A strange building, built of Threes! Very symbolic and a bit spooky…read more Built in the 1590s by a devout catholic, Sir Thomas Tresham, it is supposed to have a tunnel leading to Rothwell a couple of miles away!

A very interesting place to visit. A buidling from the 1500's built by Thomas Tresham, all relating…read moreto 'threes'! There is a small portacabin with a member of staff in it who can sell you a visitors guide and answer any questions you may have. There is very limited parking and I think it's only open for part of the year, so best to check on the website before you go to avoid disappointment. There is a small admission charge. I wouldn't like to be inside when it gets dark! It's quite close to the A14 in Northants, and only takes and hour or so to visit, so is well worth stopping off there if you are looking for something a bit different to do.

We only spent a little while here as we only discovered it's existence about an hour before closing…read moretime! It's a lovely little place. Educational, historical and beautiful. The house apparently dates back to the 13 Century with recently developed 17th Century style maze and herb garden outside. It was raining when we went which was a shame. There is free car parking, toilets including disabled and baby changing and a gift shop which sells local honey as well as a small selection of other souvenirs. They also hold events. Current events include open top bus tours. More information can be found at Leicestershire County Council's website: http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/community/museums/donington/doningtonmuseum_events_exhibitions.htm We did not make use of the cafe although we intend to visit again soon and may update this review to include our opinions on that. :)

Nice little place & free. Educational for the kids. Very pleasant in the summer as they have an…read moreoutside cafe. Relaxing atmosphere.

For a sunny day at half-term, this place is perfect. As well as the cafe, there is a community…read moreorchard, a field full of cows, an adventure playground and a woodland walk. The visitor centre itself was designed to show-case green technology, and was kick-started in 2001 with £1m of lottery money. Some of the technology appears to need updating, and it could be better explained to visitors. However, the park is great. It feels like open countryside, despite being only a mile or two from the centre of Leicester. Well worth a half-day visit.

Great place to walk the dog. Loads of trees, with numerous paths - some tarmac and some grass. And…read moreusually other dogs to meet! Two children's play areas - one for little kids and one suitable for all other sizes. Even my teenagers enjoy going on things like the zipwire. Visitor centre is so-so. Reception staff are helpful and usually friendly, but restaurant is nothing to write home about. Local schools do visits, so you may run into them during term time...

Very easy to find and looks a little run down but don't let that put you off, the birds on display…read moreare very nice and look very well cared for. My kids loved the free flying birds that were very tame and loved taking food from you and would often walk along your arms. The cafe is very basic but looked clean the staff were friendly. We spent more time here than we expected to and my kids spent the following days talking their visit. Would we visit again? - YES!

We live quite near to Tropical Birdland but we didn't even know it was here until a friend told us…read moreabout it so I guess they could do with advertising the place better. It was fairly easy to find through the village of Desford & they have decent sized carpark. The place itself looks very rundown and dirty so I was a little dubious about it. It cost us £20 for 2 adults and 2 children which wasn't too bad. It is quite a large park but very basic. There are lots of different averies with loads of different species of birds - some that are endangered in their native country which was nice to see. The last part of the park has lots of huge parrotts which are out not in cages so be prepared to have them landing on you. This freaked me out a little but the kids loved it. They have a small cafe at the entrance of the park which looked clean and tidy but we didn't use so can't comment on the quality. They also have a good sized picnic are in the part where the birds are free flying and sell drinks and ice cream but be prepared to share your ice cream with one of the birds. We spent a morning here and did have a really good time. I guess it would be nice if they had some funding to spruce the place up a little and this place could go from good to great.

A great museum set in the grounds of a Roman bath site with a massive Roman wall. The displays…read morecover prehistory, Roman, Saxon and Medieval Leicester. There are some great objects - the mosaics and wall paintings are unmissable, some of the best in the country. It is free to get in (so good in the school holidays!) and they hold regular special events. There is a free brochure you can pick up that lets you know when the events are so that's quite handy. They also hold an enquiry service so if you dig up any archaeology in your back garden you can take it in and get it identified!! The staff are always polite and friendly and will go out of their way to answer any questions you have. It looks like it could do with a bit of a refurbishment, but I guess they need the council to give them some money - but the displays are really good despite this. Toilets and museum are always clean and there is good disabled access (once you've gone all the way round the site and got in through the car park!)

I stopped in here while looking for another museum... I am terrible with directions. The staff in…read morehere were really friendly. They invited me to have a look around and directed me to the Guild Hall Museum that I originally set out to see. Like, many museums in the UK, Jewry Wall is open to the public and free of charge. The day I visited there was some sort of sword fighting demonstration taking place outside. I don't think I managed to see all the museum has to offer as I think I missed most of the ruins outside the main building. This museum focuses on the local history of Leicester. It doesn't take much time to go around and see everything - would recommend stopping by.

Hartshill Hayes is set in a wonderful woodland area. It has been for many years our family's…read morefavourite walking area around Nuneaton. The woods are very well managed and retain the right balance of managed and wild areas. This is a mature forest,with a large variety of native trees, woodland plants and wildlife. We never fail to go when the bluebells are flowering as they cover the undergrowth in a rich deep carpet. It truly is a superb sight. It is a wonderful place to go and unwind, sit quietly on a bench, watch and listen to the birds. Children of all ages love exploring and will also like the play area. Adults are sometimes spotted on the rope and tyre swings. The terrain is hilly in most places, but nothing too challenging. There are several options of walks and paths to follow, including the easy path, which is handy for weelchairs and pushchairs. This path in particular will take you on the more scenic part of the park. On a clear day you can see the steam rising from the power station in Burton-on-Trent. There are a few picnic tables and it makes for a lovely day out when the weather is nice. Few people realise how beautiful the woods can be when it is raining, as long as you are well covered! Parking is cheap £1.50 a day, we buy the season ticket and come on the drop of a hat.

We love taking our dog here, it's great to walk through the woods and admire the scenery and we…read moreeven bought a 12 month parking permit.

Situated about 10 minutes drive from the M42 motorway, this beautiful National Trust property is a…read moredelight, both outside and in. When we arrived, prior to the house opening, we went for a hot drink, and were impressed with the set-up. Currently, their restaurant facilities are being refurbished, so they have an outdoor setup, with a heated marquee. The ladies serving were all really cheerful, despite being outside, and they still offered a full range of drinks, and hot and cold snacks, including hot soup. The marquee was impressively warm. The house itself doesn't take very long to go around, depending on how long you like to take looking at things, and there's plenty to see, and dressing up facilities for the kids, who can also go into the Priests hole (accompanied by an adult...looks like a bit of a tight squeeze, so not for the claustrophobic, I'm sure). The house has been beautifully restored and decorated and there's always a guide on hand to offer you information about the various rooms, They also had a second hand book stall set up in the courtyard where I happily parted with £6.50 for 4 great new books! Outdoors, there's a pleasant 1 3/4 mile walk that you can take from the car park, so plenty of variety to keep you occupied for a few hours!

This place is one of the reasons why we asked for National Trust membership as a Christmas present…read more Over the last 5 years I have seen a noticeable change towards including families with young children and making them feel welcome at the National Trust in general. When I first visited this property 5years ago my very little daughter was 'told off' for walking on the grass. I was outraged to say the least. However, now it couldn't be more different. There are games on the lawn like noughts and crosses, the ubiquitous Jenga, croquet and quoits. Plus, I think I spotted dominoes hiding in one of the wheel barrows holding down the gazebo. Speaking of which, as it was Father's day, they had outdoor activities so my daughter and husband got to make fire and go fishing with a home made rod. They managed to snare a duck (with bread), which was enough for my daughter. There are loads of places to explore, from woodland walks, and exciting bridges to a vegetable garden and parkland. I'm reliably informed by one of the very friendly and helpful garden guides that over the next few weeks there will be an army of scarecrows appearing all dressed in Olympic themes. My daughter can't wait to go back and neither can we. The whole space is clean too (apart from a few rabbit droppings) and my son had a ball covering himself in mud and I was never concerned for his safety. The cafe is well stocked, if a little busy and there's a lovely little second hand bookshop that we enjoyed browsing through. It's an eclectic stock as you might imagine, but has a children's section. We didn't bother with the house this time round, but have enjoyed going round it. Here too, they welcome children and I didn't feel paranoid about what little fingers might touch. If you thought that the National Trust was stuffy, think again and give Baddesley a try.

An interesting and quirky building, you could look around this place in 10 minutes and have seen…read moreeverything. However, if you happening to be passing (a little unlikely, I admit as it's in the middle of nowhere) and want to break up a journey, it's an interesting enough stop-off. We were very lucky with the weather when we brought our two young children here and were able to have a picnic on the grass whilst they ran about and played, so we ended up staying around an hour. Be aware that there are no facilities at all except a small (English Heritage) ticket office and gift shop in a portacabin.

This is a great building everything done in threes It was…read moredesigned by a catholic as a folly to represent the holly trinity and you could spent a good deal of time looking for the thir copy of everything It was built in the 16th century by the father of one of the men involved in the gunpowder plot An interesting place or a creepy one if you think 3 is an unlucky number