MNHQ needs your best "visitor attractions for children in the UK"

[AbbyMumsnet]

Afternoon all. We've got to pull together a piece for Sunday Telegraph v' quickly on the top ten visitor attractions for kids in the UK. (Hence the title of this thread.) Would love your help - and feel free to add a line or two about what makes your nomination worthy of inclusion! Thanks ever so.

BLACKGANG CHINE and ROBIN HILL on IOW

Get a joint pass/special deal and you can go for 4 days {2 days each}

Can I suggest Legoland? Plenty to do for kids of all ages. It's one of the few places we can go with small children and older nephews/nieces which will be suitable for all.

www.blackgangchine.com

Not telling.
It will get too crowded...

legoland - good bfing facilities

kew gardens - lots and lots of picnic space plus climber and creepers, indoor and outdoor educational playspace for kids

Our best day out ever was the Farne Islands during the bird breeding season. Fun boat ride followed by saturation exposure to thousands of breeding birds inches away from you and unafraid. The fun of being attacked by overhead terns. Watching puffins fly about with mouths full of fish.

You could go on safari in Kenya at huge expense and not have such an extraordinary wildlife experience.

And all run by NT with the animals' welfare squarely in mind.

pick your own farms- both DC love it and I like it as well. The first day we go we end up with ridicious amounts of strawberries. Good for them to see where it is coming from & healthy

We normally go to the rectory farm

legoland but take waterproofs for the kids

Seven Stories Centre for Childrens books in Newcastle. Great for a wet day, and fantastic bookshop.

chester zoo. my lot love it there

Imperial War Museum North.

The handling sessions where they let children handle the exhibits really bring alive the concept of war to children. It's an excellent way of removing the myth for small boys that war is in any glamourous.

Also lots of space to run off energy, even on a wet day!

Blue Planet Aquarium, Ellesmere Port: kids love fish, there's lots of fish...

Manchester Museum of Science and Industry: knobs to twiddle, things to blow up, mess to make, things to crash, trains and space ships to ride on, dinosaur and Dr Who exhibitions to be terrified by. Oh and history of the industrial revolution to make your parents feel smug.

The dungeons in Edinburgh. Just don't take anyone under 6 cos they'll crap themselves.

Alnwick Castle and Garden. Bloody brilliant - Harry Potter moments, dress up as a knight, do scary puzzles, watch owls eating small mammals, discover a whole load of info about how to poison people with plants from your garden (note to self: don't let 8 year old take notes in the poison garden), ride Tonka trucks through fountains and get very wet in fountain maze... You can buy a week long pass and keep going back if you're on holiday...

Trentham Gardens, Staffordshire: Barefoot walk, fantastic play area, woodland walk, hobbit houses, ice-cream parlour and mahooosive amount of consumer options for Mummy and Daddy to be a whole lot poorer...

The 3 gullivers land places. - matlock bath, milton keynes and warrington, they're in.

here

REALLY great for smaller kids and very VERY good value for money.

Moores Valley in Dorset, all you pay is parking.. unless you have brave oldser children who want to try the assault course?

glasgow science centre
dynamic earth - edinburgh
blairdrummond safari park
oban sea life centre
falkirk wheel
there are some fantastic country parks around as well that have petting zoos, play areas, walks, visitor centres, cafe/tearooms

Kew Gardens - although adults pay £12.50 I think,children under 16 are free and it's fantastic there - lots of things put on during school holidays as well as the Climbers and Creepers adventure play area, nice places to eat and great gift shop at White Peaks..

Oh and longleat.. if you dont do everthing on one visit you can go back and do the rest another day!

Another vote also for Imperial War Museum North. We were there the other day. We all got a lot from it.

Bird World in Surrey. We have always had a fantastic day out there.

The Natural History Museum has to be up there with the best of them, my boys love it.