Few days in Weston super mare - things to do?

[Cluelessfirstimer]

Booked a few days away in Weston super mare.

Never been. We will be me, DP and DS whos 4.

Anyone have any suggestions of things to do? Going for 4 nights. 1 day at the beach flying kites and making sand castles otherwise nothing planned!

We have a car and happy to travel 30 minutes to anywhere close.

We are a pretty active family but im talking a few hours swimming not a 3 hour hike! We enjoy a little walk but there must be a destination and something slightly entertaining at the end (for the 4 year old...)

I love Clevedon for it's Marine Lake and the old fashioned Pier.

My kids enjoyed crabbing over the years in the lake.

For evening entertainment Beachcomber and the Seagull in Brean are free and open to the general public. They do kiddy entertainment early evening going on to adult nights of tribute acts.

Ignore the naysayers, some people just like pissing on other people's chips.

You'll have a great time. I still make the effort to go to Weston even though I now live in Yorkshire!

As people have said, WSM is not too far from Bristol. A bus is way to get and liberating from bus lanes etc. it’s the best thing to do.

You can take a ferry to the harbour from the train station.

The S S Great Britain is lots of fun for kids going onto a big boat.

There is also the hands on M Shed ( free entry) with a working steam train.( small fee)
up the hill is the museum ( free) with a great dinosaur area and other natural history bits.

You can also take a boat trip around the harbour.

In that area there is also the free Georgian house and in Cabot park there is a play ground.

So lots to do and some is free.

Also the Bristol zoo is amazing for seeing bears/ wolves and gorillas. ( on outskirts of city off motorway and lots of parking)

Tynesfield has some child activities / games - call them to find out.

Brandon Hill not Cabot Park sorry

I've always loved Weston since I was small (nearly 70 years ago, and it's seen me through two generations of kids, the only 'seaside' easily reachable from where we lived.

My kids loved it too. Before people start sniping I've obviously never been to real seaside, well, of course I have..... but Weston had a happy charm and made some lovely memories for me. I wish I could go there again! (too old and ill nowadays.)

Some happy memories - many may not still be available nowadays:

The little tourist train along the beachfront
A crab sandwich bought from a shack on the beach, minutes before our bus left for home - never had one like it
The old pier, where I bought a violin for £20 from the little antique shop at the entrance (it wasn't the best violin in the world (!!) but we still have it in the family 40 years on, and it still gets played
The main pier, where there are slot machines and bingo and all sorts of things which amuse for half an hour or so, plus a nice walk down the wooden slatting of the pier to reach the end, sit on a bench along to way to look out to Steepholm
fish and chips (of course)
The Tropicana on the beachfront (this DEFINITELY isn't still there... but it was a lot of fun while it was.)
camping in the rugby club grounds by the railway station with my Mum, who would have bacon frying for rolls as we walked across to find her pitch (I was so happy at this time)
My stepfather driving us to Cheddar Gorge, stopping off for icecream on the way, with a scoop of clotted cream on top. Buying Myth and Magic figures in the Cheddar shop
A school trip I volunteered on with my 7 year old, boating and swimming in the shallow kids' pond
sleeping in the awning by my mum's tent, looking forward to another day of fun tomorrow

... probably many more, but I just wanted to get across that these are fun and happy memories for me. I'd give a lot for one more day in Weston! I'd actually choose it over some much more 'exotic' and well-known destinations, because it was... simple. And fun. And kids like it.

Have a wonderful break, OP. Wish I could be there!

Sorry to read you can't make it there at the moment, I really enjoyed reading your memories, thanks for sharing and hoping you get back to Weston one day.

It's not too far from me. Been a few times. I think you may find it tough to get four days out of the town. It's just your run of the mill seaside town really. The pier is good though. If you are prepared to drive to visit places nearby then I'd recommend Wells. Lovely little cathedral city. Any kids would probably find it boring though.

Bristol Zoo isn't far at all and great for your kids' ages. We had a lovely time at WSM recently.

Visit Appledore and then take the ferry across to Instow.

Puxton Park or Noah’s Ark Zoo farm are both brilliant days out.

@ApplesinmyPocket The old pier, where I bought a violin for £20 from the little antique shop at the entrance (it wasn't the best violin in the world (!!) but we still have it in the family 40 years on, and it still gets played

I still have an old 'Craven A' tobacco tin I bought there in the mid-80s. They used to have lots of wind-up gramophones there playing 1920s records, I remember. Then down the pier there was a vintage 'penny arcade' and we'd cajole my dad into letting us change some old pennies, and we might be allowed an ice-cream in the pavilion which always felt a bit sinister with its purple velvet curtains.

Birnbeck Pier, this photo is from 2022.

Sorry to hear you’ve had a tough time lately. I’m sure you’ll have a great time with your little one. Lots of great suggestions from helpful people, ignore the useless posts x

I use to take DS to Weston at that age (his fathers family are form there)!

can only second most of theses suggestions.

I will add that where it says don’t enter water at low tide due to mud - don’t!!!

We’ve watched many a person regret ignoring the signs 🤣

I lost a shoe in the mud once! Didn't make that mistake again😆

Some great places near Weston after you've done the local stuff:

• Bristol Zoo Project just off the M5
• Puxton Park.
• The Helicopter Museum just outside Weston if DS likes aircraft. They have a World Helicopter Day on 16th August if you are there then.
• Clevedon.
• National Trust Tyntesfield.
• You can also get a direct train to Bath - takes around 40 mins - better than driving and trying to find somewhere to park. Make sure it's a direct train & not having to change at Bristol Temple Meads.
• Lots of recommendations from others earlier about things to do in Bristol.

That's over two hours away. Nowhere near Weston.

Another vote for Puxton Park, DD was younger when we went but there's loads to do. She also enjoyed Wookey and the theme park at Brean at 3/4.

Don't remember the beach at weston itself being that nice (but I might be misremembering), so might be worth exploring other options nearby.

Silly idea maybe but when my Mum used to take her great niece and nephew out. She gave them some money to buy what they liked in a charity shop. I saw the great niece recently and she remembered with great pleasure those outings. Westonsuper mare is known for its charity shops.

Aww that’s a sweet idea
also take lots of 2p’s for the penny falls in the arcade

There’s a marine lake for swimming, parks and amusements for little ones, a small theme park outside of Weston (15 minutes approx), take the train to Bristol for free museums, take a water bus, ss Great Britain. It’s a sandy beach but very very tidal so not suitable for swimming (use marine lake) check tide times for best sandcastle making times. Several of the pubs have live music and accept children. The town gets lively in the later evening but is fair sedate in the day. If you are already there there’s a sea shanty festival currently on all over the town, free entry to all gigs!

Oh and cheddar caves are good, nice walking there and you can go to the cheese making place (none are cheap though apart from walking, that’s free) you can get walking routes from tourist information in cheddar. The car park south of the town is cheaper

We arrived this morning and DS demanded we went straight to the beach. We spent the whole day there! So much for kids to do. He flew his kite, went on the bouncy castle and rode a donkey.

He did get stuck in the "mud" but this apparently was 'so much fun ' 😁

Tomorrow we are going to check out the piers (including the one having work done on as DS loves construction) and arcades and then go to Puxton park.

Tuesday and Wednesday i am going to go through these suggestions and decide. Then on the way home Thursday visit the helicopter museum.

The beach is pretty clean, plenty to do and honestly we have had so much fun today

Oh, that sounds fabulous - so jealous! It is a perfect beach for kids, and getting stuck in the mud will give your DS a funny story to tell when he gets home!

Sounds great! Did you go to the Marine Lake? If not he will love it another day as you can actually paddle or swim even when the tide is out.