We know that you can have kids and still be a hip chick and this section is just for you. Look out for holiday news, child friendly books, films and lots of ideas on how to keep your little ones happy.
| Great day-trips for Kids |
| Leeds Castle With a daughter studying The Tudors and a bank holiday to kill, Leeds Castle seemed an excellent choice for a day out. On arrival, our walk to the castle took us through the duckery where the kids were overjoyed to see a pea hen in full featherdom plus a family of black swans including cygnets. Once we had torn ourselves away from that we turned to the castle. Leeds Castle, set on two islands on the River Len in the viallge of Leeds in Kent, has been home to royalty, lords and ladies for over 1000 years.It has been home to six mediaeval queens: Eleanor of Castile; Margaret of France; Isabella of France, Joan of Navarre; Anne of Bohemia and Catherine de Valois. Your walking tour of the castle (audio guides are available) first takes you through the castle decorated as it might have been in Tudor times, complete with rat trap! Something to look out for are the beautiful Ebony floors - they made me very jealous. You then move onto the more modern rooms which were home to Lady Baillie, a famous anglo-American hostess of the early twentieth century. Whilst very different, these rooms are sumptuous and beautiful, with lots of intricate decorative touches and flourishes. In fact for me they really made the day and tranpsorted me to an era of society and glamour I had previously only read about. But there's much more than the castle here, especially for familes. We spent a great half hour watching birsd (inlucing a Peregrine Falcon) at a falconry display, wandered around the maze, walked around Lady Baillie's aviary, and the kids enjoyed a play in the new playground which has fortunately been split into an under and over 5's area. Lunch was at a restaurant in a converted tithe barn and whilst most tourirst attractions' eating options usually leave much to be desired the food was very good and five of us ate out for under £40. A bit of a wait though, so do leave it to well before you hit the starving mark! At first glance the entrance fee seems step (£14 for an adult, £8.50 for children) but then we realised that allows a whole year's entrance which turns it into fantastic value. But, let's here it from the kids: Yesterday we went to Leeds castle and the first thing we saw was lots of ducks including black swans. There were birds from all over the world including peacocks. We then got to the castle where we saw how the Kings and Queens lived. Then we had lunch was nice - fish, chips and peas and my mum had lamb. We then did the maze which was really difficlut and in the middle was a grotto. It looked really cool! After that we went to the castle play area which has everything you can imagine - jousting, tunnels, ropes, slides - you name it. We then saw the bird display and stroked a baby owl. We saw the fastest animal in the world - a peregrin falcon. Then we saw some more birds and my favourite was the cockatoo because he was showing off, I really enjoyed my day at Leeds Castle and I give it 9/10. Felix Hockey, 11. More on Leeds Castle here Madame Tussauds We took four kids along and although the older ones found it great fun, the younger ones (9 and 6) were less entranced as they knew less of the people. It's also worth knowing that the attraction Scream isn't suitable for young children. But it was a fun morning out that kept the two teenages very happy. Madame Tussauds was a brilliant day out. At the start you go through an A-list party with all the most famous celebrities such as David Beckham, Madonna, Samuel L Jackson, Johnyy Depp and George Clooney. There is also an interesting bit about the last five Prime Ministers of Britain. Barrak Obama also made an appearance nxt to the President's desk. I have two favourite bits. The first is the Hollywood room where you see Arnie as the Terminator as well as Shrek, Spiderman and John Wayne. The second bit that is good to see is Scream. Some of the people are plastic and some are real and theyn come out and jump at you. The wallls also feel as though they are mioving and there is darkness to the whole time. I give this trip 10/10, Felix Hockey, age 13. More on Madame Tussauds here |
| Posted: 10/05/2007 20:37:14 Last Updated: 17/03/2009 10:34:09 |
Chick Lit > Chick Lit Kids :: Great day-trips for Kids