Lydiard Park is a gorgeous old house surrounded by 18th-century parkland (around 260 acres)…read more Visitors are welcome to enjoy both the house and the surrounding land. Unlike other heritage sites it is open all year, and you are free to wander round at your leisure rather than being herded through. There is also a church, a walled garden, a children's play area, a cafe/visitor centre, and wonderfully climbable trees! I grew up in Swindon, and some of my fondest memories as a child are of spending the day at Lydiard Park. It's a great place for kids because it has an atmosphere of complete and utter freedom, the playground is amazing (as I remember), and there is so much to explore.

Beautiful surroundings, a great place for walk on the weekend. I have enjoyed many a walk with my…read moregirlfriend. Great place for the dogs to get a run around as well!

Kings Heath park is absolutely huge. It's great to have picnics at, go for walks, have colour…read morefights (as my friends and I did ) , walk the dogs and even entertain the kids. Everytime I go there are always various clubs going on which is great to have something to occupy time with! Additionally, it has very quiet areas, especially by the pond , and I usually take work and do it there. It's a great park!

I like Kings Heath park, it's got a lot going for it. First…read moreoff, it's a like a park of two halfs, oh and it's massive. It's like maybe two, three or even four parks in one. You've got the footpath that leads all the way around the park, which is popular with walkers, joggers and cyclists. This path will lead you from one of the three entrances right down to where the park edges alongside the trainline. How many miles this walkway is I don't know, but it's a good walk to take it all in. The path snakes in around the parks water feature which is really quite beautiful and is popular with ducks. There is also a tea room, tennis courts, a bowling green, basketball hoops, and two childrens playgrounds. This is a supreme park with large open grass spaces to boot. Kings Heath park is a great asset to the south of Birmingham and has a great deal to offer visitors.

Streamleaze road park is great for the little ones ,some swings ,a slide , rope climb etc all…read moreenclosed and gated

There are probably more lakes than some people realise - the main two are the busiest and have the…read moremost going on. There is a man made beach at one, which is very popular with families in the summer. Next to the beach is a little playground with slide, climbing etc. You can take the walks around the lakes and along the way (the lake with the beach) there is a sort of assault course type things for you to take part in. It has monkey bars, sit up station etc. Its good fun, especially for the children. They have a selection of watersports in the summer months, including pedalo's. You can hire a BBQ, which there are a fair few of dotted around the lakes. This is quite popular in summer and I think you can book one up. Dog friendly and they love swimming into the lakes! Cafe in summer, and shop open year round for ice creams, drinks etc. You do have to pay entry all year round now, which is a shame. If you are in the local area you can buy a year permit which we did and we definitely got full use out of.

Just a quick update, if you are thinking of launching your own boat on lake 32, its £15 for the…read moreday. Personally I think that is a bit pricey and decided to go to a river for free instead! But there you go, I guess for a full day out with a family not that bad.

Clearwell caves in the Forest of Dean is a must do visit over the christmas period…read more We took our nieces and nephews last year,they absolutely loved it and have asked to go again this year. Clearwell is an impressive large underground cave system,created by mining for iron ore. During christmas the caves are elaboratly decorated with fairy lights and decorations which are very good.The highlight of the caves is Father Christmas in his beautiful grotto where the children can recieve a gift. There is even a underground cafe and small christmas market. It is really worth visiting because the caves look magical with all the twinkling lights and even some floating light displays on the underfround lake. Take your family along and have a fab time.

I don't want to sound all 'bah-humbug', but I can only assume that the other reviewer (reviewee?)…read moreworks for the caves, is loaded, or easily pleased. To charge £7.50 per head for everyone aged 2 and above is daylight (perhaps that should be fairylight) robbery. I should have known when we reached the entrance to find a sign saying 'Adults - £7.50, Children - £7.50, Concessions - £7.50' - an interpretation of the word 'concession' that I have not come across before! In return for this gross over-charging, the children can choose from a cheap and nasty array of (unwrapped) toys, randomly tossed onto a table. In effect, I paid £30 for a plastic dinosaur and a 7cm 'Lightning McQueen' 'Hot Wheels' type car. To arrive at Santa's grotto, one walks past hundreds of named boxes, symbolising presents with every name imaginable (and unimaginable!), branches cut from Leylandii, and copious quantities of fairy lights. If your child wants to talk to Santa, be prepared for a wait of between 45 minutes and an hour, after which you can walk past scenes depicting the twelve days of Christmas...Hmmmmmmmm..This then leads you to the underground Christmas market and cafe, just in case you've got some hard-earned left in your pocket, and if they don't get it out of you there, well there's always the gift shop, which of course you have to go through in order to reach the exit. Admittedly, I have visited the caves before (out of the silly season) and the setting is therefore not as 'magical' as it might be for someone on their first experience, particularly children. My main objection is the blatant over-charging and poor value, considering that adults don't really get to see the caves in their true glory. But hey - it's Christmas - so I don't suppose I should expect anything less!! Oh - and prepare to get muddy, if I haven't put you off already!!

Just a few miles from the M4, this Park has 113 acres of woodlands and lakes to wander around, and…read morepaths beside the River Garw. There are also formal, ornamental gardens and a Japanese style Tea Garden Pavilion. Refreshments, available in season, can be found next to the car park. For a more formal meal, there's the Harlequin Restaurant at the house. A nice place to walk.

Was married at bryngarw house 24th oct 2009. Also held our…read morereception there and the weather appart,bryngarw proved tobe the perfect wedding venue. Would highly recomend everything associated with country house and there staff.

The Munday playing fields, which was donated to Thornbury by Mrs Violet Mundy in 1937. It features…read morea children's play area and sports ground as well as a large open air paddling pool, it is the best place to go for free in the summer. The grassy bank slopes down towards the paddling pool so you get a great view of what your children are up to from the comfort of your picnic rug. It has toilets and usually an ice cream van but it is just off the high street so you can easily pop to the shops.

Very good park for kids and adults ,great paddling pool my kids love it even if it is a 20min walkread more

Whitemead is a family-orientated holiday park, located at Parkend, in the heart of the Forest of…read moreDean. Run by the Civil Service Motoring Association (CSMA), anyone can visit, but CSMA members get a hefty discount. (If you're eligible for the CSMA, it's well worth joining, just for one visit). It's a been a favourite with my family for get-togethers for several years now. Accommodation is a mixture of apartments, chalets and log-cabins, all set in attractive, landscaped wooded grounds. There are also camping and camper-van pitches. On-site facilities include a swimming pool and gym for the more energetic, and a restaurant and bar to undo all the good work later! There's also a small shop for groceries, and reception has tourist information on places to visit. The chalets and cabins, in a variety of styles and tariffs, are well equipped, with spacious lounge/dining areas, although the bedrooms tend to be a bit small (but then, you don't come here to stay in your bedroom). There's lots of wildlife: rabbits and deer wander around, and the bird-life is plentiful and they are used to visiting the chalets for crumbs! The small village of Parkend has a shop, two pubs (both with real ale), and is the terminus of the Dean Forest Railway (excellent for kids). But the main attraction has to be the forest itself: covering 35 square miles, it is excellent for walking, hiking, and especially for cycling: together with the adjacent Wye Valley forest, there are over 60km of off-road trails. Some have been converted from former industrial railway lines, with gentle gradients, making them perfect for children. Bikes can be hired from Cannop Cycle Centre. There are also plenty of tourist attractions in the surrounding area, with Monmouth, Chepstow, Ross-on-Wye and Gloucester all within half-an-hour's drive. Two things to note: the forest roads are narrow and twisty, and get busy in summer, so it's best to avoid cycling or walking on them use the trails instead. The Forest also has very limited mobile phone reception (none at Whitemead itself). You really will get away from it all!

As dmj1962 has already explained, Whitemead Forest Park is run by the CSMA and contains excellent…read morefacilities (see dmj1962's explanation of these below). We were there in mid-November. The chalets are delightful, warm and comfortable. The facilities overall are excellent. We had a great time using the place as a base for a few days to explore the Forest of Dean. CSMA membership gets you a raft of additional member benefits so it is worth joining to get the discount.