Things to do/places to see around Bath/Bristol

[SleepWouldBeADream]

6 kids ranging from 3-15.
what’s the best beach?
any fun days out?
shopping in bath?
3 family’s so can take the younger ones different places to the older ones if necessary.
thanks in advance!

M Shed
SS Great Britain
Bristol Zoo
The Wave www.thewave.com
Puzzlewood
Longleat Safari Park
Wookey Hole
Roman Baths
Weston Super Mare

Stonehenge
Avebury (much more room to run around and near Stonehenge)
Glastonbury, climb the Tor, explore the shops, the abbey gardens are lovely

Bath and Bristol are both good for shopping.
There's a new place in Bristol opened called Wake The Tiger which is meant to be good.
Roman Baths are interesting and there's the sightseeing buses.

Nearest beach is Weston-super-Mare, but the tide goes out for miles and leaves hazardous mud flats. (Severn Beach , despite its location and name is not a beach), but its about an hours drive away.
Parking is a nightmare in both cities with residents only parking zones (RPZ) in some areas. Bristol also has a Clean Air Zone which means £9 to enter the central area if you have a pre 2015 diesel car.

Suggest you get the park and ride.
Bristol Harbour has a ferry that offers a hop on hop off ticket. It runs from the back of Temple Meads Station to the Cumberland Basin.

Bathonian here with DD(16), who has just done GCSEs

She and a friend have just jumped on a train to go bouldering at Flashpoint Bristol (in a warehouse near the train station). It seems to be age 3+.

Tomorrow she plans to go paddle boarding on the Avon (lots of companies). For something a bit drier you can hire a punt or a Victorian skiff at Bath Boating station.

On a rainy/lazy day she likes to meet friends in the Thirsty Meeples game cafe on Gay St. It is just down the road from Mary Shelley's House of Frankenstein (which has an escape room) and the Jane Austen Centre. The Roman Baths is great for kids, but not cheap.

Others have mentioned Bristol Zoo Gardens, which closed a while ago. There is a zoo on the outskirts of the city (currently called the Wild Project). bristolzoo.org.uk

If you have any Harry Potter fans, the NT village of Lacock is about a 30 minute drive away.

Umm, good beaches are not really around here, Weston is ok, sandy but filthy, don't go near the pier, check the tides, they are huge here. Better bet for swimming is to come to the Portishead outdoor pool (book in advance, family rates available, proper swimming pool) or clevedon marine lake (sea water, free, nice grassy area nearby, they check water quality and close if needed).

We the curious is a good wet weather option in Bristol. The wave is meant to be good. Ice rink and bowling and cribbs causeway plus mall (and more) if wet.

My kid's (young adults) favourite place to eat in Bristol is za za bazaar also recommend Beirut mezze.

Bath is nice but twice as busy, prebook anything you can. Recommend take away pizza from real Italian pizza and sitting in the gardens, we discovered it during lock down!

Oh and bring swim shoes if going to clevedon, it's stoney! Brave types do swim in the Bristol Channel but the tides are the 2nd biggest range in the world! Safety first, don't let kids swim in the sea (you can take paddle boards etc in the marine lake)

Several people have mentioned Bristol Zoo, but you should note that this has now closed. The project is moving gradually to The Wild Place, but the city centre zoo is no more. Just to save you a wasted journey/planning!

Wapping Wharf is worth a visit, on the harbourside next to the M Shed museum, lots of street food etc., teens might like it.

If you are National Trust members, Tyntesfield House is really good (maybe less so for teens).

I love Wake the Tiger - very Bristol and good for all ages.

The Wave is memorable if money is no object.

There are two outstanding book shops in Bath: Mr B's and Toppings.

Clevedon is charming, with some lovely shops on Hill Road.

There's a unicorn trail in Bristol ATM which can be a nice walk around the central areas for everyone but will keep the smaller ones entertained.

Wake the Tiger is good fun for all ages, though the younger ones may get bored more quickly. I could spend hours in there!

Flashpoint bouldering also has Freedog - trampolines and soft play so could work for everyone but would be expensive.

I recently did a day with my kids of getting the ferry from ss great Britain to the fountains, cathedral and back through millennium square and they loved it!

Bowood house has amazing play area. Great fir children and about a 45 min drive from Bath. Go via Castle Combe, Lacock, Bradford on Avon for the adults.

https://www.bowood.org/bowood-house-gardens/?utmsource=Google&utmmmedium=Local&utmcampaign=GMB

We had a lovely day out to Bristol last year with 6 and 12 year old to see Ss Great Britain and we the curious. I believe We the Curious is currently closed but the harbour area generally is nice so still worth going to SS great Britain and taking in the surrounding area too - you can get a boat across to it. Longleat or Wild Place great if you like animals. I'm told Clifton observatory good for families now too. My goddaughter was raving about the fancy hot chocolates!

Fossil hunting at Aust