Tell Direct Line what makes the perfect family day out – £150 John Lewis voucher to be won. Plus 20 MNers will win a year’s free membership to the Let’s Go website! NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

With summer just around the corner, Direct Line would love to hear from Mumsnetters about the perfect fun filled family day out.

Here's what Direct Line have to say, "To celebrate our launch of 'Let's Go', a new rewards programme offering an exclusive range of free and 2-for-1 deals across the UK, we're on the hunt to find out what elements make a great family day out."

Do you have a fail-safe formula for the perfect outing? Or is this just a distant dream because there are chores you need to finish before you can enjoy fun and frolics with the family?

So whether it's oodles of good value activities for you and the kids, someone to look after them while you relax or simply time away, get in touch and let us know what you think.

Everyone who adds a comment will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will receive a £150 John Lewis voucher.

20 Mumsnetters will also win a year's free membership to the Let's Go website, giving you access to hundreds of free and 2-for-1 family days out across the UK (both local and major national attractions) - all year round!

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

Decent food! It's not always practical to take a picnic (especially as I often take dc by myself on the train) and I resent paying over the odds for utterly shit food and even poorer service. Yes, every theme park in the land, I'm looking at you!

If I'm paying £8 for three chips I'd like them to be warm and served with less of a grimace.

We are lucky that we live close to the Peak District, so a perfect day out for us would be an early start, a picnic and a nice walk. We love the area around Eyam which means we can take in some local history too. There are walks close to there near Baslow or Padley Gorge.

There are some really nice pubs with beer gardens and play areas so the children can play and DH and I can relax after we have done a few miles. If the weather is nice its bliss.

ours has got to be a day without chores where we're all at home, hoping for the first one in a very long time on bank holiday weekend just want to go to d nearby country park for a stroll with the baby and dp and the dog

The perfect day out.....

Great weather, everyone in a good mood (neither of these can be guaranteed, of course).

Getting up and getting out early (something I'm rubbish at...)

Somewhere specific to do, maybe a town to explore, a NT property, a beach, a museum.....A decent place to stop for lunch, a bit of shopping (we all love that).

Something the DCs will love - they are suckers for a theme park, and if they're happy, it's a great day out, let's face it. Gone are the days when it's about what DH and I might like to do.

A great day out needs to make all family members happy for it to work for us. Beach with sandcastles and crabbing then fish and chips and icecream used to be good.
Now DD is older she is less keen on beach but likes seaside especially near us where there are some nice shops.
Trips to London are popular-short bit of culture at a museum especially if there is special exhibition, sightseeing, meal with voucher and of course shops!

Sunshine!
And a large enough open space, preferably grasses, to run around and let off steam

Pac

Pack a lot of food. We have constant stomach requests and it is so much nicer not to have to worry about spending too much on snacks. We find days out work best of they are planned and can be less stressful for me ifthe kids have some kind of focused activity they are engaged in - museum trails (ok, I confess I love these), scavenger hunts. Still, truth be told our best days out are still either hunting for good skimming stones and shelf at the beach or drinking in trees in the woods. No fighting where there are no toys.

That's shells at the beach and drumming on trees. So much for PREDICTIVE text!

Don't feel obliged to have a whole day out- often it's more fun to do shorter trip than trying to wring every last bit of fun out of a day
Somewhere outdoors for kids to run about
Not having to pay more than once, so no car park fee, entry fee, attractions fee etc

Dry weather, fresh air, adventure playground and picnic- any combination will do!

For us, a great day out means space for the children to run wild and free, good food and ready access to loos/changing facilities!
Often it is the simplest (and sometimes unexpected) parts of the day that are the most fun and memorable. Dds love finding sticks and pebbles and making "camp fires" and fairy houses. Food eaten ouside always goes down well.

We had a perfect day out at the beach in North Devon over Easter.

What made it perfect was lovely weather (can't predict this), the kids getting on well (can't predict this either), picnic lunch (bit boring but cheap) and a fabulous cream tea in a cute little guest house!

Very important not to feel ripped off as can ruin your day in my experience. Going back to basics - running around and just being together as a family in a beautiful place beats a theme park any time.

We like annual tickets if they're for a place that is worth returning to. Obviously not if they make the initial visit outrageously expensive and we are unlikely ever to return. One of the best 'annual ticket' places we have ever visited was Ironbridge. Yes, it's too far for a day trip, but there's a fabulous youth hostel there, which makes it affordable for a weekend trip. Plus we were able to make iit an overnight stop on the way to other places. So we visited it about 5 times in that year. Definitely excellent, and very varied so something for everyone in the family.

We try to make the most of our days out as a family, as it doesn't happen very often and the day goes pass so fast. Our favourite ones are days in the parks being active with them and the indoor play areas where the boys can release lots of energy and i can join in as well.

The best thing is all of us out together. It doesn't happen very often.

After that - either a day in town with a good film and lunch - last time it was the Lego Movie and lunch at Wagamamas and then Paperchase for a spot of stationery shopping (DH not quite so keen on this bit, me and the dds could spend hours).

Any day spent in the Lake District, or a beach/castle combo (Northumberland) with a good picnic or pub lunch. One of our favourite places is The Alnwick Gardens, with nearby castle and best secondhand bookshop in the world, Barter Books in Alnwick.

Regular stops for coffee and cake - important to pace yourselves!

Like a poster further upthread, we are planning a trip to the Natural History Museum (and the Science Museum) later in the year.

Clean loos, reasonable queues, value for money, picnic areas, good fun.

We don't mind travelling for a day out and would travel for something brilliant.

But most of all I look for a bargain, so I'm loving the idea of this website and I love a good review, so would be happy to see see reviews added to the site!

I like to be able to plan a day out before we go so a good website is essential to be able to find out all the information I need.

Once there easy parking, clean loos and lots of them are essential.

Also lockers to store a picnic or easy access back to the car to collect food.

One thing that I find a lot of places lack is shade. On a warm day I want somewhere for us to be able to sit to get out of the sun for a while (or shelter from the rain!)

I like somewhere that the children can go off and be a bit independent but I can sit nearby and keep an eye on them with a nice coffee.

Probably the most important factor is price. I rarely go anywhere without a discount voucher. In fact it is one of the major deciders in where we go for a day out.

The perfect day out for my family would be:

Few time demands, the day ours to be explored and enjoyed in our own time.

Open space for the kids, whether this is the woods, Kew Gardens or anywhere where I feel they are safe and free to play, run about and get some fresh air.

A good cup of coffee somewhere. Hot, strong and accompanied by something uncomplicated and child friendly to eat that's reasonably priced.

Clean loos.

A great day out has great access to and from the location - waiting two hours to get out of the car park is a no-no. Familiy friendly location with good toilets and multiple food outlets that have gluten free options.

The day out could be anything as long as it's interesting, has something for everyone and doesn't have long waits to view exhits/go on rides

Sometimes the best days out are the spontaneous ones where you just decide to go out and have a lovely time no matter the weather. We had a great day out in the pouring rain in east sussex having decided to go that morning. Being members if the national trust has also helped us as there is a wealth of places to go and be outside but with reliable baby change facilities!

I put lots of planning and organisation into days out. Starting with making sure the car is full of fuel, stocked with drinks/snacks/changes of clothes/first aid kit/etc, planning a route that has potential stopping points on route if required, etc.

I choose the date and time carefully. Avoid any big attractions at weekends or especially bank holidays like the plague. It's no fun if there are so many people you can't move or see/do anything, are worried about small children being crushed/swept away and/or have to queue for hours just to get through the door! Also tend to try and avoid prime times for large school groups to be going through.

The places we choose to go to, there need to be ample and clean toileting facilities. Nothing is quite so annoying as queuing for ages with a small hopping child for a toilet with a broken lock that doesn't flush which has run out of toilet paper and has a dubiously sticky floor.

Given that we're imminently expecting another baby, this will include good baby change facilities. Preferably in a gender neutral area or with facilities provided in both the male and female toilets - so I can take DD to the ladies while DH handles the baby!

Ample provision of seating and space around it, preferably covered, is very useful for a young family. Means if you do need to stop to feed a young child or get out the wet wipes and sort out the mucky hands of an inquisitive toddler then you can do so without having to block the path or juggle bags.

For very large areas, or where there is a significant walk from the car park or public transport drop off point, having some type of transportation system to get between areas is appreciated. Even better if it's themed or unusual in some way as then it's extra entertainment for the toddler!

Wherever we go needs to have a range of activities to cover all ages. No point it being a family day out where a certain age group is bored out of their minds because there is zero to interest or engage them.

Cost is important, but to be honest I don't mind paying a bit more to go somewhere with good facilities that isn't too manically busy. Given my requirements and the organisation required, and the fact that we never seem to have time for much, family days out are pretty few and far between so we have ample opportunity to save up for them!

Good weather, time outside, and lunch options which are acceptable by DS1 (fussy eater) but also interesting for the rest of us, without being sillily expensive. Easy to get to, whether by car or by public transport, gets the day off to a good start too.

A great day out for me would need to be cheap and plenty for the children to do to keep them happy.

We had a fantastic day out recently - unfortunately it took us 2 hours to get there. An hour at the most would be better.
A beautiful sunny day always helps things too.

My request is very simple - seats! Too many places have great children's play areas but there are seldom enough seats for adults to sit while waiting for them.