There can't be one sport that can not be tried out at penrith leisure centre…read more this newly refurbished building houses a swimming pool, gym and bowls pitch along with many other specialist sites to enjoy your favourite sports. it also has a rather small cafe to relax in after some sports.

I visited Big Sheep Little Cow while staying in the area on a family holiday…read more This is a great attraction with lots to keep the kids and adults entertained. There is an excellent indoor play area, some outdoor play areas with go karts and ride on trikes..., and of course a huge selection of farm animals for your little ones to learn about. There is a cafe serving lunches and refreshments, and a party area upstairs. It cost us £24 for two adults and my three year old to access the playbarn and go on the farm tour, and my one year old went free. You can pay less just to access the playbarn, without going on the farm tour. This seems to be a great spot for parent and toddler meet ups. The farm tour was really excellent - lasting around an hour, with the opportunity to hold/pet mice, rats, Guinea pigs, and hedgehogs in the indoor small animal section. We then moved outside and saw goats, llama, pigs, donkeys, Shetland Ponies, sheep, chickens and ducks. There was lots of opportunities for the little ones to interact with the animals such as brushing the pig, sitting on the Shetland pony and feeding the hungry lambs. We all had a great day out at Big Sheep Little Cow and my three year old in particular got to try out new things through interacting with the farm animals. Special mention to all the lovely staff we came across - everyone was so friendly, and we all left smiling!

Fabulous place for kids and animal soppy adults. For the entrance fee you get a tour of the animals…read more- usually lambs, calves, a pig you can wash, rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, chickens etc.If you visit at the right time you can feed the lambs and or calves. You can also pay a little more and use their indoor play barn (adults can go on the equipment too!) with a death slide etc. They have a decent cafe and at peak times the tractor ride and go-karts are open. A great day out - or party destination. Dry or wet weather.

I am in awe. This is one of the loveliest and most beautiful national parks that I've ever had the…read moreprivilege to visit. I immediately, upon arrival, fell in love with the picturesque landscape and the calm rain that was persistent in our week stay in Coniston. We were told it has been an unusually rainy season this year, but nonetheless, it still made for a beautiful week. There are lots of wonderful places to get lost in, the Lake District is a wonderful place to explore. With better weather, there are options for canoeing, a steamboat ride, horseback riding, bicycling, simply walking, and hiking the mountains. The shops in town have delicious coffee as well as food, fun vintage items, and dogs... literally EVERYWHERE! The people here are sweet and everyone seems to know everyone, as they do in small towns. I definitely recommend coming here on holiday for the beautiful views to relax!

The Lake District in Cumbria, England is a national treasure. There is so much to see and do here…read morethat there is never enough time to do it all. The numerous lakes, the fabulous walks, all the water activities, to name just a few, will keep you enthralled for weeks. And then there is the amazing history, including sites of Viking villages, old churches, standing stones, museums, and much more. And of course there is the home of William Wordsworth, as well. This is definitely a place I will return to spend time in the future.

Good facilities, clean changing rooms, polite staff. Always enjoy using the squash facilities, pool…read moreand have visited for a couple of their many events including Lenny Henry and Bill Bailey. A good centre for the community and always cheaper than the private health clubs and gyms.

Killingworth Lakeside Park is a lovely local escape, with, as its name suggests, a good-sized Lake…read moreat its centre! The Lake is a well-stocked resource for local fishermen, and there is a lot of lovely wildlife to see in and around the park. You'll regularly see wildlife photographers taking snaps. Check out the visitors boards describing the wildlife around the park. The park also has a model boating club, a small café shack (open only during popular hours) and a good play area for kids, with a wire slide, roundabout and other apparatus to keep the nippers amused. There is ample parking for visitors, and it's a good walk around the lake. In short, I love visiting the park here to take a walk, relax and unwind! How lovely to have these kinds of parks on our doorstep.

DG One is the new leisure complex in Dumfries. They invested millions in this project and it shows…read more Whilst not quite up to the standard of a private leisure complex, it is far better than any other council facility i've visited. There are 3 pools - including a competition sized pool, a pool where the floor lowers for different classes and a kiddie fun pool. There are also flumes and I think some fancy wave machines. I haven't used the pool so can't give you much more than that, but it looks good and has a great viewing area. The complex also has a gym, dance studio, conference rooms, games halls, cafe, bar and steam room/sauna/jacuzzi area. The gym is fantastic and extremely well equipped. There are all the usual cardio machines and plenty of each to limit having to wait. There are also a huge amount of weight machines which look top spec to me. There is a free weights area too. The gym is clean, well laid out and impressive. There are flat screen tvs dotted about but each cardio machine also has it's on screen where you can watch tv, listen to radio or pull up different stats. Plus, there is a system in place where you can log in to the machines and they will record your workout. There is also little touchscreens on the wall where you can log in and book classes or send messages to a trainer. I think this is awesome for a council gym - especially when you consider the all singing all dancing membership is only £35 a month! DG One also runs a number of classes, of which I have been to Step and Aerobics. The studios are in great condition and are well equipped with an excellent air conditioning system to keep you cool. The instructors are a mixed bunch - i've had good and bad. But, I think this is typical of the council (sorry to say). I have not used the games halls but they look great. These rooms also have retractable seating and are used for concerts and events. Again, I have not visited these but have heard good reports. I have used the meeting rooms at DG One and they are really professional. They have smart boards, good quality seating and can offer catering of tea, coffee biscuits etc. This makes for a good facility but again, the staff can let it down. The guys that set up the rooms and those that book them are great. However, I was disappointed with the catering which was late and disrupted the meeting. The sauna/steam room/Jacuzzi area is also impressive for a council building. Bizarrely this is situated on a different floor to the pool so you can't go from one to the other. This suits me as I don't swim but must be really annoying for those that want to use both. I have been told this is to stop kids getting in and I can see the point. However, it must be so frustrating to go for a swim and have to get dressed to go upstairs only to get undressed again for a sauna etc! I haven't visited the cafe or bar. I have heard good reports on the cafe but have never seen anyone in the bar. Overall, DG One is a fantastic looking complex with great facilities and all reasonably priced. So why a low rating, well. DG One was severely delayed in opening and when it did there were mega problems. So many parts of the complex have been broken, closed, had accidents reported that it has become a bit embarrassing. Only recently, a sign fell on a child's head! Now, I understand any new building will have teething problems but these have been badly dealt with, terribly communicated and often avoidable. As a member, I have never been told of the problems and received no apology. Only when I arrive do I see out of order signs. In addition, the levels of cleanliness at times can be atrocious. I have stopped using the sauna/steam room area after visiting 4 nights in a row and seeing the same mucky marks on the floor. It clearly wasn't even getting a basic clean down! The staff are also a mixed bunch. While those in the gym have always been great to me. Some of the receptionists have no customer service skills and by what i've seen, the cleaners can't be very good. This is typical of a council facility and it is really frustrating. DG One could be fantastic if the staff and the organisation just took a bit of pride in the building and showed it some respect. Unfortunately, I don't think this will happen and I hate to be cynical but I bet it will be in tatters in no time through sheer neglect.

Dumfries has needed something like this for a long time. The swimming pool is sooo much better than…read morewhat we used to have, but could've been better. The competion pool (main pool) could really have done with being much larger, at least 50%. On Saturday mornings the place is crammed. On weekday mornings there is, at the moment, a large area set aside for schools, which is great for them but not for those of us wishing to swim in a straight line without bumping into other swimmers. There have been many teething problems, part of the changing areas have been cordoned off for whatever reason but on the whole its great, especially after what we'd been used to

Tucked away about 1 mile from the A69 near Bardon Mill, Allen Banks is a beautiful natural gorge…read morecarved out by the River Allen. Car parking is provided, free to NT members, last time I think it was £3 for the whole day if you don't possess the magic sticker. Most will arrive by car and the car park itself is ample, with an overflow area for the busiest times in the summer. Alternatively, if you fancy arriving on foot, Bardon Mill station is about 1.5 miles away - from the station you need to exit towards the level crossing, follow the track and bridge to go over the river, then turn left and follow the minor road up through Beltingham (BTW lovely village church here!) and then at the junction, head left towards Ridley, where a footpath will take you over the fields into Allen Banks - do check an OS map before you head off! So, Allen Banks is an area bequeathed to the National Trust by Francis Bowes Lyon in 1942 (you can find a plaque dedicating this kind act along one of the riverside paths) and has miles of paths, some with colour coded route markers, for you to explore. You can take a gentle stroll and bring a picnic to have on the tables provided by the car park, or pull on the walking boots and head further afield as the footpath network eventually takes you out towards the A686. This is one of those places worth a visit any time of the year - open all year round, the car park gates are open during daylight hours - as the scenery changes with the seasons, so each visit is that little bit different. Last time we were there was at the height of summer 2014, nothing could beat a paddle in the river to cool off! One of the highlights has to be the 'Wobbly Bridge', a Victorian suspension bridge built to cross the river when the area was first developed. Unfortunately, this was severely damaged in storms back in 2013 rendering it totally unsafe to use, but thankfully the NT managed to raise enough money (£100K!) to restore it to its former state. The views along the River Allen from this bridge are stunning, so it is great to have the bridge back in all its wobbly glory! One thing to point out is that the riverside paths are subject to some erosion and can be difficult to pass for buggies or those slightly less agile that others. The woodland paths can get a bit squaggy in autumn/winter, so wellies are recommended just in case. The only thing I feel is really missing here (hence the 4* score) is a decent tea room, even just for the peak periods, as it would be great to come here, take a walk and then have a cuppa and cake instead of having to bring all your own stuff. But hey, that's me being fussy here - a short hop into Bardon Mill or up to the Garden Station in Langley would easily satisfy the need for post-walk refreshments. In summary, a lovely place for a Sunday afternoon walk with all the family, great views and because it's a little bit off the A69, it still feels like that little secret you don't want too many people knowing about!

This is National Trust and has a pay and display car park It…read moreis a lovely walk along quiet river banks the walks can go on for a few miles so it is a good idea to take a picnic with you there is a reconstructed victorian summer house but we went to see the medival pele tower up at the top of one of the hills There is lots of wildlife here and we had loads of butterflies around us when we had our picnic The birds sound lovely around here but if you come later on in the day you are just as likely to hav a bat fly past you as a bird Give yourself a few hours here as it is much better to enjoy the lovely views that rush