NOW CLOSED: Tell Britax your favourite Buggy Friendly Places - you could win £100 of Love2Shop vouchers

[AnnMumsnet]

We've been asked by the folks at Britax to help with their new campaign where they "want to unearth the UK's best buggy (and baby) friendly locations for a new guide to help mums and dads share their favourite places to take the family".

So, please do tell all on this thread about the places that you actually enjoy going to with your baby - places that welcome your LOs and make getting out and about with your pushchair easier?

For example, do you know a coffee shop with a buggy parking section? Or a pub with spacious seating and a climbing frame out back? Or maybe you want to recommend a library that's littered with lifts and has a dedicated toddlers? reading corner (that doesn?t have noise restrictions!)?

Please tell Britax your favourite buggy friendly locations and they'll possibly be included in the guide (MN nicknames will not be used). Everyone who adds a location on this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win £100 of Love2Shop vouchers (which can be spent at over 20,000 stores - including Argos, Debenhams, Boots and Toys 'R' Us).

When posting please say

a) The name and description of the venue

b) Its location

c) Why it is so good

For more information on Britax's campaign to create the "Ultimate Guide to Buggy Friendly Britain", visit their Facebook page

Thanks and good luck.

MNHQ

[ROLO123]

sainsburys in woolton village is a great place to go with a pram without any problems at all.It has large parking spaces so you have plenty of room to open your car door with your pram right next to the car (ideal for rainy days).a ramp is also at the entrance with automatic doors and wide aisles as you wander around (plenty of room even with my double pram).toilets very spacious and clean.also to make it pleasant the staff are very helpful.

[HipHopOpotomus]

Westfield shopping mall, Shepherds Bush. I can walk, drive, train or bus there. Buggy friendly, lifts everywhere, spacious and parent/child/ baby rooms everywhere. Very comfy chairs and stools in private rooms to chill and feed. Lots of places to eat and have coffee. No worries about 3 year old and traffic. Lots of parent/child parking.

[HipHopOpotomus]

Science Musuem - south Kensington. I visited over the hols with 4 month old in buggy and DD3.

It's well laid out and spacious. Buggy went everywhere. Lots of excellent exhibits of interest to dd, plus a great play area in the basement. Staff are so lovely with the kids too.

Several buggy parks if you don't want/need to take it around and family loos.

It's dotted with lovely cafes, and also has large picnic areas, tables etc if you want to byo.

[tiggerandpoohtoo]

Wyvale garden center, shenstone, staffs.
It has a great cafe with lots of space, they are very child friendly and have a free soft play area for kids under 8 - my toddlers love it.

[Stretfordmum]

Manchester Art Gallery on Mosley Street (city centre).

Good ramp access to get inside. Large cafe and space for buggies. When they have kid specific activities on, they have a buggy room so that you can leave you buggy nearby while doing the activity. Great toilets & changing tables.

Very near to St Peters tram stop & picadilly gardens bus and tram stop.

[Stretfordmum]

High street chains - ikea, John Lewis, Boots, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams

High Street Restaurants - Pizza Express, Cafe Rouge, ikea, Zizzi's, carlucios, TGI Fridays,

[Stretfordmum]

Local food places in South Manchester:

1. Bean & Brush cafe (Sale)
   
2. the Art Cafe (Hale)
   
3. The Hale Bar & Grill (Hale)
   
4. Y McGregors (Altrincham)
   
5. Hullaboos (Altrincham)
   
6. Croma (Chorlton)
   
7. Isinglass (Urmston)
   
8. Lilys Cafe (Urmston)
   
9. Gusto (Didsbury) - kids can make their own pizzas
   
10. Alberts Shed (Didsbury)
    
11. Oca (Sale)
    
12. Head Over Heels (play centre) cafe
    
13. Anchors Away (play centre) cafe - Newall Green/Wythenshaw
    
    In Manchester City Centre:
    
14. Olive Press (kids can make their own pizzas)
    
15. Alberts Shed/Dukes 92
    
16. Don Giovanni
    
17. whitworth Art Gallery Cafe
    
18. Manchester Musuem Cafe
    
    Trafford Centre:
    All restaurants are accessible and family friendly. Outside the actual buildings are Krispie Creme donut factory & cafe (great viewing platform to watch the donuts being made) and Starbucks. Both accessible. Also Legoland Discovery Centre cafe.
    
    All Listed above have good easy buggy access, clean and accessible toilets & changing facilities, good children food options and helpful staff.

[Stretfordmum]

Manchester Parks:

Victoria Park (Stretford) - very active friends of Vic Park so lots of new park facilities and activities - volunteer run cafe open at weekends, under 5s and over 5s playgrounds, Free outdoors tennis courts, five a side football pitch and basketball court, free outside gym (wooden poles/tyres etc), close to shops and library. All flat ground. Football grass pitches, open field (great fir picnics). Accessible toilet with changing facilities

Bruntwood Park (cheadle hulme) - great range of park
& play equipment for kids plus cafe and refreshment booth
Longford Park (Stretford/Chorlton)

John Leigh Park (Altrincham) - great under fives playground including guinea pigs, rabbits and birds enclosure to watch the animals. New older children playground is great.

Walton Park (Sale/Brooklans) - mini steam trains on Sunday afternoons (30p a ride) and new wooden playground that opened thus weekend. Good football pitches. Near canal and tram line so good for kids to watch boats/trams. All flat ground and new tarmac paths.

Also good parks
Stamford Park (Altrincham)
Heaton Park
Chorlton water park
Sale Water Park

[Robotindisguise]

The Gingerbread Man in Harpenden. Lovely children's menu, sippy cups if you've forgotten one, ditto bibs, toys and books for ages to keep them occupied while you wait, lovely food and a free gingerbread man for the children on the way out!

[yousankmybattleship]

Wakehurst Place in West Sussex. Owned jointly by the National Trust and Kew. Lovely wide, well kept paths so great for buggies, plenty of fresh air and nice things to see (even ducks to feed). Safe for toddlers and de-stessing for Mums!

[MsMarple]

My local bakers/cafe called Munch, in Purley (Surrey) is very baby friendly.

There is room for quite a few prams, the ladies toilet is big enough to take a buggy in with you, they have highchairs and above all very nice staff who don't seem to mind shuffling round all the kiddy paraphernalia to bring you coffee and cakes.

[Rindercella]

Burford Garden Centre in Burford, Oxfordshire.

Huge garden centre/shop selling all sorts. Lots of things for children to look at, nice restaurant and cafe with lots of toys out for the children. Little cinema for them too. Outside, there's a huge play area which all children seem to love. Helpful staff - last time I was there I was by myself with 2 young DDs (one in a buggy). Staff helped me carry my tray, got me settled at a nice table etc.

The only downside is spending a fortune every time you are there (amazing children's shop, fab food section, great home section and of course some lovely plants & stuff).

[Thusnelda]

This is not actually Britain, but maybe for the next edition - travel with buggies?:
If you travel by train in Germany you can book a "Kleinkindabteil" - a compartment for families with small children: room for your buggy, a table, or a play area and it's always next to the restaurant car too and thus next to the large toilet with changing facilities.

[meplustwo]

Woking Library, Woking, Surrey.
It's located in the centre of Woking town and has a fantastic childrens area. There are a huge selection of books for all of ages of children, picture books for little ones right through to teenage fiction.
On Wednesdays there is storytime and rhyme time on the first Wednesday of every month.
Children and buggies are very welcome and my DS loves going to choose new books every couple of weeks.
Highly recommended!

[Teladi]

We recently had our first trip out with our two week old, and we went to Union Square. Union Square is a new shopping centre in Aberdeen. There are parent and child spaces in the car park, the centre is accessible with plenty of room in the lifts and to get in and out of the shops, and the changing rooms are spacious, lots of room to get buggy in, with nice changing tables and feeding chairs. I hadn't been in a baby changing room before and the fact you had to buzz to get in to stop people just hanging about in there if they haven't got a baby to change I found reassuring, particularly if you were going to be breastfeeding in there. We'll be back, as they have a lot of family friendly restaurants there.

[Annieuk75]

In the year 2011, we really shouldn't have to ask this question, everywhere should be good. However, when I started to think about it, I did struggle to find many places.
Top of my list has to be Legoland, in Windsor. Everywhere is accessible with a pram, and a few of the rides are large enough to keep the little ones in the pram whilst queuing. With my arthritis, I struggle to hold my little girl for a long time in a queue, so this is very important to me. THere is also a section with 'Family TOilets'. They are large enough to accomodate 2 adults, a toddler and a baby in the pram. THere is a large and small toilet, and enough room to use the baby change station, without being too squashed.
If you are looking for somewhere to have a coffee, enough space to store a pram and somewhere for the childrne to play...I have to say Jellybugs in Kingston-upon-Thames. When I go shopping, that is always our final stop. They provide a cafe serving delicious, and reasonably priced, food and hot drinks. Tons of toys and ride ons to keep the little ones happy, and have just recently put in a climbing soft play area. It is very safe, the door has an adult height handle and the main door is opened by a buzzer. A perfect end to a day of shopping with the kids!

[Fillybuster]

A bit left field, but the V&A Museum, in Kensington, West London.

Getting there with a buggy is a bit of a nightmare, as London Underground have placed about 20 flights of stairs between the platforms and the exits, but the museum itself and the cafe, are a total joy for buggies and small children.

Loads to look at, lovely food, friendly staff and a one of the most beautiful rooms in London....with lots of high chairs and decent baby changing :)

Even better, the Science and Natural History Museums (not quite as buggy friendly, but of more interest for children) are directly across the road!

[NewbeeMummy]

A bit of an odd one but Coed-y-Brenin, in Wales, DP and I are avid mountain bikers and love to hit the trails - this often leaves us with the problem of what to do with DD (almost 2) while we take turns riding.

Coed-y-Brenin has a great visitors centre with a really nice resturant (and cheap) great changing facilities, two different play parks, and some great short walks for the little ones (which are very buggy friendly.) There are also longer walks which are great for after lunch, as you can pop your lo in the buggy and walk off the burgers on some lovely woodland trails.

[turnipvontrapp]

Ikea, Warrington - it's very child friendly with clean toilets and play areas and children's meals.

[WhipMeIndiana]

a) Bantock Park, a period house museum including children's play room in the original house nursery, coffee shop, courtyard, walled gardens, rose garden, and large playground and adult fitness equipment
b) just outsdie Wolverhampton in Finchfield
c) It is fantastic as a very low-cost outing that can be for 10mins or a whole day there is so much to do, free parking with spacious car-park pathways for buggies, wide clean paths to the safe and spacious outdoor play equipment; suitable for toddlers up to 10yr olds in separate areas, loads of benches for relaxing and chatting to other mums; a separate adult section of fitness machines that are hilarious very healthy to try including weightlifting machines, bikes, crosstrainers, sit up benches, twisting wheels and leg stretchers, all clean and well maintained; acres of clean grassland, football pitches, a small golf course, pathways all suitable for buggies; clean toilets with changing facility, beautiful coffee shop - orange & brandy cake, and German apple cake particular favourites...all types of coffee, ice creams etc, plus soup/sandwiches indoor and outdoor seating, and they take card payments!
and finally Bantock house itself, an amazing museum which welcomes children, a large gift shop selection of toys and little bits kids love, space for buggies to be parked, and everyone is encouraged to experience the house, sit in the chairs, touch things etc. the whole nursery room is to play in, with fancy dress historical clothing; a huge dolls house, secret hidden small doors, a drawer of hand puppets and very friendly knowledgeable staff
I cannot rate it highly enough. Museum is free entry, yet you can offer a donation which would be gratefully received.
The walled Dutch garden, the large rose gardens; all walks suitable for wheelchair/pushcahirs.
Go visit!

[LTLTLT]

Ive got 2 places i'd like to nominate. One which is local to me and another that we have had a recent day trip to.

a) Firstly, local to me the Cardiff bay barrage. You can park at the Penarth Marina end for only 50p an hour and watch the boats coming through the sea locks. My daughter loves watching the water build up and the gates opening.
You can then walk right the way around the barrage to Mermaid Quay , Cardiff bay.
It's completely flat and traffic free. On a weekend you can always see all manner of bikes, scooters, skateboards and buggies, dolls prams and roller skates going in either direction. Halfway along there is a lovely pirate themed outdoor play area, which we call the sand park as the ground is completely sand. I love that it only seems to attract little ones and not hordes of teenagers, well looked after with a lovely picnic area and benches around it.

There is also an outdoor gym, and skate park. Cafe's and toilets. A land train runs from one end to the other which is fantastic if you have little legs that have tired from peddling or scooting one way.

The scenery is beautiful, its very enjoyable to watch the sailing schools out on the weekend, or to take a brisk walk on a sunny day.

I thoroughly recommend the Cardiff Bay barrage.


Secondly we have recently visited Folly farm in Pembrokshire, Wales.
We had a fantastic day out, really good value for money and perfect for all ages.
They have farm and zoo animals including Zebras and Giraffes. Also a lovely little land train. My daughter was able to milk a goat and hold a starfish and a crab as well as pet many of the animals. There are more adventure playgrounds both outdoor and indoor than I can even remember.
The indoor pay area is a huge wooden structure, where the children can literally have hours of fun without getting bored. There are lots of tables, chairs and high chairs in abundance around the play area so you can relax, eat your own food and keep an eye on the children.
The indoor vintage funfair is second to none and the prices at only 50p a ride are brilliant. Especially if the weather changes while you are there.
Toilet and baby changing facilities are plentiful and clean.
There is also a lovely big wheel with fantastic views.
The gift shop has something for everyone with lots of things available for just a few pence.
The whole place is very flat, very child and buggy friendly.
They give you arm bands to put on your child should you wish, that you can write your contact details on should they get lost.
It is spotlessly clean, well maintained with lovely, friendly staff.

A day out to remember.

[BikeRunSki]

I'll second Coed-y-Brennin, and also Sherwood Pines in Nottinghamshire for similar reasons. Several play parks, lots of running around space, nice, cheap, high-chair heavy cafe, family bike trails (as well as rufty tufty ones) , nice =, big toilets and changing facilities.

[stickylittlefingers]

a) The name and description of the venue

Riverside paths around Durham

b) Its location

The Durham peninsula, in Durham city

c) Why it is so good

beautiful path around Durham, taking in all the sights to please the adults (castle, one of the oldest and grandest cathedrals in the country), and lots to keep the little ones happy - birds and rabbits, trees, sticks and stones - plus boats going by! When you don't want to walk any more, both the Cathedral cafe and the Almshouses are spacious enough to accommodate buggies - and the Cathedral cafe also has a play corner to keep the children happy while the adults chat and eat lots of cake (not necessarily in that order)

[ShatnersBassoon]

John Lewis, every branch I've been to.

There are plenty of lifts, there are always toilets large enough to accommodate a pushchair and the staff in the cafes always help and carry the tray when they see you have a pushchair.