The castle is lovely and grounds are absolutely stunning. Although the structure and landscaping…read moreare lovely, our tour guide felt the need to weave her strong political views into most topics. Examples would be regarding a pitcher/jug that is displayed in one of the glass cases. She said the pitcher "should not be here" and if she had her way "it would be returned" because it was "stolen from a masque." She also said when referring to Dr. Edward Jenner being the first to develop a successful vaccination for small pox that "it really is a question if he were the first." She said he barely beat Africa and Turkey in this world altering vaccine. To which doctors to whom was she referring to in Africa or Turkey? She made a comment of, " My grandfather always said, 'Whatever horrible acts done have been done have been done by the English first.' and I firmly believe this." She was also railing against the decisions of the monarchs before the addition of the parliament. Then she went on to say she wished she could get rid of the current government. A guide should concentrate on the facts and remove biases. It is quite distracting and unnecessary.

What can you say about one of the oldest inhabited castles in the world which is still owned by the…read moresame family from 900 years ago. You have to go. Its where Edward II was murdered with a red hot poker up his fundament .

If you have a few moments to spare and need a breath of fresh air why not go for a walk around…read moreBarnwood arboritum. Originally part of the landscaped grounds of the old Barnwood House Hospital (famous Gloucestershire poet Ivor Gurney was once a resident) there is a stream running through the park with ducks so dog owners please keep your dogs on a lead. Barnwood Arboretum buzzes with wildlife and the Friends of Barnwood Arboretumare busily creating habitats to encourage even more into their little wilderness. Birds visiting the space include sparrowhawks, jays, buzzards, various woodpeckers, goldcrests and kingfishers During the autumn and winter months the area is grazed by rare breed sheep to to mow the grass. For the more energectic the park is also home to a gym located in the church.

Perry Park is often overlooked as it's right next to one of the main roads in and out of the city…read more Despite this, last year they completed the building of an international standard BMX track within the park itself. This track sits alongside the existing skate ramps that have been on the site for years and are regularly used both by young people from the area, and youth workers looking to do outreach work with those young people. The park itself has loads of open flat grass and has been used for carnivals and festivals in the past, so has plenty of space to take a dog for a walk or have a family picnic - but only if this weather holds out!

Perry Park is big, really big!! It's important to state that as whether you are approaching it from…read morethe Walsall Road or Aldridge Road it's easy to think it's quite small. Not only is it such a big park that they have events and fairs on due to the expanse of flat green lawn but it has a reservoir, is home to Alexandra Stadium and has a world class BMX park. Personally I like to think of it as Brum's version of New York's Central Park just minus statues, ice rinks and restaurants. The size of the park means it's easy to think it's not busy. If you are a young person then it's a great place to hang out and youth workers are often doing detached work, which means opportunities to get involved in fun projects.

Victoria Park is, apparently, one of the most popular parks in the UK. I can understand why. This…read morepark is full of flowers (beware, hay-fever sufferers), trees, winding paths and grassy areas. This is a fantastic place to bring children on a sunny summer day. Victoria Park is probably most famous for its spectacular playground and massive shallow paddling pool (in the summer). Imagine ice creams and picnics and children splashing water everywhere. Good times. There are also a number of summer events that go on in this park. Summer Fetes and Scout/Guide events, face painting and throwing wet sponges at teachers. There is also a bandstand and a cafe. The only thing wrong with this park is its popularity, as it does manage to get heavingly busy on hot days. You've been warned. I have lovely memories from Victoria Park, so could you!

A lovely traditional park, covering nearly 20 acres, situated just west of Canton, on Cowbridge…read moreRoad. It has been awarded a prestigious 'Green Flag' award and attracts over 600,000 visitors a year. It was founded in 1897 and contains a mixture of traditional flower beds, mature trees, a paddling pool, bandstand, children's playground, tennis courts, a 5-a-side football pitch, and open lawns. There's a cafe, toilets and a park-keeper's lodge - one of the few left in the UK where the keeper lives on site. The park used to have animals in a small zoo (my mother used to visit them in the early 1930s), most famously Billy the Seal; caught accidentally by a local fishing boat in 1912, he was donated to the park, living there until 1939. After he died, he was found to be female! She is commemorated by a life-size statue in the park. A great place for families and children, as well as for a quiet stroll.

We were in Southern England again. Somehow we've always missed out on this Palace. So this time…read morearound we changed that, booked some tickets online the day before and went for it. There's a massive parking lot, showing how many visitors to excpect. But once inside the visitors scatter and it doesn't really seem overly crowded. It was built between 1705 and 1722. It was originally intended to be a reward to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. But raising costs and the project becoming bigger and bigger the cancelled financial support later on. It became the home of the Churchill (later Spencer-Churchill) family for the next 300 years. The Palace was used in many movies. I remember it well from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade". The Palace is really huge and there's so much to explore. We had our Bulldog with, so we took turns to see the insides. But dogs are welcome in many places outside the buildings. Really impressive architecture all around, lots of wonderful details to catch. The Center of the North facade was under construction at the time, but there were still many nice angles without obstructed views to take in. Equally impressive are the park and gardens. Many walks offer nice views of the Palace, the lakes and the grounds. Loved walking around and it really felt very quiet, no so many visitors taking the longers walks around. But very worth the time and very rewarding. Great to grab a snack as well, with these views. The entrance fee with 31£ is pretty high at first sight. But then again image how much it costs to keep this Palace and all the grounds in shape and to constantly renovate it. Given that, it's worth the money. It's really an impressive place. We enjoyed our time here.

Disappointed. When you arrive, you drive up a very long…read moredriveway and pay at the booth before you actually see what's ahead. We had looked at the website and felt it would be worth spending the day and fee. Wrong. It's waay over priced. You have to park in the fields. There was a performance getting set up so we could not get the full grand ambiance .. there were venders and stage , full seating and lighting. It was ridiculous. As a bonus, There was manure getting sprayed on the lawn.

Shirley Park is in Shirley, Solihull, close to a shopping area that is becoming more popular with…read morepeople from outside the Shirley area. The park provides relief to the frantic high street and is ideal for a family picnic. There are a wide range of activities in the Park, including pitch and putt, and a range of events through out the summer months. The Donkey Derby is one of my favourites. It is a large outdoor summer fair with lots of animals to interact with I was lucky enough to speak to the parks warden and he told me the Park was originally home to farmland, which was bought up in 1927. At a later stage additional features were introduced which included an ornamental garden and formal walkways. A walk through the woods of the park is especially pleasant in spring when the bluebells produce a vivid array of colours. It is also possible to view wildfowl as the pond is used on a frequent basis by birds and wildlife. Play equipment includes: - Junior & toddler swings, Junior & toddler multi play, Senior & junior mound slide, Talking flowers, Horse springers, reveloution roundabout, play car and crazy mirrors. I grew up in the area as a child and have fond memories of this park, to the extent that I visit it most weeks.

I don't use the term 'hidden gem' often, many because it's such a cliche and rarely true in these…read moredays of vapid overstatement. However, in this case it is literally true. You might never know it exists unless you're a resident of the local patch. I've lived over this side of Birmingham for over ten years and only discovered its existence a few months ago. I found it because I was trying to find Playpod (a soft play area) off the Stratford Road and stumbled upon this park by accident. There's plenty of green space surrounded by trees where you can play football or use the tennis courts if team games aren't you're thing. It's a great place for a picnic too, even though it's surrounded by busy residential streets. The play ground has swings, climbing frames, various slides, those flowers that you can talk into, a roundabout, play car andfunny mirrors. Everything is in pretty good condition too. There's also a skate park and even pitch and putt (though you have to take your own clubs and balls if you want to play.) I don't remember seeing any toilets because for once we didn't need to use them, but I'm sure there must be some nearby. If you want snacks and drinks, the shops on the high street are a few minutes away.