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.

Hever Castle, lovely grounds, great play area and water maze for kids, and a proper looking castle.

audle end house - english heritage site, amazing anytime of the yr, but especially when they have special events there.

xx

Green Wood Centre in North Wales (caernarfon way) was fab for kids.

Railway museum in York - loads of running around space and its free

Bowood House near Calne in Wilts. It has the best adventure playground EVER1

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Bocketts Farm in Leatherhead, Surrey is a beautiful childrens farm.

Great (huge) cafe, loads of picnic spaces, two indoor play areas and several outside (including one with a huge trampoline).

They have pig races and animal handling sessions, and the loos are pristine and spacious!

Our favourites are Colchester Zoo and Legoland.
On a smaller scale,Old MacDonalds Farm in Brentwood is also pretty good too.

Oooh, another Stoke MNer.

Trentham Gardens and Amerton Farm both ok locally.

Love North Yorkshire, especially Forbidden Corner.

Plus another vote for Bewilderwood in Norfolk. Had a fab day there last October.

Has Alnwick Castle been mentioned yet?

Great for slightly older children (although our 3yo and 5yo loved it too). It is "Hogwarts School" and has lots of interesting things for the children to do. They also have owls and other birds of prey.

You can make a day of it and visit the Alnwick Gardens, absolutely lovely gardens with fantastic water features that the kids can play in.

Our kids also loved Chainbridge Honey Farm near Berwick/Tweed. They have a great visitors centre with lots of info on how honey is made, a big display of vintage vehicles.

The cafe is in a double decker bus. The kids were like this

The other attraction there was the footbridge that connected England to Scotland which the kids loved running back on forward on. "Now I am in Scotland, now in England"

someone mentioned something that used to be called 'pets corner' - do you mean Sundown Adventureland near retford notts?It's like a bizarre fairytale under 12s theme park that's grown organically over the years and has an endearing ramshackle air.

Rufford park near sherword forest is free and has a lake, ruined abbey, sculpture trail, cafe, new playground (opens easter) that reminds me of teletubby land, kids music sculpture bit, lots of space with beautiful trees for picnics/football, pushchair/scooter friendly.

Longleat
at-Bristol Interactive Science
Crealy Adventure Park (the Devon one)
Alton Towers

We've been to loads, my favourites are:
Legoland
Science Museum
Railway Museum (York)
National Space Centre (Leicester)
Glasgow Science Museum
Go-Ape!
Eureka

We love Gullivers and echo what has already been said.Great value and great for little ones.

Also love Blackpool Zoo.Very educational and lots of tiny monkeys that the children really loved.Animal enclosures very good too and animals looked v happy.

Another vote for Bekonscot Model Village. Lots of model trains, a ride-on train, good play area and lots of picnic space. Great for little boys!

Robin Hill Country Park IOW - great for all ages!!

Bowood - nr Calne in Wilts - fantastic outdoor adventure playground. Beautiful landscaped parkland/garden.

Mid-Hants Steam railway. - family rover ticket v reasonable - chuff away all day, hop on and off.

London Zoo.

The Tower of London - fantastic place - whole day out.

Almond Valley Farm in Livingston is great.

Lots of animals, get close to the animal demonstrations, a museumy bit about mining (on the site of a former pit), Indoor soft play, tractor rides, holiday playschemes, and treasure hunts. There is a really nice cafe, and also outdoor picnic areas as well as covered picninc barn, and an adventure playground.

We had our DSs birthday party there once and all the kids (and parents) had a great time.

Longleat excellent but expensive.

Moors Valley Park as already discussed.

Monkeyworld.

Chester Zoo, there's always something new.

Another vote for Moors Valley Park nr Bournemouth - great for kids of all ages
The Watercress Line railway - Alton
Danbury Hill - nr Stockbridge - great for kite flying, to see sheep and cows and for picnics
New Forest - for the walks, playing pooh sticks, seeing ponies, picking blackberries etc...

For South East Londoners and Kent:

Godstone Farm, Surrey (doesn't cost a fortune, lots to do).

Christmas Tree Farm, Kent. Incredibly cheap entrance fee only £2 or so, but not allowed picnics on site and the food is terrible, so go just after a big breakfast or a big lunch, or there's a pub nearby who appear to tolerate little children quite well.

The V&A museum of childhood in Bethnal Green - but don't drive. You can't park anywhere nearby for less than £3.50 an hour. It is only 1 min walk from the tube.

The Princess Diana playground in Kensington Gardens. Pirate ship and humungous sandpit much appreciated by all. Last time we were there saw Mariella Frostrup and little ones in tow.

On hols in Devon/Dorset we loved the Donkey Sanctuary (Sidmouth) Abbotsbury Swannery and the children's farm nearby.

Chester Zoo gets my vote!