Readers’ tips: UK family attractions

Looking for a family day out over Easter? Been there readers have plenty of suggestions, from ice-cream factories and egg hunts to the Strangest Place in the World WINNING TIP: The Forbidden Corner, North Yorkshire The self-styled Strangest Place in the World is a labyrinth of tunnels, chambers, follies and surprises created in a four-acre garden. I recommend it because it is so unlike anything else and it keeps everyone wondering what’s around the next corner. It’s for all ages, and very memorable. • Adults £10, children £8, family ticket £34, booking essential. Tupgill Park Estate, Coverham 01969 640638, theforbiddencorner.co.uk Lara999 Blue Planet Aquarium, near Chester Chester ( visitchester.com ) is a great place for families to spend a day, or even a few days. The Blue Planet Aquarium is about 10 minutes’ drive from the city centre. One of the largest aquariums in the UK, it has two amazing underwater tunnel experiences. This is a great idea for wet days. The aquarium is close to the Cheshire Oaks retail park ( cheshireoaksshopping.co.uk ), good for some credit-crunch retail therapy, with designer brands at discount prices, lots of restaurants and a huge cinema. • Adults £15, children £11, family £50.50. Longlooms Road, Ellesmere Port, 0151-357 8804, • blueplanetaquarium.com matthudson1 Easter Egg Trail, Ham House, near Richmond, Surrey This is a great family day out over Easter weekend. There are Easter egg trails at NT properties all over the country, but Ham House makes for some really stunning photographs. The entertainment works for the whole family, with activities, gardens to explore and lots of great play areas. Kids can enjoy face-painting, too. • Entrance to property, adults £9.90, children £5.50. Egg trails (24, 25 April 11am-4pm) £3. Ham Street, Ham, Richmond-upon-Thames, 020-8940 1950, eastereggtrails.com/Ham-House-and-Garden.aspx Songbird21 Muddy Boots, Glenrothes, Fife Muddy Boots started as a farm shop, selling veg, fruit, jam and honey, among others. There is a large cafe with a kids’ menu, children’s entertainment in the form of a tractor track, quad train, a large jumping pillow, gyro cars, grass sledging, turf boarding and indoor and outdoor play areas. It’s fantastic fun for all the family: leave grandparents in the cafe while the kids go and explore. The food is great and there are activities galore to speed the day. There is also a pottery area where kids can paint their own designs, from plates to money boxes. • Under-fives £2, outdoor play area (over-sevens) £5. Balmalcolm Farm, Balmalcolm, Fife, 01337 831222 Lizzy1921 Cream O’Galloway ice-cream factory, Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway This place is excellent fun for all ages, all year round (they’ll open up for groups out of season if you book ahead), whatever the weather and for only a few quid. Cold and wet outdoors? Head for the indoor play area, built to take adults so they can squeeze through the tunnels and down slides with their children, which is so much more fun than standing on the sidelines. If the weather’s half-decent, go for the outdoor adventure playground, an amazing structure between the trees and the ice-cream factory with something for everyone: a tower with amazing views over the surrounding countryside, bridges, chutes and a maze. And if that’s not enough, there’s also the possibility of creating your own ice-cream, although adults may have to curb their enthusiasm for alcohol-based desserts if the kids are to get a look in. They didn’t when we were there! • Adults £2, children £4, extra charges for individual activities, such as Ice-Cream Experience (adults £5.50, children £3.50). Rainton, Gatehouse of Fleet, Dumfries & Galloway, 01557 814040, • creamogalloway.co.uk BarbEdinburgh The Welsh Mountain Zoo, Colwyn Bay, Clwyd This is a good all-round family experience. They have lots of animals from around the world and tons of experiences to engage in. Amazon parrots are new this year – some of them talk – and agoutis, large rodents from South America. • Adults £9.95, children £7.50, family ticket £31.40. 01492 532938, welshmountainzoo.org amandtony United Kingdom Family holidays Guardian readers guardian.co.uk

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