I love animals. I sometimes feel like the crazy cat lady in that fantastic e-harmony spoof when it…read morecomes to nature - I want to hug it all and have it all on a rainbow, but I can't. Can't hug all the nature. Because that's mental. Anyway. Having read David's recount of this spot, and seeing that it's had barely any Yelp attention, I decided it had to be done - lo and behold, my holiday at home was the perfect time to jump in the car, head over Donny way, and get immersed in looking at cool animals. It was busy, with lots and lots of childrens. We foolishly chose to pick refreshments up from the child's side barn, where the screams of joy are amplified and pierce your ear drums. The other adults didn't seem phased though, perhaps that happens when you start to parent. But, nonetheless a 'coffee' and pasty was had to fuel the walk around, and two coffees, two pasties, and a danish was under a tenner. Nice. The programme booklet is three quid really well spent too, btw. Not only do you get the map, times of the talks and such like, but each section gives a little more and details the various species and offers extra info to take home. Love it! And what can you see? All sorts. It's a 1km complex (roughly) and so has plenty of span. That however, in context with say, how much territory a tiger will cover in the wild, seems small. (But that's not a criticism - more a realisation of how much land these animals need in the wild, and how easy it is to cross over into human territory.) However, their commitment to conservation and preservation is astounding. They've three leopards, brothers, all of whom are something like the primary leopards in the world for eventual re-introduction into the wild - their genes are great, and our best hope lies with breeding them, kinda thing. Apparently leopards are the only big cat that have a half decent chance of reintroduction, although I didn't get a chance to ask why that is. Perhaps as their solitary and don't need so much learning time with their mothers? The giraffes were amazing, and breath-taking to see up close. It's weird to consider how massive their heads are, and it looks as though they live life in slow motion by the way they move - it's kind of hypnotic. They also, in real life, look like the kind of animal you'd have invented as a child. Bizarre but beautiful. Great eyelashes. The African hunting dogs were also amazing. And the fact you can walk through enclosed areas and be so intimately close with wallabys and lemurs was an absolute pleasure. We arrived at Lemur woods just at feeding time, and it was pretty incredible. Want one! Can't have one. Must come back. As a quick recap on the animals I saw, there are farm animals for petting, tigers, lions, leopards, giraffes, hunting dogs, lemurs, wallabys, wild boar, marmosets (who were AWESOME!) ostriches and a bunch more. It's best to go when you get a chance to plan the talks, so you can try and luck out to see the feeding times with the big cats, as sadly we didn't see much action from that crowd. But just spotting a massive leopard sat way up in his climbing frame, and catching the male lion roaring, was enough for me. Basically, it's a great day out. Awesome.

Loved it, animals were all lovely. However, they put their recycling and general rubbish in one bin…read moreat the end of the day, despite having two seperate bins for it and it is very misleading.

Donny Dome isn't bad, but it's a little dated and shabby. It gets its name from the small glass…read moredome on the roof, rather than the shape of the building itself which is distinctly 80s! I haven't skated there, but swam with the kids many times. From a parents perspective, it's far too cold! The main pools aren't too bad but the baby pool is absolutely freezing and it's a little dark and dreary as well. The changing rooms are a bit hit-and-miss: pretty much what you get in any swimming pool of this era, and a little dirty. They're mixed male & female but there aren't many that are big enough for parents and kids to share. They seem to open the big slides and outdoor pool at random times - perhaps there is a pattern to it, but whenever I've been there I've been told that certain features are closed due to staffing. A bit disappointing when you've paid to take the kids there and the particular slide they want is closed. I understand, however, that it is currently closed for refurbishment (Nov 08) so I'm really hoping that it is greatly improved when it re-opens as the basics are there and eldest loves it. It's worth a visit, but go with fairly low expectations and hopefully be pleasantly surprised by it!

This is one of doncasters best attractions,there is a wide range of activities to do,they have a…read moreswimming pool with huge slides a lagoon out side were you just float along, and a kids pool with fountins, slides ect they also have an ice ring were they hold discos in the evening and have theams such as foam parties there are plenty of other sports and activities such as a fitness room,climbing wall, badminton spa, saunas and Jacuzzis, lastly they hold Shows and concerts there,with acts such as comidians like chubby brown ect and concerts were they have had loads of different famous people perform .the building itself is state of the art and its an all round clean friendly and entertaining place

I'm a bit torn about Astrabound - it all depends on the time of the day that you visit…read more If you've got pre-school kids, then definitely go when the schools are in as it's lovely - clean, peaceful (well, as peaceful as you can get in this sort of place!) and not too busy at all. If, however, you happen to go when it's school holidays or weekends the place is an absolute nightmare. Some of Doncaster's worst seem to congregate there and on the one and only occasion that I made that mistake, there were toddlers running around with baby bottles full of Pepsi wearing nothing but nappies, and bigger kids pushing the smaller ones out of the way. There doesn't seem to be much monitoring of the age-group of the children, so even though you have plonked your baby/toddler in the appropriate area, if it is busy you still have to be very careful as big kids still come charging through. On the plus side, they've got some nice features that I haven't seen at other similar play centres, great slides, balls, basketball, a toddler musical light piano thing and some lovely comfy leather sofas. They do birthday parties but I think they're a bit pricey for what they are, and most kids would rather just play on the equipment for a couple of hours than be dragged out to the party area. Car parking is fine when it's quiet, difficult when it's busy. They've tied up with one of the other units on the site that you can park there at certain times but it's still a bit difficult. Food menu is fairly average and not the healthiest, but reasonable enough for the price you pay. It's handy if you've got dad/grandparents there with you - dump them there with the kids while you pop along to TK Maxx/Next/Boots/Matalan which are just a couple of hundred yards along the road.

Astrabound is a large indoor play area for children. There…read moreis a baby area, a Toddler area and a larger area for older children (though younger children can navigate most of it, with supervision. There's an indoor Cafe and also a sports area. Alongside general indoor play Astrabound also provides birthday parties. This is a very clean and well looked after indoor play area and is highly recommended for those with children.

This is a government surestart centre which provides mainly services to families with children…read moreunder 5, but also has a community cafe open to everyone. There is a creche onsite, and the centre is also host to the health visitor run baby clinic every Friday between 9:30 and 11:30. They run lots of different sessions for parents and their children, such as baby massage, breast feeding, dads and toddlers group, baby group, toddlers group, weaning parties. The staff are always helpful and knowledgeable, and if they can't help you immediately they go out of their way to do so. The cafe is also very cheap in my opinion, and i am always happy to feed my children there as it is not junk. They also make baby purees.