A spring in their step and a smile on their face
ACTIVE
JUMP FOR JOY
BOUND TO have fun at Flip Out Brent Cross, a trampoline park and “ninja skills centre”, with wall-to-wall trampolines, foam pits and much more. Afterwards, refuel on pizza and soft drinks. Sessions are available for those with special needs such as autism and there is a designated area for underfives.
In Manchester, leap into Oxygen Freejumping, with more than 100 connected trampolines. flipout.co.uk oxygenfreejumping.co.uk
CHILL OUT
SKATE AT Alexandra Palace, north London (which also has Go Ape and pitch-and-putt) or at Queens, west London (which also has bowling on-site). Or ski and snowboard at the Snow Centre, Hemel Hempstead. alexandrapalace.com queens.london thesnowcentre.com
POOL RESOURCES
FOR A change, look further afield than the local pool, to a leisure centre with extras. Hatfield Swim Centre has a 33m pool, diving boards, splash pool, spa and Technogym. Finchley Lido features several pools and a sauna.
At Colchester Leisure World, in Essex, you can ride the flumes, make a splash in the crazy river and enjoy slides, waves and the “shipwreck water cannons”. Or take a trip to the castaway spa pool, with bubbles and jets. In school holidays, there are multi-sport day camps and trampolining sessions. finesseleisure.com (Hatfield) better.org.uk (Finchley Lido) colchesterleisureworld.co.uk
OCTOPUS’S GARDEN
MR MULLIGAN’S Lost World Golf, in Stevenage is an immersive golf experience with jungle and underwater themes. There are adventures aimed at ages from four to adult. Expect golf, octopuses and, um — ice creams. mrmulligan.com
PARK LIFE
ALDENHAM COUNTRY Park promises lakeside walks and a children’s farm. Meet Winnie the Pooh (selected times/dates); ride ponies and scramble around in the adventure playground, which has a special-needs pavilion.
Golders Hill Park, in north west London, is an old favourite, with its zoo and playground. aldenhamcountrypark.co.uk cityoflondon.gov.uk (Golders Hill)
SOFTLY SOFTLY
TOPSY TURVY World, the soft play haven at Brent Cross, holds school-holiday day camps, which include not only the soft play but different, themed activities every day, as well as meals and snacks. For age three to 11. topsyturvyworld.com
ANIMATED
FOOD ON THE FARM
WYTHENSHAWE PARK Farm, Manchester is designed to educate children about the origins of food. It has all the elements of a working countryside farm but in an urban setting. manchester.gov.uk
PLEASEDYOUSAURUS
PARADISE WILDLIFE Park, Hertfordshire has everything from alpacas and tapirs to cheetahs and snow leopards, plus five adventure playrgrounds, a farm and the Krazy Sands art activity. This spring it gets a new attraction — Dinosaur World — with life-sized, moving and roaring dinosaur models. pwpark.com
TROPICAL FORESTS REIGN
THE LONDON Sealife Aquarium is inviting visitors on a Rainforest Adventure this spring, to discover piranhas, the Goliath bird-eating spider, carnivorous crocodiles, hissing cockroaches, snapping turtles and more. visitsealife.com
ANIMAL HAVEN
HOPEFIELD ANIMAL Sanctuary, in Brentwood, Essex, cares for animals including horses, donkeys, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, geese, ducks, cats, parrots, raccoons and marmosets. hopefield.org.uk
LEGENDARY LIVESTOCK
ON THE National Trust’s Wimpole Home Farm, Cambridgeshire, you can meet rare-breed animals, goats, cattle, sheep, pigs and horses. There is an adventure playground for older children and, to impress parents, Sir John Soane’s 18th-century farm buildings, including a Victorian dairy. nationaltrust.org.uk/wimpole-estate
SUPER-NATURAL
“ANIMALS AND their superpowers” are the focus of a new family activity at ZSL London Zoo, from March 30 to April