Thrills And Spills With Daddy & Dad

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Today we’re flying the flag for the UK’s independent attractions and days out. We’re all feeling the pinch right now, aren’t we? As a family with expensive teenage kids (with equally expensive tastes and expectations), we know the dreaded pinch feeling well. But, our family love spending time together at weekends and there’s nothing better than an adventurous day out. Over the last year or two, we made it our mission to seek out the UK’s best-value, independent days out. Here’s our top five suggestions!

1. Tropical Birdland

Desford, Leicestershire

• Adults £9.95

• Child £6.75 (under 4s free)

Tropical Birdland is a real hidden gem of a place. Set amid lush, Leicestershire woodland, it’s home to thousands (no exaggeration) of very friendly, inquisitive, colourful birds. As you navigate the woodland path around Tropical Birdland, the birds’ enclosures are accessible, meaning their human guests can literally get inside with the birds for a cuddle. It’s an extraordinary, therapeutic and emotional experience and one we’ll never forget. Plus, it’s only about £30 for a family of four.

2. Fantasy Island

Skegness, Lincolnshire

• Free entry

• Unlimited ride wristbands from £14.50

Fantasy Island is one of the UK’s last remaining ‘free entry’ theme parks, which is marvellous for members of the family who prefer to stand with the bags, rather than whizz and scream around in the air. Visually, it’s a very impressive place, with huge, brightly painted rollercoasters – the size of which are only matched by larger attractions like Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Alton Towers and visible from miles and miles away. We tried all the big rides, including The Odyssey and Millennium – the park’s enormous, looping rollercoasters. Bizarrely, beneath the huge rollercoasters and towering flat rides, Fantasy Island is also home to a sprawling market, with all your classic seaside tat – great fun for a mooch around and a giggle.

3. Oakwood Theme Park

Narberth, South Wales

• Season tickets from £56

Oakwood Theme Park is Wales’ biggest tourist attraction, bringing World-class rollercoasters and water rides to the heart of South Wales. It’s a long drive, granted from most of the UK but it’s a fantastic theme park with enormous, exciting rides; not least Drenched – the UK’s (and possibly the world’s in my opinion) largest, steepest and fastest water ride. Believe me when I tell you it lives up to its name – we were literally soaked from head to toe!

4. Twinlakes and Wheelgate Theme Parks

Melton Mowbray and Newark, respectively

• Adult and children from £10.15

• Toddler from £5.10

Twinlakes and Wheelgate are ‘twinny’ theme parks in the East Midlands, about an hour-or-so north of London and east of Birmingham. I say twinny with a pinch of salt – they’re both beautifully landscaped and similar but Wheelgate’s amazing waterpark sets it aside from anywhere else we’ve seen in the UK. Its waterpark is huge – by far the largest of its kind here. Expect slides, fountains and huge water buckets that spill all over the kids beneath. Both parks offer fantastic value for money and they’re perfectly placed for a weekend away in the countryside. We’d suggest Twinlakes for younger guests and toddlers, and Wheelgate for families with older kids – up to about the age of 13.

5. Waterworld Leisure Resort

Stoke on Trent

• Tickets £23

Waterworld in Stoke is the UK’s largest indoor waterpark. It boasts over 30 different water rides, each offering a unique and interactive (and often quite unpredictable) experience. Our fave rides are Stormchaser – a colourful, twisting water slide with whirlpools and space-bowls (imagine whizzing around and around in a huge plastic bowl, only to plop out through a hole in the middle), Black Hole (pretty much what you’d expect and very fast) and Thunderbolt – the UK’s first ever trapdoor drop water flume. Trap door you ask? Well, the floor quite literally disappears from under your feet with a 15m almostvertical drop beneath (and a screaming dad whizzing down at an inhuman pace, naturally). Waterworld offers a genuinely unique, thrilling experience.