Make farmyard friends at Hoo Farm, Ray’s Farm Country Matters, and the Park Hall Countryside Experience. Watch nursery rhymes and fairytales brought alive at Wonderland. Marvel at birds of prey at Battlefield Falconry Centre. Or head to Chester for one of the UK’s largest zoos.
Museums? Find incredible artefacts from centuries past at Land of the Lost Content. Learn how to pull a ten-ton locomotive at Enginuity in Telford. Or see, smell and hear what it was like in another age at Blists Victorian Town. Or let off steam in the open spaces of Chirk Castle and Powis Castle.
Explore the gardens, play area, café and shopping village of Trentham Gardens and the woodland walks through Monkey Forest. Skate the day away at Telford Ice Rink, zap your pals with lasers at Quasar Shrewsbury, or hit the slopes whatever the weather at Telford Snowboard and Ski Centre.
There’s a 50-metre flume for the brave at The Quarry Swimming Centre, or the chance to hit 90kph at Rednal Karting. Paint your own pots at Doodle Alley, learn about the Industrial Revolution at Ironbridge Gorge Museums, ride the funicular railway at Bridgnorth, or go loco for old trains on the Severn Valley Railway.
Into clubbing? Bring a bagful for Shrewsbury Golf Club, a course of two halves, with flat, lush fairways on the front nine and undulating holes on the back with stunning views. Swim at The Quarry Pool in Shrewsbury or in a smaller pool in Wem. Or scale the walls at The Climbing Hut.
Sip and sample the best of English viticulture with a tour of Hencote Vineyard and Restaurant, or enjoy a good, honest pint in the taproom at Ludlow Brewing Company. Ride the hills on four legs with horse-riding and pony-trekking with the Long Mountain Centre, or four wheels with Border Quad Trekking.
Discover delightful border towns such as Wem, Market Drayton, Bishop’s Castle and Much Wenlock, packed with tearooms, antique shops and galleries. Find fabulous forts and castles such as Blandings, Powis and Ludlow. Take the kids on the King Arthur Trail. Or tunnel and climb at The Adventure Ropes Course.
Explore the ravines, pathways, arches and bridges of Hawkstone Historic Park. Walk the ‘blue-remembered hills’ above Church Stretton. Get tugged along the canal by a huge shire horse with Bywater Cruises. Or chillax even more at the Thai Serenity and Soul spa. Wrap up your day with cocktails at Shrewsbury’s Libertine or Blind Tiger.
