Day out: Manchester, Sheffield or Nottingham area for 3yr old

[Katherine]

Hi
DD is 3 this weekend. We've already done Chester Zoo, Knowsley Safari Park and the Blue Planet at Ellesmere Port (all very good). Need somewhere for tomorrow to DD and DS (4.5). Was thinking on heading towards Sherwood Forest or around Sheffield area but would consider anything within a couple of hours of South MAnchester. Any suggestions?

In Rotherham, near Sheffield there is Magna. Not been there yet but it is supposed to be very good - not sure on ages though. No doubt they have a website. In Halifax (a bit further north) there is Eureka - which is fantastic for kids! I'll have a bit more of a think today - I live in Sheffield - and try to think of anything else!

We've been to Magna several times. Fantastic place but a bit soon to go back. Had thought of Eureka but wasn't sure if DD was old enough yet at 3?

Found some stuff on Blackbrook Zoologivcal Park near Leek. Anyone been?

Found some stuff on Blackbrook Zoologivcal Park near Leek. Anyone been?

Magna is great for almost any age. The outsoor play area is fun as well as the stuff inside. If the weather is good Clumber Park (just off the A NT and free access)is great for a run around. You can picnic and hire bikes to burn off the excess energy.

Things to do with kids can be found in www.netmums.com/manchester. You have to register but it's free and you can use it time and time again. It has a What's On section full of events and happenings for families, Indoor and Outdoor play areas and so on. Preston also has a netmums site and Preston is just one hour away from Oldham, so might be within your reach Katherine!

was gong to suggest netmums but Rhubarb beat me to it. There is also a site for Congleton (South Cheshire) which is less than 2 hours away and North Staffs (Site called Newcastle-under-Lyme)

Blackbrook Zoo is great for toddlers and even babies. There are changing facilities, tea-room and kiosks which sell refreshments. You can have a pic-nic otherwise on lawn or benches. It's a mixture of traditionnal zoo (giraffes, elephants, monkeys etc...)and also playground(swings, sandpit area) (including a little train on certain days. There are events such as feeding time for the pelicans for all to see at specific times. I really recommend it!

In reply to Katherine, within less than 2 hours from Manchester you could go to Chatsworth House and Farmyard/Adventure playground, it's really educational and fun. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait till the end of March/beginning of April until it opens again to the public. They have a website. You can spend the day out there and you'll need more if you want to do everything. I have been three times now with my daughter who is going to be 2 very soon and have not visited the house yet!

OOps, I have made a description of Blackbrook thinking about a Zoo in Tamworth, I apologise! Blackbrook is quite small and very interstingfor a younger toddler: it;s mainly about birds but there are lamas, afew poneys and donkeys etc... Also an indoor area with hamsters,rats, rabbits to look at and even touch. There are good facilities (baby change ) decent tea-room and a nice covered pic-nic area. It's open at the moment. Sorry for the mistake!

Hi all - just thought you might like to know where we ended up in the end. Well we decided to try Conkers near Tamworth(Northern end of M42). The leaflet and website describe it all as being in the National Forest so we felt a bit cheated when we got there to find it was a newly planted forest i.e all the trees were knee high. It cost about £14 for the family to get in which we felt was a bit steep really but it is a lovely place. Lots of woodland walks, a board walk and loads of playgrounds including stuff for the adults. The kids had a great day (including DH) and as we had gorgeous weather it was a great day out, althpough DH commented we could have done all the walks for free elsewhere.

Anyone else looking for ideas would strongly recommend both Magna, near Sheffield (especially good for bad weather days) and Chatsworth, although its not cheap if you pay for different things. The farm is great though.

Anyway thanks for all your tips. And yes we will be trying Blackbrook for DS's birthday later in the summer.

Glad you enjoyed Conkers, Katherine. My dh works there sometimes and it is lovely. Know what you mean about the National Forest its baby trees!

Another time you might enjoy Sherwood Pines Forest Park near Mansfield. Lovely forest, nice outdoor play areas, cafe, cycle hire. Good family day out in suitable weather.

We have a book called something like "Let's go with the Children". There's a series of them covering different areas of the country, usually about 3 counties per book. I would recommend anyone with kids to buy one. Full of ideas: theme parks, museums, sports, walks. Small enough book to keep in car. Very useful.

Ooh!! Sherwood Pines Forest -- I actually worked there. Digging many a hole and lugging a radioactive instrument around (don't ask!). Also had some lovely cycle rides & jogging, too.

The radioactive instrument no longer visits Sherwood Pines, btw, in case any body was worrying about there or the CentreParks nearby.