Terrific fun and excitement for the whole family whether it's raining, sunny, hot, cold, snowing or…read moretuesday.we've been to all the Parcs in all weathers and it doesn't matter. Eleveden in Thetford Forest was great as it's flat so the best place for children's bikes and pushing pushchairs - compare to centre Pacrcs at Longleat which is beautiful and brilliant but so, so hilly! The sub tropical paradise is marvellous as well as the outdoors stuff - my children particularly enjoyed the high ropes and adventure activities as well as cricket, football, cycling and so on.endless list. Doing so much can add up in cost but you can always eat most of your meals in your villa - needn't take long to have fresh pasta etc and it'll cut down the costs. Enjoy

As a family we are serious fans of centre parcs and by a split majority this is the favourite of…read morethe uk versions. So Centre Parcs is a family holiday park based in the middle of a forest with a giant leisure pool at the centre along with a sports centre, spa, water facilities and access to practically every sport you could wish for. A mixture of restaurants and bars are dotted around the place and a lake offers a mix of water sports. There is a fairly expensive supermarket with some local produce - we normally take food with us, For your money you get a detached villa, rather cleverly designed so you have your own private space - they are mostly modern and well equipped, with good kitchens and plenty of space and free access to the pool. Wildlife on your doorstep - rabbits, deer and ducks Middle class parents cycling around to do sports with their kids.... Everything else you book and pay for just like a leisure centre.The whole place runs smoothly - the pool is great. The best indoor pool in the UK that we have sampled - and we visit a lot. Separate review for that.... and also the best water slide in the UK - The Tropical Cyclone - a brand new £4 million slide - great fun. Sampling this new slide was the driver for our visit. Separate review for that...... Expensive during school holidays but out of season you can get some great mid week deals. A must to visit for the pool and slide alone - everything else is a bonus. With kids or with friends and family a great place to have a lot of fun.

Absolutely beautiful place for walk in the woods. Nice little food shack near one of the ponds…read more with sandwiches and cakes to enjoy if you get a little peckish on your walk. By far one of my favourite dog walks.

The Jet Ski World with its café is located at the beach of Margate-Cliftonville. It is a paradise…read morefor jet skiers. You can cruise on the water or watch the bustle on the beach. We went to this place on a Saturday afternoon watching the busy jet skiers. We are not jet skiers ourselves, though. What's more, from this spot you have a fantastic view on the cliffs. Photo link: http://konniebritzreisen.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/margate-2011_05_07-26_web.jpg Photo link: http://konniebritzreisen.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/margate-2011_05_07-22_web.jpg They offer the regular range of food of a beach café: full English breakfast being served all day, hamburgers, sausages, eggs, chips, jacket potatoes as well as delicious cakes and creams teas at reasonable prices. The car park offers sufficient space for the jet skiers with their equipment and other visitors. There are showers available for the skiers. The access to the beach is rather hidden, so watch out for the signs to Jet Ski World. If you are interested in jet skiing or just like to watch the skiers and the cliffs, we can recommend trying this nice place.

This restored Victorian garden is like a secret treasure hidden in the city centre. Step inside and…read moreyou're in another time and place. The sound of running water, the fountains and 'ruins', planting on various levels and in varied styles make this a charming place to wander around or simply sit and enjoy. This is somewhere very special to spend a relaxing hour.

A beautiful and remarkably well hidden garden, this is a lovely place to visit and spend an hour or…read moreso. The Plantation Garden is also a surprisingly good place to bring kids - it's pushchair accessible and great for hide and seek. There are a few steep slopes and a fountain, so younger children might need close supervision. The Garden is normally unstaffed (payment of the entry fee is by way of an honesty box) but on Sunday afternoons volunteers are usually there to serve tea and cake.

Good freindly table tennis club, members include a top 5 Woman player and top 30 Mens. Good Cadet…read moreand Junior sections too

I often go to Two Tree Island, at least once a month as the bird life there is fantastic. There are…read moretwo hides on the island, one which faces towards Canvey Island and the other faces towards the lagoon reserve. The latter is the better hide, however it is normally jam packed with twitchers, so I tend to walk a few more feet from here and look out over the lagoon. It is wonderful especially around September time when the samphire becomes a purple colour with green tones, it takes a wonderful picture. At the entrance to Two Tree island you can watch people launching their boats or preparing to jet ski, although the last time I was there, the current must have been very strong as a group of lads lost their jet ski as it wandered on its own little journey much to their dismay. It is a wonderful place to take children, I would suggest taking a book for local flora and fauna as there is numerous butterflies, insects, birds and also reptiles, I have not spotted an adder there yet, but I live in hope. Plus there is model aircraft which fly above, great fun to watch over a picnic.

A trip to Two Tree Island is an annual affair, encouraged by some mouth watering recipe from Jamie…read moreOliver in the News of the world supplement; this time Blackberry and Almond tart. This weekend threatened to be glorious and the warm weather fought through at mid-day to make for a fantastic few hours exploring this nature reserve. High tide was up so water was lapping around the edge of the island and there was plenty of action on the water from fishing boats, yachts and jet skis. In the centre of the island an air show was happening courtesy of a model airplane club, which explained the strange buzzing sounds we could hear when we parked up. Some of the bushes were looking quite poor for blackberries but others when found were brilliant and it did not take too long to get a decent amount. Distractions from the picking included looking at the amazing views both out into the Thames Estuary and towards Hadleigh Castle, my youngest just loved watching the C2C trains trundling along to Leigh Station which could be seen so clearly but from our distance looked to him like his model trains. My eldest was inquisitive about the nature of the island and we discovered a number of weird and wonderful plants, some far from my knowledge of knowing their names. The island is famous for twitchers and hides are available to try and spot Curlews, Cormorants, Widgeons and many other varieties. We were thrilled to get quite close up to a hawk hovering for its lunch. On a down side the island is a haven for large dogs to exercise, so you need to keep your eye out for the many piles of dog poo that litter the green space.

Just a quick drive from the centre of Cambridge and you come accross Wandlebury. A great park and…read morevery popular all year round. A lovely place to go for a long walk or even to take the family out for a pic nic in the countryside. It will cost £2 to park your car but there are no time restrictions as such on that - you will have plenty of time to go about enjoying your day and not have to worry abou the car park cost, something quite unique for Cambridge!

This park is a real hidden gem, it's a couple of miles outside Cambridge and is a family favourite…read moreof ours all through the year. It's owned by the Cambridge Preservation Society, who do a superb job of managing this estate. Briefly, there's a Stone Age ring which once fortified a village. It now encircles a group of cottages with gardens, a barn and a pond. There's 110 acres of down, woodland, pasture and orchards to explore. It's great for foraging for nuts, fruit, fungi and mushrooms. You can see birds, foxes, deer, bats, badgers (if you're very early). They have some great educational events here through the year and it's free. The car park costs £2 but if you're skint, you can park for free in the lay-by a bit further down the A1307 or you can walk over from Magog Down, just over the road.

Lovely lovely lovely. An amazing piece of preserved wetland - the last of its kind in this country…read moreI think, with some very well designed trails and walkways. The usual National Trust giftshop and cafe is in attendance and of the requisite quality, but folks, this place is all about the nature. Highlight is a little observation hut where you can hunker down and look out across the fen (ideally with some binoculars) through some narrow slits in the sturcture. Educational wallcharts behind you inform as to what you might be seeing and the whole experience seems designed to make you stop, take stock and enjoy the silence as you zone out and search for the tiny movements which might betray some non-human activity. The windmills are very pretty as well.