By far the best soft play area in the town. It is very cheap and is huge. The soft play equipment…read moreused to be Puddle Lane on Botchergate but they relocated it to Denton Holme with a new name, so it has been around for years and is very well loved by myself and my daughter. You can have a children's patrty here which is great value for money and the kids just love it. There is a seating area for the parent's to sit and have a natter and a cuppa and they also sell decent snacks for the children. If your child is younger you have to go in the soft play aswell to look after them which is fab although you are not allowed to bounce on the bouncy castle but you can go down the slides and things. All in all a great place on a wet day or as a special treat.

One of the oldest, but for my money, one of the best soft play areas in Carlisle. The staff are…read morefriendly, and there's a spacious area for parents. The food and drinks are reasonably priced. it has the usual slides, and swings, but has a massive bouncy castle. They do children's parties. Only minor drawback is that if you are driving, it's disc parking roundabout so you could be limited by that.

Whatever the time of year, there's nothing like a walk in the woods. This small wood is beautifully…read morecared for, not far from the main roads, but far away enough to have real peace and quiet. Be quiet enough and you might see a deer or fox.

Went here with friends and their 4 kids aged 5 to 8 and it was great fun! At £8 to get in for kids…read moreand adults a like I wasn't sure when we arrived if it would be worth the cost but there was so much to do. Inside there is a big soft play with some really big slides that they even let the adults go down...if you're brave enough!! There is also a large cafe / restaurant serving everything from hot food to picnic sandwich boxes for the kids that include a few healthy choices. Outside there is lots and lots to do! Loads of activities centre around the animals from sheep racing, rabbit meet and greet, pony grooming, pig feeding, ferret shows etc. there's plenty of animals to interact with. There is also a large outdoor play park with obstacles and a zip line swing, a sand pit area with diggers etc, trampolines, water balloon 'fight area', crazy golf, self powered go karts etc., all included in the price. The only ride we spotted that you had to pay extra for was a barrel ride, which at £1 each was okay and the kids loved it! All in all a great day out and the cakes and coffee from the cafe get the thumbs up from the adults :)

A good day out for all. Ample parking. Pricey, but it's worth getting a season ticket. A good mix…read moreof indoor and outdoor attractions. The cafe offers good food at reasonable prices. The barn with slides is good for all ages, including older children. There are plenty of animals to see, go-karts, ride on tractors, and a good outdoor play area including a zip wire.

Sometimes you take things for granted until they are about to disappear…read more In Dumfries, there was lots of debate about how much money it was going to cost to put the Midsteeple back to its former glory. Now all the renovation work is complete ,you kinda realise how important this building is to the town of Dumfries, and that it is one of those things in life that should be kept as a glorious reminder of the past , a pleasure for the present and ultimately the future. Update. Its all complete now and they even got Qeen Elizabeth to offically re-open. Ive never seen the town centre looking so clean, and with so many lovely plants (ha ha).

This is a lovely building in the high street in Dumfries and I stumbled upon it while waiting for…read morethe other museums to open after lunch hour. The current exhibition called This is who we are is a collection of photos of Scots that have settled in Canada.The photos were of individuals and a description of how life is for them in Canada. Some were second and third generation imigrants and children of imigrants. A number of Canada towns named after Scotish town were concentrated upon.

Always worth a visit, especially with children on a rainy day! If you live in Carlisle, get a…read moreTullie Card, and you get in for free. There are regularly changing exhibitions in the Art Gallery, and interesting history and art displays in Old Tullie House and in the new wing. They are really good at putting on activities for children at half term and in the school holidays, and these are usually free. It's a gem - and the cafe's good too! Tullie House is also the only place you will be able to see arthouse films in Carlisle now.

I think this museum is overlooked by many local people but well worth a visit. Changing exhibitions…read moreand a hub of activity. I encourage the local people to pay it a visit, it's free if you're local, what is stopping you?

The horses here are very well cared for. You are given a talk on each of the horses followed by a…read morecarriage ride (either indoors or out depending upon the weather). There is a play area and large tractor type toys for children upto the age of ten years. Also a range of smaller animals. If you are lucky you may see the horses having new shoes fitted. Great panoramic views. The food is good and reasonably priced. All of the staff are very friendly and welcoming.

If your vehicle keeps telling you it's actually a bicycle, then it's a Carliar. And should probably…read moresupport this team. It was founded by Belinda Carlisle in 1987 when she realized that heaven was a place on earth, and that place was this team. She drew a circle in the sand, which ended up being the centre circle. And she left a light on, which is why the stadium has such big electricity bill debts. First-Hand Experience: Fantastic team, and amazing support with a wonderful intense enclosed stadium. I come here when I want to see what English football really used to be like, old school. I saw them play live at home when I was a kid, and beat Oxford, my team. Then I saw them in 2011 and 2014 and remembered how much I love this stadium and this team, even more now. The northernmost team in the English league and just a phenomenal place to come and watch footy. Carlisle United is one of the grand old teams of the league, they have the biggest stadium and following (maybe) in League Two, and they're way up next to Scotland where it's freezing. Much love for Carlisle and their resident Cumberland Sausages (yum). Shankly once said their rise to the top division in the 60s was the greatest feat in football history, and everyone knows Shanks knows everything. They were even top of the league for a few days after they started with 3 wins. So for all this history, the team really has to get a good rating, and so they do. Also their manager is Keith Curle formerly of Man City and of Wimbledon before they moved. Carlisle is the smallest city to have reached the top division since 1906. Olga The Fox is the mascot and that pushes them over the edge to a 5 star team.

And so, on the windiest, rainiest, coldest day of the year, of course myself and my son ended up…read moregoing to Carlisle to watch football. English League 2 action, featuring Carlisle United vs. the team we were there to see - Crawley Town. My son has a bizarre obsession with Crawley Town, and so we try to get to a game every season. Carlisle is the closest and easiest place to get to on, so here we are. And weather aside, it's a nice ground. It has an old school feel, with some open terraces at one end, and covered standing at the other. We were sat in the away section of the modern Pioneer Food stand, what appears to be a fairly modern part of the ground. And it's pretty nice. The food kiosk under the seats was fine, decent football fare of pies and burgers... and... alcohol! Yes, in England, fans are treated like mature adults and allowed to have a beer before the game, and even at half time. YOU HEAR THIS, SCOTTISH AUTHORITIES??? The pricing was fantastic too, only a tenner for my adult ticket, and a fiver for Shawn's ticket. All of the staff we came across were professional, friendly and even happy to be there helping their local club. Local is a feeling that came across strongly with this club and the ground, it felt like it was very active in the community and the community supported them right back. A fine way to be. If you get a chance, pop in for a game. Hopefully, you win. Not like Saturday. Stupid linesman was against us the whole game...

I haven't been out for a family meal for a while, and we recently heard through a family friend…read morethat the Rugby Club offered a Sunday carvery every Sunday. It was my sister's birthday so five of us, including the two kids decided to go up last Sunday and see what the food was like. I must say, having not been out for dinner in a while (especially with two kids), that I wasn't expecting it to be anything too special. We were all quite surprised at the restaurant, a large conservatory which has obviously had recently been built and decorated beautifully. Although the carvery wasn't on when we went, we all sat down to a very generous set sunday lunch. They also had a kids sunday dinner, which was just the right size for them and £3.50! Generally costs more than that at the fast food places after we've been shopping in town. We are planning to go back in a couple of weeks, since finding out about the Christmas menu and hopefully taking the parents along too. It was a lovely afternoon and didn't break the bank, I'd definitely recommend it.