Family
Days Out
Aymestrey Lodges is the perfect place for families and friends seeking a memorable retreat!
Located within easy reach of numerous family-friendly attractions, Aymestrey Lodges is your gateway to adventure. Whether you want to safely navigate the treetops, experience the thrill of rafting or canoeing, or enjoy a refreshing swim, there’s something for everyone nearby.
For a fun and educational experience, the award-winning Ironbridge Gorge Museums provide hands-on exhibits that bring history to life. If your family loves animals there’s probably no better centre for your holiday. From butterflies and farm animals to majestic red kites, owls, and pygmy goats – plus lions, tigers, rhinos, and even dinosaurs – all are within an hour’s drive of Aymestrey Lodges!
The Great Escape Company
Please note that The Great Escape Company only take bookings on the zip line and challenge course for groups of 5 or more, but if your group is smaller call them and they may be able to add you in with another group.
520 metres long, The Black Hawk Zip Line is one of England’s longest zip lines taking you on an exhilarating ride through some of the most breath-taking scenery England has to offer. Combine The Black Hawk Zip Line with The Tiger Challenge Course for the ultimate family activity. The Tiger Challenge Course is a low ropes adventure course extending 480 metres through woodland at a height 30 – 90 cms above the ground.
Small Breeds Park Farm and Owl Centre
Small Breeds Park Farm and Owl Centre has one of the most comprehensive collections of owls in Europe, alongside an amazing variety of friendly miniature and rare breed animals.
If you love small animals then this is the place for you. They have a very special and unique collection of miniature, rare and friendly creatures. The Owl Centre provides visitors with a rare opportunity to observe all the British owls plus 27 other species from around the world. In the spring and summer you can even see newly hatched owlets.
You have the opportunity to experience close encounters with many of their friendly animals including pygmy goats, miniature horses and donkeys plus some really cute sheep. The ‘hands-on’ experience is actively encouraged and you can also feed their animals. Other small animals they have include chipmunks, chinchillas, guinea pigs, rabbits and tortoises.
Go Ape Wyre Forest
Go Ape in one of Britain’s largest remaining ancient forests and take in the sights and smells of the nature that surrounds the course. With its enormous Douglas Fir trees, they don’t call Wyre the Valley of Giants for nothing!
You’ll be up in the dense canopies on the high ropes course. With both a Treetop Challenge and a Treetop Adventure, Wyre is ideal for both thrill seekers after their next rush, and families just looking for a great day out. Both courses are high with some great obstacles and fast zips.
Whether you’re looking for family fun, history, culture or just adventure – Wyre Forest has plenty to keep you all busy.
Take the kids over to the children’s play area and get them exploring the forest on the Zog activity trail. If they’ve more energy to burn, take them Gruffalo Orienteering to see if they can find the markers hidden deep in the wood.
Get out and about in the forest. There are three waymarked walking trails and you can bring or hire bikes. Cyclists love this area for the challenging hills and the meandering roads. Head over to the River Severn for some canoeing and kayaking, and while sticking with the water theme you can also try your hand at both coarse and fly fishing.
Enginuity
Part of Ironbridge Gorge Museums, Enginuity is where fun, science and learning collide! It’s a fun-filled, hands (& feet)-on science and engineering centre, with something for everyone to enjoy!
Discover how a blast furnace works in an interactive experience. Find out how waterpower is used – warning: you may get wet! Test yourself on their tabletop experiments, and learn about the very first electric car, which was made here at Coalbrookdale. Take the Fairy Tale Adventure Challenge and design a way for storybook characters to cross the River Severn …and find out if you have the energy to pull a loco along a track.
Blists Hill Living Museum
Enjoy a fun family day out at this recreated Victorian Town. You can discover more about Victorian life as you meet the ‘Victorian’ townsfolk.
Your children will be amazed at a world without phones (let alone mobile ones!) cars or TV’s. They can change our new-fangled decimal currency for pounds, shillings and pence to buy curious goods from a bygone era and watch tradespeople in action in their atmospheric workshops and factories. There’s an old-fashioned fairground with swing boats, carousels and coconut shy, you can enjoy a bag of Fish and Chips cooked the traditional way in beef dripping and the chance to try traditional Victorian sweets. Part of Ironbridge Gorge Museums.
Shropshire Raft Tours
Provide a choice of scenic river boat trips, canoe/kayak hire, mini raft hire and paddle board hire along the beautiful River Severn in Ironbridge.
Their 25-foot orange rafts are the largest in the UK and allow you to sit back and relax whilst trained guides do all the work. Historic commentary is provided along the way as you float down river taking in the beautiful scenery and see the great Iron Bridge from a totally different perspective. Look out for the wildlife along the way too, including swans, wagtails, otters and even kingfishers.
For those wanting a mini adventure paddling under their own steam, they have mini-rafts and paddle boards available for hire on a 7.5-mile route and canoe and kayak hire available for 1 hour, 2 hour or a full day paddling from Atcham to Ironbridge. They also have a one hour “little rapid” run in mini rafts which takes you under the Iron Bridge and through the Jackfield Rapids before finishing at the Half Moon Pub.
Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World
With over 100 species of animals, 15 animatronic dinosaurs and activities taking place all day, Hoo Zoo really is a fun day out whatever your age.
A clean, friendly zoo that appeals to all ages and offers close contact with a wide variety of animals from wolves and sheep to snakes, owls, llamas, meerkats and many more. A daily programme of events including ostrich feeding, deer feeding and the famous Sheep Steeplechase encourages audience participation.
The Dinosaur World holds 15 animatronic dinosaurs throughout a woodland walk where you can really feel like you’ve stepped back in time!
Rays Farm
A chance to shut the gate on your everyday trials and tribulations and let the fresh air, nature and animals at Rays Farm eradicate all your stress! Children will love meeting the animals.
There’s a pygmy goat paddock you can walk through, as well as guinea pigs, reindeer, chickens and owls. The small animal barn has regular new arrivals, which means there’s always someone different to meet!
Out in the grounds you can explore one of two woodland walks. Step into the wonder of your child’s imagination as you wander through the mythical woods or fairy-tale forest and discover the delights of looking at the world through their eyes. Build your own den, race up scramble nets or climbing ropes and in the summer months kick off your shoes to feel the warm sand between your toes on the ‘mini beach’
West Midland Safari Park
The award-winning West Midland Safari Park has 1700 animals in a four-mile safari route: It is home to Indian rhino; cheetah; lions; tigers; giraffe and elephants.
It is a self-drive safari; you can travel round in your own vehicle and even get the chance to feed some of the animals! What’s more, you can drive through as many times as you wish! Alternatively, if you prefer to be driven, then you are able to book a guided minibus tour for an extra charge.
There is Penguin Cove, Sea Lion Shows, Twilight Cave, Aquarium, Reptile House, Creepy Crawlies and friendly animal encounters galore. The African Village is situated by the lakeside and is where “Meerkat Mayhem” and “Walking with Lemurs” can be found. Whilst the Adventure Theme Park has a host of fun rides and attractions to suit all members of the family.
Severn Valley Railway
A heritage steam railway operating full-size, mainly steam-hauled passenger trains for 16 miles along the beautiful Severn Valley between Kidderminster, Bewdley and Bridgnorth.
You can also visit The Engine House an indoor visitor centre at Highley, home to a collection of full-size steam locomotives. Take a fascinating journey behind the scenes, explore the interactive exhibits, let off steam at the outdoor play area and meet the locomotive that collided with a camel. If you are a railway enthusiast or simply looking for things to do with the family a trip to the Severn Valley Railway will provide fun for the whole family.
Red Kite Feeding Station & Rehabilitation Centre
The Red Kite Feeding Centre and Rehabilitation Centre is situated in the heart of mid-Wales, overlooking the Wye and Elan valleys.
The centre is a family-run farm stretching over 200 acres and is famous for the hundreds of red kites that descend on the centre each day.
Little Owl Farm Park
Little Owl Farm Park is a fun packed day out for all the family.
Outside there are lots of exciting and unusual animals waiting to meet you and show you their homes and personalities, from foxes to meerkats. There is also a half mile ramble course where you will find even more farm animals in the paddocks including deer, sheep, ponies and rhea.
There’s plenty to do indoors, too, including 3 animal barns with all your farmyard favourites including the Petting Barn, as well as indoor play areas with sandpits, pedal tractors and a soft play area.
Wye Valley Butterfly Zoo
Kept at tropical temperatures, this indoor attraction lets you get close to a wide range of exotic butterflies. If you’re lucky you might even get one land on you!
Walk with a wide range of butterflies as you explore the incredible and beautiful world of these wonderful creatures. This day out is for everyone with an interest in the environment and has some wonderful photographic opportunities.
Jackfield Tile Museum
In the Victorian era Jackfield helped to “tile Britain” supplying tiles for London Underground stations, Cathedrals, bars, butchers’ shops – even the Houses of Parliament.
Jackfield Tile Museum, housed in the huge Craven Dunhill Victorian tile factory is now filled with beautiful decorative tiles in displays and room settings including an Edwardian tube station and pub. School holiday workshops provide the chance to design your own tiles. Part of Ironbridge Gorge Museums.
Exotic Zoo
A chance to get up close and personal with a range of exotic animals and enjoy some quality family fun! Exotic Zoo is a brand-new attraction in Telford.
You can explore rainforests, petting farms and nocturnal areas and see over 70 different animals.
Climbing the Walls
Shrewsbury’s purpose-built indoor Climbing Centre with 12m high Tall Walls, Bouldering and Action Walls.
Suitable for all ages and experience, perfect for experienced climbers refining skills, beginners, families, corporate events, group bookings and birthday parties.
Droitwich Spa Lido
Droitwich Spa Lido is one of the UK’s last remaining inland, open-air, saltwater swimming pools.
It boasts a 40m pool, wet play area, sun terrace and café.
The National Showcaves Centre for Wales
We admit that this is a little beyond our self-imposed 60-minute drive, but we think that the extra 20 minutes is worthwhile!
In Dan-y-ogof Cave you meander through 1 kilometre of beautifully lit caverns taking in the stalactites and stalagmites created over the millennia. The highlight are two forty foot high waterfalls which you can walk behind. To enter the Bone Cave you need to don a hard hat as the entrance is much lower. Inside the cave, an informative video describes how the caves were discovered and its history over the years.
Around the grounds is one of the world’s largest life-sized dinosaur collections, hidden amongst the ferns, rocks and waterfalls, they come to life as you pass by. The Shire Horse Centre with its farmyard animals, two covered play areas and outdoor playground allow the children to run around for a while. There’s also a museum, Iron Age village, fossil house and stone circle.