Best things to do in Brum in the summer...

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What are your favourites? I thought it worth collating a few ideas for when we're all stuck during the loooong summer holidays.

Mine are these:

• Pond-dipping in Bournville brook
• Tree-climbing followed by tea and cake at Rowheath Park
• Visiting Birmingham Market for cheap and plentiful fruit and veg with the kids
• Finding a family-friendly show at birmingham mac's outdoor arena. Bike-ride around the park first, and let the kids play on the zip-wire afterwards.
• Picnic, den-building and Gruffalo-hunting at Lickey Hills
• CocoMad free festival at Cotteridge Park (this weekend - yay!)
• Camping in the garden

Can you tell I have very energetic children?

What are your ideas?

• Having a (rudimentary) knock-about on the free tennis courts in so many of Birmingham's parks
• Scooting around Cannon Hill Park's nice flat paths and roads
• Strolling along the Birmingham-Stratford Canal from near the Crabmill Pub at Preston Baggot (often running away from a VERY aggressive swan there) and stopping in a field for a picnic
• playing Pooh-Sticks on the bridges of the River Rea at Cannon Hill Park or the Bourn Brook at Bournville Park
• Giving the kids a little patch of garden or greenhouse, helping them plant radish, tomatoes, peas, beans or flowers - and watching their delight as the plants grow and fruit and veg form and ripen

Sutton Park is great, lots of places to eat and the visitor centre have a trail type thing you can follow.

Lichfield often has events on, otherwise Beacon Park has a lovely play area for young and older kids, as well as pedalos for the water.

Walsall Arboretum has a free water park which is brilliant fun.

Ooh, I'd forgotten about the waterpark!

Also, Botanical Gardens are great on Sunday afternoons - munching a picnic on the lawn, listening to live jazz and watching toddlers rolling and rolling down that slope.

Yes to Botanical Gardens -my two like running through the bamboo and frightening admiring the butterflies in the butterfly house. We can make a trip to Botanical Gardens last a whole day.

Can't wait to be free of the tyranny of the School Run

There is a new mini golf course opening at Canon Hill Park, and Sandwell Valley is opening a splash pad.

Well, we've just been to Thinktank science museum for the first time in a couple of years, and had a fantastic day.

In the past, I've been put off by the high ticket prices and unhelpful website. There was a Buy-Adult-Ticket-and-Children-Go-Free offeron the main MN site earlier this month, which meant the three boys and I got in for £12-something. We were there for about 4 hours, so was definitely good value.

There were only about 5 families waiting when it opened at 10am, so not at all busy considering it's the middle of the holidays. tbh, the kids would have been content to spend literally all day in the toddler water-play area. When I dragged them away, they raced excitedly around the machines, Spitfire and steam engine, but the real hit was the outdoor science garden, which has lots of machines, pulleys and more water games. We finished up at the Planetarium, where even the 2-year-old's attention was held by the story of a star.

I recommend it!

Is there anything going on this weekend or next week that any fellow Brummies could recommend? I have done Cannon Hill Park and the mac, don't want to venture into Hickory Dickory's, but I am short on ideas.

I'll be on my own with 3 DC and I really don't enjoy doing parks alone. I'd appreciate any non-park ideas!

We went to the whimsical machines exhibition at Birmingham Museum - that was interesting and good value - £10 for a family ticket.

Thanks - I had heard that's good I will give it a try next week!