 www.kidsdaysout.co.uk 
Find Fun Days Out For All The Family
Recommendation added: 13/12/2007 12:26
By: dewberry (YSUK rating +825)dewberry has been thanked 9 times for this contribution
"When we're planning a day out or weekend away, I like to be sure there are things in the local area to interest the children as well as us adults. What should have been an idyllic break to a small picturesque village in Hertfordshire was ruined when my lack of foresight meant we were all pretty much cooped up in our hotel as there was quite simply nothing within 20 miles for the kids' to do. Luckily the weather was good so we could go for long walks and nature trails – even the one pub restaurant in the village didn't let children in so we got to know the beer garden pretty well!
I swore this wasn't going to happen again, so when we got home I did some research online and found this excellent website. www.kidsdaysout.co.uk is a little gem. This site will help you to plan a family day out by providing a list of attractions specially chosen with children in mind.
The home page is basically an alphabetical list of counties under the main headings of England, Scotland and Wales. Simply click the link of the county you're interested in visiting for a guide to local child friendly attractions. It's as easy as that.
I think www.kidsdaysout.co.uk is a brilliant idea. I've been using it for around two years now and we've had some lovely days out planned using information found on the site. It's really simple to navigate, almost as if it was originally designed for kids' themselves to use – my eight year old isn't terribly 'up' on computers but she's successfully used this site to look for things she'd like to do. The colour scheme is good too; it's a very quick loading site thanks to the fact that they haven't gone for super-duper all singing all dancing graphics, www.kidsdaysout.co.uk have kept it simple and it works well.
The attraction information is set out in an easy to read list which gives the contact details, web address (if available), a short snippet of information and details of whether wheelchair access is available. This info is given for every attraction on the site which makes it simple to see at a glance whether it's a suitable addition into your itinerary. The address details in particular are more important than you'd think as counties in the UK are so big; just because an attraction is in, say, Derbyshire it doesn't necessarily mean it'll be anywhere near where you're staying.
The information given about the various attractions is concise and to the point, five or six lines of what you can expect to see and do there along with any age restrictions. This info is a perfect bite sized chunk of text, with enough detail for you to decide whether or not it's something which would interest your child – if it goes on the 'possible' list then you can always check out the place in more detail by doing your own research or clicking on the link provided on www.kidsdaysout.co.uk
I've found lots of places for us to visit as a family through this site. One of the things I love is the fact that as well as all the large famous attractions and theme parks, smaller independent places of interest are also featured. For example, most people know that if they're visiting London they can go and see The London Eye, the Zoo or Madam Tussauds BUT how many of you have heard of the Ceramics Café where children can paint their own ceramics? Or the Snakes and Ladders Play Area, a huge 3 tiered kiddies play area? And this is why you need to look at www.kidsdaysout.co.uk before taking your children out, otherwise who knows what you might miss?
The information about wheelchair access is an important and extremely useful addition to the site; they seem to have included mainly attractions which are fully wheelchair friendly, but because they also have details of outdoor activities there are unfortunately some which would not be suitable if you were to visit with someone with mobility problems. This is clearly stated on www.kidsdaysout.co.uk as well as information being given if parts of certain attractions do not have wheelchair access or disabled facilities.
I've always found the information on www.kidsdaysout.co.uk to be accurate and up to date; I do tend to check the websites or phone ahead just to make sure that nothing has changed since their details were put onto the site as I'd hate the kids' to set their hearts on a particular attraction and it not be open when we get there! I've never come across anything like this though, and all the attractions seem to be aware of the site whenever I mention where I got their information from. I use the site when we know whereabouts in the country we're going, and I'll also browse for ideas for those times when we're not particularly bothered where we go. I find the attractions and activities inspiring and have never been disappointed with anything found on www.kidsdaysout.co.uk"
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