can go fossil hunting. Check to see if the museum reopened I heard a rumour it shut - it was good.