Yorkshire to Cornwall - stopover, day out, something else on the way?

[issynoho]

We can't get quite as long as we wanted on our Cornish campsite so thought maybe we could do something nice/different on the way home. I don't know, stay somewhere unusual? Day out at not too grim visitor attraction plus night in cheap hotel? Explore somewhere? Have been staring at map and not getting far.

Budget - as little as poss, but maybe £100?
We are a family of 5 ; 8yo, 7yo and 4yo so hotel family rooms get tricky. Def CBA pitching massive tent again for just 1 night on way home

Cheddar Gorge is a nice place to spend a day.

www.cheddargorge.co.uk/

Thanks, that's def an option. Don't suppose you know anywhere nice to stay locally?

I know there's a youth hostel very close by but I've never stayed it's day out distance for us.

We've had three holidays in Cornwall over the past few years - to break the journey between the west of Cornwall and Sheffield we've always stopped around Bristol, usually overnight in the Premier Inn at Cribbs Causeway (we have three children, until now we've all fitted in one room but DD2 is now 3 so I don't know how much longer we'll get away with it - she is tiny though, and still has a cot at home).

Anyway, usually it's just a place to sleep and we carry straight on the next day, so that's not much use to you, but one time we did stop for the day in Bristol and went to a science museum (I think it's @Bristol).

Other than that we usually look at the National Trust website and find a place close-ish to the motorway that we can stop at. There is one about 1/2 an hour along the M4 from where it crosses the M5.

I live in West Cornwall and my Mum is near York so I regularly do the drive up and down.

Michael Wood Sevices is almost exactly halfway for us so I would be looking around the North Somerset/Bristol up to Gloucester/Cheltenham area to break the journey sensibly.

That said, last February we went to Dudley for the weekend and did the zoo one day and the Black Country museum the other. Stayed in a hotel 10 minutes walk from both. Dudley is obviously further up and possibly on the wrong side of Birmingham depending on whether you are M6 or M1 up to Yorkshire.

Thanks, will investigate ideas later. Damn DD2 being so tall for 4yo. We got away with it last summer at a Premier Inn but no way this year. Youth hostels seem to have rooms for 5 though.

There are 6 of us, we've used youth hostels on the recommendation of other 'large' families in the past and been very pleasantly surprised!

Lovely YHA in the centre of Bristol (on the waterfront), really near to @Bristol, the Aquarium, boat trips etc. There is a multistory car park nearby which is really cheap for 24 hour stay, it's right behind Colston Hall.

You could try and spot some sheep if the dates work out

Aw, thanks for these great suggestions. Love the sheep

Warwick Castle is a good place for a day out. We stopped near here for a night when travelling Lancashire - Cornwall :-)

@Bristol is great - we took DS and his mates there for one of his birthdays. And Bristol is a good stopping point given your journey.

We had a lunch stop on Clevedon last year, it's a seaside town in North Somerset, just off the motorway. It's got a huge park with mini railway, saltwater lagoon, beach etc. It's touristy but not at all tacky.

Drayton Manor is I think the best theme park for that age. Right size, has Thomasland & just a pleasant family feel to it. Not enough big rides to get coaches of teenagers. You can do it for free if you have Tesco vouchers. There is a Premier Inn just down the road at Tamworth.