My wife and I brought our two sons to Wicken Fen as a Saturday morning outing. It is absolutely…read morefantastic, and totally lives up to the "Space to breathe, Space to think, Space to explore" tagline. It is pretty unique as a nature reserve as you can see from their website. However what most impressed me was how accessible the whole thing was. This matters a lot when visiting with little kids, and the fact that there is a short (0.75 mile) boardwalk trail meant that my 3 year old and 1 year old had a great morning of exercise in a truly striking setting. The visitor centre and the cafe are really nice, with the helpful staff that I have found at pretty much every National Trust venue I have visited since coming to the UK. There are specific activities for kids (see the website for events), but even without these it is really a wonderful outing. Do be careful of the weather though, try to go on a dry day if possible.

I love Santa Pod and my main interest is the Volkswagen car events such as Bug Jam which is held…read morethere in July and is one of the biggest Volkswagen festivals in Europe. They have loads of specialist weekend and one day car events on all throughout the year as well as Run what ya brung car racing where you can race your car down the quarter mile track as well as loads of racing events. There are loads of seats to watch the racing as well as a huge grass bank and an area behind the start line - but don't stand there when the jet cars go up the track!! There are usually lots of stalls to buy things from as well as plenty of burger vans, pizza stands, jacket potato vans and other food products to tuck into. The campsite is huge and split over two fields. For the really popular events like Bug Jam it is advisable to get there as early as you can on day one as the fields get packed out with tents, camper vans and cars. The atmosphere is great and the facilities such as toilets and shower blocks have dramatically improved over the past few years. The portaloos are still not something I would venture into though. I would rather queue for the toilet blocks! You do have to pay £1 for a shower which I guess is OK considering the amount of people that these events attract. The water consumtion must be huge, although the prices of the weekend events is now really high and I know it has put a lot of people off going as it is just too expensive, especially if it rains as you can't do a lot apart from sit in your tent listening to the rain.

Fantastic raceway in Northampton, can see drag racing, classic car events and events throughout the…read moreyear, also has a great website, well layed out and a great family fun day out The online tickets work out cheaper than buying on the day so its worth taking a look. They also offer different vip and corporate packages to make the day extra special

Spring had sprung full of bluebells, snow drops, jonquils and a host of golden…read moredaffodils....thousands of them at Wimpole Hall gardens! A treat too good to miss, so on with the wellies and out into the cold to view carpets of yellow bobbing heads in the wind, so many different varieties - double headed, frilled and ruffled, diverse colours, small and tall - a visual feast. Once we were seeing yellow even when we blinked we moved onto the walled garden area to nab tips on how to overwinter a garden and tend to spring plants. Next was my favourite bit the working farm full of farm animals. The piggies were oinking with delight in the sunshine, tiny piglets tucked into their mum's milky tums, teen piggies squealing and tussling in the hay, absolute porkers stretched out getting some vitamin D. Working shire horses next, all enjoying a Sunday rest in their stables, majestically tall and proud. Goats watched us from their pen as we strolled over to the rabbit area where you can stroke a soft fluffy bunny :) The National Trust are doing an amazing job at Wimpole creating such a stunning environment and still a working farm. Next visit I hope to go inside Wimpole Hall to take a peek at the treasures. Interestingly the cashier at the entrance explained you can join a US based Royal Oak Foundation to gain access to National Trust properties too: https://www.royal-oak.org/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=16989092567&gbraid=0AAAAAojR5xkph6HhxgWwr0TrOTJFbLimN&gclid=CjwKCAjw-J3OBhBuEiwAwqZ_h8aFOrcjYZKrJ52bVVUoAmKQgEiZaZPiklQqW3F1jwx77CamTcpgaxoCIoMQAvD_BwE

Wimpole Hall Estate, now in the care of the National Trust, includes a grand stately home, a…read moreworking farm, lovely gardens and grounds (excellent for long walks), a cafe, shop and bookstall, and also includes an historic parish church. The history of the site dates back 2,000 years, though the Chicheley family who owned the estate from 1428 to 1686 began the core of the house we see today. The estate then passed through the hands of a dizzying array of nobility (the Earls of Radnor, the Duke of Newcastle, the Earl of Oxford and then the Earls of Hardwicke). Philip Yorke (1690-1764), 1st Earl of Hardwicke rebuilt the north and south fronts, but is also notorious for a judgement made while he was Attorney-General, which maintained that slaves brought to the UK remained enslaved while on British soil. The house passed to Viscount Clifden in 1894, before being bought by Captain George and Mrs Elsie Bambridge in 1942. The daughter of Rudyard Kipling, Elsie used her wealth to refurbish and furnish the hall, and is largely responsible for the condition in which we find it today. The hours for viewing the house are slightly more restricted than the rest of the grounds, but it is still well worth a visit. The former stables include a shop and bookshop, and nearby in the Old Rectory (behind the church) is a very nice café, serving usual range of light meals, cakes and teas that the National Trust is well known for. My favourite part of the site is the extensive walled garden, which from spring to autumn is a riot of colour, mostly herbaceous perennials. The church is also well worth a visit; this functions as the parish church, and was largely rebuilt in the late 18th century. However, it retains a 14th century mediaeval chapel (the Chicheley Chapel) which contains an impressive array of monuments of the nobility who have owned the Hall down the years. The estate now (2025) has a large series of car parks and a new, purpose-built visitor centre with toilets, about 250m from the house. Those with accessibility needs are advised to look at the National Trust website, which has details about access.

A friend recommended West Lodge Rural Centre to us and we had a fantastic day out, and will…read moredefinately return. There is a good variety of walks through some great countryside and trails, we only did one of the short ones. West Lodge put on a variety of activities throughout the day including cow-milking, pony grooming, pet the rabbits and ferret racing! You can also take a barrel ride on the back of a tractor every hour, if you can squeeze into the barrels. There are tractor rides round the whole farm which is something well worth doing, though it is about £1 each extra I think. We went on a coldish day that was slightly overcast and there was plenty to do indoors, including a nice not too expensive cafe, an indoor play area for littler children, a painting activity, animal petting etc etc. They also have ride on tractors which they told us would be going under a barn roof so they are suitable year round. The childrens play area was very good with lots of sand and buckets and spades, and some good equipment. If eating in the cafe is not your bag, then we were impressed with the choice of places to picnic, and of course vast open fields too! One of the picnicking areas is next to a small copse with denmaking stuff in, which our children enjoyed. The farm was not massive, it was a really nice friendly size, and not too packed either. We had a lovely, relaxed visit and all enjoyed it loads. A shame you have to exit through the gift shop, but it was reasonably priced stuff and everywhere seems to do this now. We paid £16 for a family ticket, though an annual pass is only £80 and we will seriously consider this in the future.

Great place with lots of activities for the kids. All of the staff were very friendly and helpful…read morefrom the minute you walk in. They have an outside playground and tractor park as well as a barrel train. Then you can go and feed an assortment of animals. And then there is a little cafe with an inside playground which is great. They serve food as well as an assortment of cakes and biscuits. Then we had lunch on their restaurant which was great with a varied menu. And afterwards ice cream at their ice cream space. Also when you enter and exit there is a toy shop which your kids will love which also sells useful items like wellies if you come on a day that rains. A great spot: we will definitely return!

A lovely little museum with lots of interesting, nostalgic exhibits from the edge of the Fens…read more There's a huge restored windmill and a new hangar for the vintage vehicles which include a beautiful old Burwell and District Daimler bus. It's worth checking the 2009 calendar for event days, we went to the 'Dads Army' day and my kids absolutely loved it! There were so many enthusiastic volunteers putting on displays and my lots' favourite was the Drill Sergeant putting the kids through the parade marches with broom handles. There were lots of vinatge military vehicles there too.

The first point is that the museum is free so value for money can only be considered excellent! It…read moreis a small and unusual museum with some nicely designed displays and a few locomotives, all from the industrial narrow gauge railways of the region. The opening hours are limited. Very traditional exhibits but well worth a visit.

The new steaming season has now commenced and we anticipate having an engine in steam on the last…read moreSunday of the month and on Bank Holidays. However, if you are travelling any distance please check to ensure that you will not be disappointed. Situated in Irchester Country Park, Northamptonshire, the Irchester Narrow Gauge Railway Museum is home to a collection of working steam and diesel locomotives

I have mixed feelings about the Cambridge Corn Exchange. I've only been to one show here, so I…read moredon't have a great deal of experience, but here are my impressions of the venue so far, in bullet format for some unknown reason: Positives: -- Great location, not that they have control over it, but right in the center of Cambridge, and well positioned for a full night out, if desired. -- It's nice and open, doesn't feel cramped but also retains a level of intimacy with the artist. Nicely done. -- I'm a big guy but found the seats in the balcony to be quite comfortable. Plenty of legroom and cushion, though perhaps night quite elevated enough from the row in front. Negatives: -- They ran out of some varieties of beer, and still water, before the show even started! That's terribly mismanaged -- The hugely bright lights that flash at the audience at impact points during a performer's music shine directly into the eyes of the people sitting in the balcony. They detract from the experience, rather than enhancing it. I don't need to be told when to be moved by the music, I can decide for myself. -- Avoid the back rows of the balcony -- I can't imagine you can see much from there. We were in the third row of the balcony (row CC), though, and thought the seats had quite a nice view, but the view of the upper part of the stage was slightly obstructed by the lighting rig. -- There's only one entrance door, so there was a queue around the corner to get in. So there it is. Overall a decent venue -- I enjoyed it more than the O2 -- but some mismanagement of both the concessions and the main performance knock it down a bit. Still, we will return because they pull in some great acts!

Thank you Suggs, we had a great time listening to your life story…read more BUT oh my, oh my, the seats in the Corn Exchange do not get any more comfortable and the sight line to the stage depends so much on the hairstyle of the person sitting directly in front of you. Time for an upgrade?

Let's be honest here, this is not the world's largest museum - not by a long way. And set just off…read morethe A10 in the middle of some fenland opposite a tip, the location is not great, either. But, on a sunny day with two kids in tow and a picnic, a visit here was a pleasant way to spend a morning. The young visitors were not overly bothered about the abbey itself - what got them excited was the play area (basically an old tractor and a wooden horse beside some picnic tables) and, bizarrely, the 1940s house (This is so much nicer than our house !). You could come here as an adult on your own, wander round for half an hour and think Is that it ?, but there are enough things here to keep little minds (say, from age five to 10) interested and excited for quite a while; old farm machinery, recreated Village Store, blacksmith's and cooperage with audio commentary, allotment.

The English Heritage Day during the summer was great! My kids loved the 1940's house, bizarrely…read morethey were most interested in the laundry room. My favourite was the Bowyer from Kentwell Hall who showed us how to make an arrow, using all the traditional methods, I found this fascinating. They also have a skip full of compost from the nearby recycling centre, it's free but you need to take your own bags.