Absolutely horrendous, me, my dad, my brother and his girlfriend all went to this zoo in hopes that…read moreit would be A fun family outing. My mom bought the tickets for the wrong day so she couldn't come with us. We got there and went in, showed the tickets we had bought and weren't allowed in as my mother wasn't with us. My dad stated that she couldn't come with us. The man who was working in the kiosk / ticket booth was having none of it. He was quite the rude man and was telling us that we had to buy new tickets under my dad's name. Keep in mind that the tickets you buy online are NON REFUNDABLE. If I could I'd give zero stars. Absolutely terrible.

Where else meerkats can be seen in Birmingham area? Not the only good reason for visit this…read morefacility but just in case you have ever been there, Birmingham Nature Centre is on Pershore Road, behind the Cannon Hill Park, in Edgbaston. The tickets cost £ 4 (adults) and children from 5 to 15 years (£ 1.50), but the little ones (under 5 years old) have free admission. I have been a couple of times, and a part the cockroaches, it always a pleasant spending some hours contemplating wild life and nature over there. The most popular animals are still the meerkats, but obviously that the wildcats, guinea pigs, among other exotic animals also add to the whole experience. Definitely a children's friendly spot, perfect for a picnic in family, if you fancy bringing your own snack. If not, there is a café on the site. A better way of finding more information about the Nature Centre is visiting their facebook page because their page at Birmingham City Council website is very simple and just provides basic information about the locale.

We took our dog here last weekend following the recommendations here on Yelp. I've lived in…read moreBirmingham for 14 years and didn't even know the place existed despite having driven past it many times! Wow. What a place. The fist thing that struck me was how big it is for saying that I never knew it was there. A huge open golf course area (which is not your usual fancy pants golf club - dog walkers were very welcome), a children's play area and a beautiful wooded area. There is also a cafe but we didn't try that out. The paths are well kept and there are many dog waste bins. I didn't spot any dog mess on the ground - clearly it's a park for well behaved dog owners!! I was also struck by how well kept it is. The people who care for the park obviously take great pride in the park. There are some lovely sculptures and boards showing the history of the park. Absolutely loved it and it's now on our regular dog walking rota! I've deducted one point because the car park is tiny - we visited in February and it was very full so I imagine that in summer it's a nightmare. It did look as though there would be decent street parking around re area though.

This park has an active team who organise a great deal of activities year round. Their latest event…read moreis a tree walk and talk by Chris Shortis. Chris is a local resident and an expert when it comes to the many variety of trees in Warley Woods. We may take trees for granted but after one of Chris's walk and talk events you'll be forever hugging trees everywhere and telling them just how fabulous they are. A learn how to identify birds walk and talk by Liz Coleman who's an RSPB volunteer will get you twitching like crazy, you'll be amazed just how many birds we have flying about us. or you could just use the park to have a wander. It's 100 acres, about 4 miles from the city centre, offers free parking and is another of Birmingham's fantastic retreats.

I visited Hickory Dickory Dock's on the 25th February and I wasnt impressed. It is a big building…read morewith lots for the children to do which was great but the place was filthy dirty, the chairs, tables, soft furnishing were all extremely filthy and this wasnt from a few days of not cleaning, the soft furnishings were disgusting with black stains from spilt drinks, dried food crushed in. I didnt want to sit down because of the filth. I only stayed because it had taken me so long to get there and ages to queue up! I certainly wouldnt recommend this place.

This place is great and kids love running around in there but its quite expensive compared to other…read moreactivities in the area £4.70 for a 1yr old and carer. If its busy you only get 2hrs. They do kids parties there. There are special areas for under 4s. The have aircon in the summer. They have food but I havnt tried it.

Just received my order from them, couldn't be happier with the service! Will be using again :)read more

I decided to take my son and niece to Rock Up last Saturday afternoon to see what all of the hype…read moreis about. As my son is a little young for the actual climbing we let them loose in the soft play area. On first impressions, I really like this venue. It seems to have something for everyone. There are lots of climbing walls/activities that appeal to all ages up to adulthood. The pre-schoolers can get their fill in the soft play maze, which is a great size as it is not so big that your child can get lost. Unlike, many of these type of attractions the café sold half decent food. The coffee was easily drinkable and they offer a varied menu including paninis, pizza, kids meals, pasta, cakes, fruit and more. To drink they have the usual hot drinks, including Mocha, plus cold favourites including milkshakes and fresh fruit smoothies (blended on site upon ordering). My only complaint was that all of the staff were very young and clearly inexperienced. While there I made a number of very basic requests which were met with blank gazes, or else took at least three members of staff to answer. There was also quite a long wait for the simplest of items from the menu.

If there's one activity that my friends and family are mutually fanatic about, then its bowling! We…read moreoften head down to Bowlplex, which is in the Broadway Plaza complex. Underground paid parking is available, although you could be cheeky and look for side-street parking. Bowlplex isn't limited to just bowling. There's a restaurant area, bar, arcade and American Pool upstairs. So, in general there's something to keep all ages engaged. Parties can be booked here too, so don't be surprised to find a whole load of balloons and excited kids if you go at the weekend! They usually have offers available during the holidays, although it gets very busy at this time. Generally, the more games you play, the cheaper it is. There is also a "Munch and Play" deal where you can eat from the grill and bowl (although not simultaneously!) for £13.50 for adults. It's a fun-day out for the family, especially when it's too cold to be outdoors!

Who loves Bowling?? Then if you do, Bowlplex is somewhere you should go. It's situated in the same…read moreBroadway complex where AMC cinema, Frankie & Benny's, Subways and more are located. Bowlplex (Broadway Complex) is situated just before you get to Hagley Road and just after the big six ways roundabout near Broad Street. Bowlplex is a great place to take kids if you have any because of the fun factor. It's a brilliant way to entertain the family but also as a parent enjoy and relax in the bar area which they have- you can even treat yourself to a cold beer or maybe just stick to a J20 which your kids play. They also serve food in the restaurant/bar area but if I remember rightly there is an age restriction in the bar area, so you'll need to be aware of this. I don't have kids so it's something I didn't enquire about when I last went. Not to worry about that though, as there's plenty of activities kids can do; not just bowling. There are arcade type games which the small and the big kids will all enjoy.

This is worth a visit, but very pricey (£21 for an adult that had no discounts; that's about $30)…read more For a family, you're now about $80 for the experience) It's beautiful and nicely laid out so that you can focus on one thing for a bit of time and not worry that you're holding back the ones behind you. As you wind your way up the ramps to the upper levels, you get to see the same exhibit from several angles. Very unnerving to see a shark from above and then realize that his eyes are on the top of his head and they're looking at you as well. The penguins are adorable. Photography is fine as long as you don't flash. The 4D experience was a 15 minutes condensation of the movie Happy Feet. The 4D comes from the fact that the seats shake when they're dancing and you get a spray of water when the shark crashes down. I noticed a lot of education on saving species from being used in medicines or being over hunted. The gift shop was a bit dusty and I noticed that many of the stuffed animals were a bit grimy. PS: yes, the photo I uploaded is of the actual penguins. They seemed to pose for my camera.

I've been twice to the sealife centre now - first time: loved it. There is lots to see, for me the…read morehighlight by far is the fantastic walk through tunnel where there are reef sharks and incredible rescue turtles to admire. The new addition of the penguin section is wonderful too. The second time I went was in the Easter holidays and it was a huge mistake. The centre had MAJORLY overbooked- we were on timed entry but could barely move. I had 3 kids in tow this time and they could hardly see most things because of the volumes of people crowding round each tank. I was gutted because we'd had such a lovely time previously. The staff did their best to manage it but tensions were obviously high and the queue system for the 3D cinema was a bit of a disaster - not enough space for the volumes of people wanting to see the show to wait out of the way of others. We didn't get a look in at any of the talks either- the kids couldn't get close enough to most of them to see what was going on. So that's why I've only given it a 3 star review, and I nearly gave it a 2. No matter what the capacity of a building, if you overbook to that extent you spoil it for everyone. If you go out of holidays- you'll have a wonderful time and i'd give the attraction itself a much better rating at those times (!!!!) but just don't waste your money during school holidays- watch blue planet at home instead!

Did you know that the Botanical Gardens offer courses on everything from portrait photography to…read moregrowing plants (kind of an obvious one that I guess) to yoga? I always presumed this space was used for school groups but I was lucky enough to attend classes here recently - it's a tranquil setting with views of the lovely gardens and the ideal place to loll around on a gym mat (I did yoga in case you're wondering). You can approach the building directly from Westbourne Road (it's a little bit hidden away so look out for the signs) or through the Gardens during later summer opening hours. There's limited parking available at the Study Centre so you may prefer to use the main Gardens' car park. It boasts a number of rooms - they all seem pretty light and airy and they're often decorated with collages made by visiting kids. Looking at their website it would appear that their Summer courses are on hold, which seems a real shame given how much I enjoyed attending classes here and especially in light of the closure of the nearby Adult Education Centre (The Clocktower in Harborne High Street) - with this in mind, its worth phoning ahead to make sure whatever it is you fancied lending your hand to, is still running.