Ride The Corris Railway, the first narrow-gauge railway in mid-Wales, with a scenic round trip of 50 minutes and a guided tour of the 133-year old engine shed and workshops. Or use up your energy reserves at Bounce Below, an underground trampolining experience set into a disused mine.
Trek the coastline on horseback at Bwlchgwyn Farm Pony Trekking Centre. Prepare your kids for the future at the Centre for Alternative Technology, a renewable-energy charity inspiring environmental change through hands-on displays, adventure play and woodland trails.
Meet the mysterious boatman at King Arthur’s Labyrinth, a magical underground experience led by costumed characters and installations. Walk back through local history at the National Slate Museum. Meet leopards and lemurs at the Welsh Mountain Zoo. Or cuddle up to rabbits, ducks and bunnies at the Children’s Farm Park.
Discover beautiful beaches at Abersoch, Porthmadog and Harlech (stick around for the castle). Cheat your way up Snowdon on the train (or challenge yourself to a stiff walk). Or enjoy a classic British day at the seaside at Barmouth on the land train, promenade, arcades, trampolines and pirate ship. Don’t forget the ice cream from Knickerbocker’s.
Play 18 holes in the 3000-foot shadow of Cader Idris. Love golf? Tackle one of the world’s finest courses at Royal St David’s in Harlech, wedged between dramatic Harlech Castle and the Snowdon range. Or swerve the clubs and keep the walk, up Cader Idris or along the Mawddach Trail that runs alongside the Mawddach Estuary.
Feeling gutsy? Gutsy enough for a 125mph zip wire? That’s what’s on offer at Zip World, along with other attractions including Quarry Karts, Arachnophobia, Ffear Forest, Forest Coaster and Zip Safari (high ropes). Or how about Plummet? Don’t ask, but it involves a trapdoor.
Blow the cobwebs away on Barmouth beach’s soft sand, then potter the alleyways of Old Barmouth. Stick around to take a dolphin-spotting trip out on the bay with Barmouth Boat Trips. Or head out on a sea-fishing trip with Viking Fishing to catch mackerel, tope, bream and bass. Or fish for carp at Eisteddfa Fisheries.
Head to the world’s first inland surf lagoon at Adventure Parc Snowdonia. Explore cute towns such as Caernarfon and Portmeirion, the Italianate village known for its lovely pottery. Enjoy Black Rock Stout at the Purple Moose Brewery. Or go crazy for castles at Criccieth, Harlech and Caernarfon.
Country kids
