A lovely, small, lake, which was originally built to provide a water supply for Paignton, lying on…read morethe edge of the Dartmoor National Park. There's a footpath around the edge which makes an attractive walk as the views over the moorland are very fine. There is a toilet in the nearby car park.

A magical gem of natural beauty. Due to the rich mineral deposits in the deep waters of the pool,…read moreit changes from vibrant blues to striking greens. Lovely walks on sandy soil around the pool ensures a calming and invigorating visit. The museum, flora and fauna and quaint cafe all add up to a wonderful visit.

The Apex Park is an informal leisure and wildlife park, created around the former clay pits - now…read moresmall lakes - of the Apex Brick works. The works closed in 1966, and the park was created and opened in 1972. The park, consisting of grassland, trees and hedgerows, covers some 42 acres. There are two main lakes: the larger, central one has an attractive hour-glass shape and its banks are lined with rushes. There are walks around this lake with park benches, and footpaths branch off to go to Highbridge (along the line of the old railway) and to Burnham's South Promenade, following the river bank of the River Brue (very muddy after wet weather!). There is a large car park off Marine Drive, which leads to a broad slipway into the lake. The other lake forms the park's north west boundary and lies partly within the Haven Holiday Village. Popular activities include BMX biking, model radio-controlled boating, jogging (there's a 'trim-trail' with various pieces of keep-fit apparatus) and fishing - the lakes are stocked with carp and bream. Dog obedience sessions also take place most Sunday mornings in good weather, and there's a children's play area and skate park. As well as the fish, wildlife includes birds, including geese, ducks, swans and various different types of sea bird, and the hedgerows contain a variety of different types of trees and bushes, home to insect and bird life. NB: The Highbridge Angling Association holds the fishing rights for the Apex Park. Permits can be obtained from Thyers Tackle Shop, 1A Church St, Highbridge - telephone 01278 786934.

Apex park is a beautiful wildlife reserve consisting of lakes, fish, sea birds, outdoor gym and…read morecarpark. There is loads to do with the features of the park including skating at the skate park, a rope climb and dog poo total wipeout. There is also adult entertainment with the odd dogger in the carpark on a summer Sunday evening. Overall apex park is a beautiful visit with activities fort all the family

If you want some fresh air, or even fish and chips overlooking a lake - then here is your spot…read more Here is some information regarding this lake - About the reserve Breeding birds include great crested and little grebe, gadwall, tufted duck, shoveler and pochard. Hobbies often feed over the area in late summer. When the water level falls, the mud attracts waders such as dunlin, ringed plover and green sandpipers. Summer sees large populations of dragonflies hunting over the water. These include ruddy darters and, later in the summer, migrant hawkers. Wintering wildfowl include important numbers of shoveler, gadwall, teal and tufted duck. Goosander, great crested grebe and cormorant also occur in large amounts. The reedbeds are a vital autumn feeding station for reed and sedge warblers prior to their migration. The winter gull roost is a spectacular sight with up to 50,000 or more, mostly of black-headed, common and Mediterranean gull. Chew Valley Lake often attracts rare birds, including osprey, the scarcer grebes, and an American wader or duck appears most years. There is a visitor centre and cafe run by Bristol Water at the picnic site near the dam. The Chew Valley Lake Birding website contains frequently updated news and information on its birds and wildlife, access, maps, and the definitive Chew bird list

Chew Valley Lake is a large reservoir that was created to provide water for Bristol, but is also a…read morepopular recreation area in the Chew Valley just outside the city. It's a great spot for picnics, easy walks, and bird-watching. My only niggle is that you can't actually get down to the lakeside (unless you have a fishing permit, perhaps) - you can only get teasingly close along a parallel pathway. Far busier during the summer (or at weekends and during school holidays), if you venture to the lake on most weekdays you'll find you've got the place virtually to yourself, bar a few retired dog walkers. The lake is a protected area and a 'Site of Special Scientific Interest' because it's home to so many different species and important habitats - including more than 280 species of birds at the last count. There are two well-kept lakeside nature trails. The Grebe Trail is the most accessible of the two, with a hard surface suitable for people with pushchairs or wheelchairs, starting and ending at the wooded picnic area. The Bittern Trail (1 mile circuit), on the other hand, can get a bit muddy in parts in wet weather, although some of it is a raised board walk - and there's a bird hide where you can sit and watch the wildlife over the lake. You can take your dog to some areas, too - although there are lots of ducks around so if it's got the chase instinct (like mine has!) you'll need to keep it on the lead. Back at the car parking areas you'll find a landscaped picnic area and a café with indoor and outdoor seating areas. The café isn't great but it isn't bad either - serving up the usual hot and cold drinks plus snacks, basic meals and cakes. Car parks (free over the winter from October until April - then £1.50 throughout the summer, I believe) close at dusk, so don't get caught out and locked in! Note also that dring the winter the Lake is only open until 4:30pm.

Blackland lakes is a beautiful place to go camping, it is an extremely quiet and peaceful site with…read moreviews to Cherhill Monument. It offers great facilities like an on site shop for all the food and drink items you left at home(!), 2 shower and toilet blocks, washing-up facilities and 2 fishing lakes. I would highly recommend anyone that wants to get away from home life, you wont regret it! Prices are very reasonable, which are all found on their website. I will definitely be returning!

Let me introduce you to one of my favourite places to exercise, stroll and stuff my face with…read moreprocessed meats (Summertime BBQ's) - Cosmeston Lakes. First opened in 1978, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park and Medieval Village is situated not far from Cardiff, Barry and Penarth. It is open all year round for visitors to explore it's 247 acres of land, lakes, woodlands and meadows. There's even a reconstructed 14th Century Village set within the park. Things to remember for your next visit: Parking: FREE! Lakeside Café: The Lakeside Café serves breakfast, lunch and obligatory ice creams! Open daily from 8.30am - 6.30pm. Take a seat on the patio area and enjoy the lakeside views. BBQ and Picnics: There are several BBQ units throughout the park that are available to hire from £17. There are also lots of conveniently placed picnic benches. Bird Hide: For the keen bird watchers, a bird hide can be found overlooking the western lake (visit website for map). Access to the bird hide is via steps leading from the main path. Open 24 hours. Free of charge. Horse Riding: Horse Riding is permitted, however if you want to ride along the main paths you will have to purchase a permit which costs £20 per year. Medieval Village: Open 7 days a week. Free of charge! Adventure Playground: A large children's playground can be found on the opposite side of the lake from the car park. It features a range of climbing equipment, swings, slides and a boat.

Cosmeston Lakes are the filled in remains of limestone quarries in the 19th century. When I go…read morethere, I imagine old metal towers and drills slowly mouldering away under the calm surface, with all its ducks and reeds. Cosmeston offers an easily accessible set of lakes, paths, wide grass areas and boardwalks. It is a lovely area to take in, and is suitable for cycling. There's also a large play area for small and large children alike. Also on site there's a visitor centre, cafe and the ever-popular Medieval Village. This is a great area to settle down for the day. As you do so, imagine what the mines once looked like and be in awe of the restoration project that went on there.

Victoria Park is a very large park on the outskirts of Bath City Centre. This 57 acre park includes…read morebotanical gardens, a duck pond and boating lake an aviary and a golf course and tennis courts. Its a good place for a picnic and you can walk through the park's gardens from the entrance in the centre of Bath to the large adventure playground and skateboard park on the other side of the park. I would recommend this park to anyone visiting Bath, especially if you have children.

Fantastic park, great location. Royal Victoria Park in Bath is where I spent many a summer day…read moreplaying in their huge adventure playground as a child. There are so many bits of equipment for children that even when busy there is always something to be messing around on. There is much more that the park offers for adults and children - a huge area to meander around green spaces, a skate park, a great view of the grand houses on the Royal Crescent, a botanical garden, green spaces on which to munch a picnic, tennis courts, crazy golf course (which children and the child inside every adult will love!)

This is one of the best country parks we've ever been to - it was fantastic and entertained people…read morefrom thirty-something to two years old. On arrival, we took our parking ticket for payment on exit, and tried to heave our jaws back up from the floor at the prices of parking. We went in October, not in half term, during the week and paid £5.50 for about 4 hours, maximum charge apparently £8. The visitors centre is in a very nice barn-type buidling, with a gallery space and attached to an extremely nice cafe. The staff in the visitors centre were very helpful and spent time telling us what things we could do with the children (in a nice way. There is a very well equipped park a few minutes walk from the visitors centre which has the added attractions of a lake view and a small ride on steam train that goes round, with stations, tunnels etc. It was closed which I was relatively pleased about as, with 4 children, I knew it would have cost me my remaining arm and leg. But they were thrilled just to see the little stations, bridges, tracks and tunnels. The park itself has a variety of climbing equipment, zipwires, sandpits etc etc. Next to that is a large lake and picnic area with lots of ducks, and cheeky seagulls. Beyond is apparently an 18 hole golf course. We decided after playing to go forest-side and there are acres and acres of forest with a picnic area at the beginning. The forest is extremely well tended and clean, there was no rubbish or dog muck which made a nice change. We walked around the forest (using the map from the visitors centre) for a good hour and a half without seeing a single other person. We went to the lookout, which has picnic areas around and has a great view, as you would expect. A large wooden structure where you could shelter from the rain if necessary, and picnic. Afterward we followed the path down to the treetops trail which was a bit hair raising but totally safe, obviously. Then on to the play trail, a mile or so round walk with some fantastic equipment on the way - nothing i'd ever seen anywhere else. A wooden replica ants nest the children could climb around, a spiders web to climb over, a wooden maze etc etc. There is also a Go Ape centre on site, for those more adventurous and we watched people zip wiring and climbing high up in the tree tops. Finished off with a trip to the very very nice cafe for hot chocolate and cakes - this is a fantastic day out and when I say it all out loud the initial moaning at the parking charges is pathetic really. £5.50 for a wonderful outdoor experience is not a lot, is it! Definately highly recommend.

Moors Valley is a free day out (excluding parking) and you can visit in most weathers and still…read morehave a great time. It's based near the New Forest and has acres of woodland around the main centre. The most expensive thig you will have to pay for here is the car park, but after that if you manage your visit you can have a free day out (apart from the obligatory ice cream of course.) There are a range of woodland walks that you can go on and the famous play trail with lots of activities for the children to stop and play on as you get some exercise. You must note the only toilets are at the train station and the visitor centre so visit before heading off into the woods. There is a train, ice cream stalls, cafe, bike hire, bbq areas, nature trails and plenty of things for the whole family to do in the outdoors. Take a picnic and enjoy it by the lake. I can't reccomend it high enough.

just got back from a weekend away, was booked till late Sunday but the weather was predicted as…read morerainy on Sunday, so came home early. I have tried quite a few sites since I bought my motor home, and this place went straight to the top. Outside and inside swimming pools, heated which surprised both my wife and I,lovely little pub downstairs that does good meal's pretty much all day,upstairs bar with entertainment, good gym, caravan's to rent,static and mobile, and cabin's with hotub's. For me,lighting in the evening was good,even has a light on top of the pitch hock up's points for those who arrive late, great shop, great shower block and toilets, spotlessly clean,( just wish that people who use them just put a mop around after you have used them), spacious pitch's,great view's of the country side, bus stop outside site to Dawlish,according to me there is nothing that anyone can moan about with this site, it's brilliant and will be returning again very soon

A privately owned campsite offering pitches for tents,caravans and with a number of static vans to…read morehire too. Now on our third year staying at this site for a week and pre-booked for next year too. Great service from the friendly staff in reception. It has its own pub "the Swan" which serves a selection of meals including a breakfast. There's a site shop and also a chippy. Just outside the pub there's a patio area leading onto an open air swimming pool, so mum and dad can keep an eye on the kids while enjoying a drink. There's also a family room upstairs,not ideal if your offsprings in a buggy! By car its around a five minute drive into either Dawlish or Dawlish Warren or there's a bus stop just outside the site. It has several fishing lakes for the keen angler and wooded walks for the naturalist, one of which takes you to Dawlish Warren, Its a steep climb back at one point so go easy on the clotted cream at the Warren.

The first reference to a garden at Hestercombe is from a medieval document of 1249 which records…read more'my Lord of Hestercombe's garden'. The next reference is from the estate accounts of Sir Francis Warre for, ironically, pulling down a garden hedge in 1698. In 1731 John Bampfylde, MP for Exeter, who had married Sir Francis's daughter Margaret in 1718, commissioned plans for a garden from a Mr Brown of London. Coplestone Warre Bampfylde designed and laid out the Landscape Garden as we know it today, after inheriting the estate from his father in 1750. Miss Elizabeth Warre, the last of her line, died in 1872 and in the following year, Hestercombe was acquired by the 1st Viscount Portman who undertook considerable remodelling of the house including the creation of the Victorian Terrace. In 1903, the Hon Edward Portman, his grandson and Hon Mrs Portman, commissioned Sir Edwin Lutyens to create a new formal garden with a planting scheme designed by Gertrude Jekyll. Hestercombe Garden's Formal Garden is arguably the finest example of her collaboration with Sir Edwin Lutyens. In 1944 the estate was sold to the Crown Estate with the exception of Hestercombe House and the Formal Garden. These were sold to the Somerset County Council in 1978. Since October 2003, the gardens have been managed by the Hestercombe Gardens Trust. Somerset County Council transferred the freehold of the house, Formal Garden and visitor centre to the Hestercombe Gardens Trust, under the Community Asset Transfer Scheme, thereby reuniting the house with its historic landscape for the first time in more than 60 years. In September 2018, thanks to a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Hestercombe Gardens Trust was able to acquire land totalling 320 acres, securing the world-class, Grade 1 heritage landscape, gardens and buildings for future generations.

Nice walking. Don't forget go further: gardens are nice but lakes and walk up into the hill is…read morereally amazing.