In STRATFORD-ON_AVON for a couple of days - places to visit with 10 and 7-yr-old??

[filthymindedvixen]

We are staying in Bidford, are there any nice places to visit near by? Boys are 10 and 7 and will not be much impressed by the Shakespeare connections Are there any other nice places to visit for a couple of hours? Parks? Playgrounds? CHEAP options....

Thanks for any help...

Oh, I was going to suggest Warwick Castle, but it's not cheap. That said, there's a lovely park in Warwick ... with boating on the river, etc. The weather would need to be good, though.

I've just been looking at Warwick because it looks amazing but my goodness! The price leaps up from £38 to £46 this week because they have some ghost walk thing included which isn't suitable for under 8s ...

I might have splashed out on the castle as a half term treat but ouch!

(and then there's all the food/drink etc...

The weather forecast seems ok for the week!

Yes, that's a lot of spondulix. The castle is great, but who's made of money?

I used to live in Coventry, not too far away (don't bloody go there). I know the area quite well, but it was pre-kids, so I'm a bit clueless.

There are some beautiful villages and short walks in the area, but it depends on their interests, really.

no actually, it's £57 [faints]!!

thank you!

How about the butterfly farm? Perfect for a couple of hours but I can't remember if it is expensive.

I've just looked, £15.75 for family ticket which is pretty reasonable.

Also includes 'Arachnoland' which might be of more interest to boys.

'Arachnoland boasts over 15 types of spider and scorpion. From the tiny Black Widow to Tarantulas with a span greater than 200 mm, all are safe behind glass. Our special exhibit shows large Imperial scorpions glowing in the dark. Not to be missed!'

The Butterfly Farm has scary spiders and reptiles too. We went recently and it might be OK for you. You could combine it with a trip on a canal boat as the Butterfly Farm is right next the river.

If you fancy it, the Falstaff Experience is also right in the centre of Stratford but it depends how sensitive your children are. My DH was very spooked by it.

The open top bus is also quite fun if you fancy seeing the sights of Stratford.

Less expensive than Warwick Castle is Kenilworth Castle, which in my opinion is well worth a trip. There are lots of walks around the castle and it is just 2 exits down the A46 from Stratford.

Depends what you like really...

Not sure if art would be your thing but Compton Verney art gallery is great. Again, depends what your boys would be into. Ragley Hall has a scuplture trail and adventure playground but I think it is quite pricy and not open until March...

Actually, Warwick Castle is well worth the money. There is loads to see there and it would easily take the day. You can also take in your own food and drink, or if you prefer, get your hand stamped and have a wander around Warwick for lunch and then re-enter the castle.

We have a season ticket and go nearly every weekend for a wander. We treat it like our back garden!

It is possible to buy a Warwick Castle and Birmingham Sea Life Centre combined ticket, which does reduce the price a little. The Sea Life centre is very good. Highly recommend it.

thanks all, the butterfly place and farm place look great. Also anything spooky is fine, so will look out for the fastaff thingy!

This is a last-minute trip, off tomorrow, combined with a DH business meeting. We are staying on a canal at Bideford-on-avon which looks beautiful, so were just looking for a couple of afternoony trip options in case mooching around canal paths palls a bit.

I'm sure Warwick is worth the money but sadly, we simply cannot afford it (and I have always wanted to go..but there will be other times!)

How did your trip go?

s-s-s-s-t-t-t-tilll w-w-w-warming up

Bidford is beautiful and very friendly and I want to live there!
The boat had no heating working though... That's cold, not sad BTW!

Stratford was lovely, we mooched round in the biting cold and laughed at corny shakespeare-related shop names (very nice little coffee shop for lunch called as you like it), found the fab play park by the river, fed swans - butterfly farm was quite lame but warm !

And though I normally detest soft play places we found one in Bidford called Bungo's Barn where we could drink very good (and cheap)coffee for 3 hours! and was big enough to keep boys very happy.

Thanks for all your tips - we will use them in the summer when we return. Kenilworth looks nice.

my 2 were @bungo's on tuesday
glad you liked it

Oh, I must try bungos. I've heard good things about that. Any good for under 2s?

they have a toddler section and a little track for ride on cars! but TBH, it was half term and full of very very boisterous boys (and I speak as a mum of 2 such specimans) I would have been terrified if I had had younger ones there - BUT of course, in school time i'm sure you'd be fine The staff were very laid back and nice and £2.50 for 2 coffees is miraculous!

Excellent. My own boisterous toddler would love to see older boisterous boys!