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 Half-term offers the ideal opportunity to take a day trip out of London. With our short guide to the best summer destinations in south England you're sure to find the best family day trip. Jump on a train to avoid the traffic (because you won't be the only one with this bright idea) and in forty minutes your youngsters can be tearing around Chessington or riding the rollercoasters at Thorpe Park. Head to the coast for some early summertime fun or explore the New Forest on foot, by bike or on horseback, the possibilities are endless.
 Brighton East Sussex, BN1 1EE This colourful, seaside destination has emerged as one of the trendiest summer sun spots within easy reach of the city. With its combination of lofty, elegant, Regency-style mansions along the seafront and expanse of pebbled beach with sailing dinghies for hire and fair rides on the operational Palace Pier, it's great fun for all the family. This half-term begins just as the Brighton Festival ends (3rd to 25th May). Visit the weekend before the school break and you'll be just in time to catch the Festival Ceilidh wrapping things up on Sunday 25th May at the Corn Exchange (tickets cost £10 for adults, £7 children; doors open 18:30). The Fringe Festival, run in parallel, continues until Monday 26th May with exhibitions like the Youth Arts Fringe Trail sure to appeal to younger viewers (see www.brightonfestivalfringe.org.uk for full details). Even if you don't make it to the festivals you can enjoy the fresh sea air, walk along the promenade stretching along the length of the coast and duck into one of the cavernous beachside restaurants and bars beneath its arches. Famous for its striking labyrinth of winding, tiny streets known as The Lanes, it's a shopper's delight. With its fun mix of eccentric shops and pavement cafes, there is a distinctly bohemian feel to the area. Jump on a train at either Victoria or London Bridge Station and you will be in Brighton in just an hour or so making it ideal for a day trip. During the festival, there's a special night train service departing from Brighton at 23:19, arriving London Victoria 00:13. Alternatively, you could make a night of it and stay over in a seaside hotel. Address: Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 1EE Travel By: Train Journey Time: Approx 1 hour Depart Station: London Victoria / London Bridge / Kings Cross Rails Nearest Station: Brighton Rail   Chessington World of Adventures & ZooLeatherhead Road, Chessington, Surrey, KT9 2NE In the beginning, Chessington was a nondescript zoo with a few fairground rides tacked on. Now, Chessington World of Adventures is a fun-packed theme park that the kids just love. It's a fun day out for all the family and all of the rides have the same low height limit of 3ft 11". Newly opened in March this year is the Sea Life Centre where you can see sharks swimming overhead and tickle the tummy of a sting ray. The park itself boasts a couple of genuine white-knuckle rides that are bound to go down well with young visitors this half-term. The Vampire is a vast, floorless rollercoaster that whips between trees and buildings, while the Dragon Fury hurtles and spins its riders round precipitous loops and bends. Toadie's Crazy Cars, Tiny Truckers and Dennis's Madhouse in Beanoland are hugely popular with the tots. Just for half-term, Mr Cadabra runs his magical shop (daily at 12:30, 14:00, 15:30 & 15:00) where you can see him and magical talking rabbit, Houdini, fixing tricks and performing sing-a-long songs. Much of the original zoo remains too and the safari offers panoramic views over the park as well as a good angle on some of the animal compounds - especially the penguins, otters and sea lions. Address: Leatherhead Road, Chessington, Surrey, KT9 2NE Phone: 0870 999 0045 Timing: 26th - 31st May 10am - 6pm. Opening times vary throughout the season so take a look at their website when planning your visit. Pricing: In Advance - £23 (Adults), £16 (Under 12s) | On the Day - 31 (Adults), £21 (Under 12s) Travel By: Train Journey Time: Approx 30 mins Depart Station: London Waterloo Rail Nearest Station: Chessington South Rail Chessington World of Adventures & Zoo - Information Chessington Sea Life Centre - Information  Hayfever at Hay FestivalHay Festival, HR3 5AD 23rd May - 2nd June 2008 Described as Glastonbury for book lovers, the Hay Festival is the most prominent literary festival in Britain and Hayfever is the part of the festival that's just for kids from toddlers to teens. Though this year's final line-up has yet to be confirmed, it is sure to be a literary treat for younger readers. Last year saw appearances by Andy Stanton, who went on to win the Red House Children's Book Award later in the week. There was a brilliant football focus event from 'books for boys' author Dan Freedman and everybody's favourite artist Quentin Blake was there drawing and talking about his creations from Mr Magnolia and Mrs Armitage to the BFG and Matilda. You can expect plenty of books to browse through at the free library, storytelling and daily Rhymetime sessions bringing words from the page to performance. With hotels within a 30-mile radius booked up from one year to the next, camping is all part of the fun. Venue: Hayfever at Hay Festival Address: The Drill Hall, 25 Lion Street, Hay-on-Wye, HR3 5AD Phone: 0870 990 1299 Date: 23rd May - 2nd June 2008 Time: Various Pricing: Various - free to £35 Travel By: Train Depart Station: London Paddington Rail (change at Newport Gwent) Journey Time: Approx 2 hrs 40 mins to 3 hrs Nearest Station: Hereford Rail, then bus Hay Festival - Information  Legoland WindsorWinkfield Road, Windsor, SL4 4AY The most remarkable attraction at Legoland is Miniland. A cluster of mini imitations of Britain, Italy, France and other European states, kids can step over the Eurostar or peer through the Eiffel Tower. Squarely geared towards children age 2-12 years, even the very tiny tots can find something to get stuck into. Seven new attractions this year include the £7 million Land of the Vikings area where you can ride the Longboat Invader ride, a swinging and spinning family boat ride near to the existing huge water ride, the Vikings' River Splash. Older kids, between 6 and 12, can learn to drive a Lego electric car on a mock-up road system complete with traffic lights and roundabouts. Pan for pirate gold, ride the dragon in the Dragon Knight's Castle, or brave the Pirate Falls, it's up to you. The Hall of Fame is a highlight for adults accompanying children and the 150-acre park, just west of Windsor, keeps itself up-to-date with Lego sculptures based around recent developments. Legoland is a long-running and well-loved national treasure. Everybody should go there at least once, and the best time to visit is when your offspring are just discovering Lego. Trains run from London Paddington to Windsor & Eton Central, or from London Waterloo to Windsor & Eton Riverside - direct journeys take around 30 mins. Buses run to the park from both stations. Address: Winkfield Road, Windsor, SL4 4AY Phone: 0871 2222 001 Timing: 10am - 6pm Pricing: Online - £31 (Adults), £23 (Children) | On the Day - £34 (Adults), £26 (3-15 years), Free (Under 3s) Travel By: Train or coach (see Golden Tour below) Journey Time: Approx 1 hour Depart Station: London Waterloo / London Paddington Nearest Station: Windsor & Eton Central Rail / Windsor & Eton Central Rail Legoland Windsor - Information Legoland Windsor - Golden Tour  New ForestHampshire, SO42 7TW The New Forest is a rich network of dense woodland, enchanted green glades and rugged open heath giving kids the chance to run wild through wide open spaces you simply cannot find in the city. Established as a Royal Hunting Ground by William the Conqueror, the forest retains a nostalgic sense of its medieval past. Streams and rivers run through, cattle and pigs roam freely, and hardy, shaggy-haired ponies loiter at the edge of the roads. This half-term you can take the family off for a green day in the countryside by opting to take the train. Arriving at Brockenhurst, a mere hour and a half outside London, you can hire bikes from Country Lanes Cycle Centre (from £14 per adult, £8 per child and £8 for a tag-a-long fitted to your hire bike) from their Railway Carriage shop, right next to the train station. The surrounding miles of gently rolling heathland are ideal for mountain biking - tearaway teens will love the miles of dirt tracks. For horse-loving pony clubbers Forest Park Riding Centre, also in Brockenhurst, lends horses to visitors and offers lessons to inexperienced riders. Or, if your family prefers walking, you can easily hike off across the heath following one of the many circular routes. Brockenhurst itself is a charming English town bustling with eccentric bookshops and cosy tea houses. The weekend before half-term (24th & 25th May), the New Forest Model Railway Society holds its annual exhibition at the Village Hall (£3.50 adults, £2 children; 10:00-17:00) where you can see perfectly replicated miniature steam engines, sidings and the Severn Valley railway. Leave time to explore the town's attractions and cobbled lanes before disappearing into the forest. Address: New Forest, Hampshire, SO42 7TW Country Lanes Cycle Centre Phone: 01590 622 627 Forest Park Riding Stables Phone: 01590 623 429 Travel By: Train Journey Time: Approx 1 hour 30 mins Depart Station: London Waterloo Rail Nearest Station: Brockenhurst Rail  Odds Farm ParkWooburn Common Road, Wooburn Common, High Wycombe, Bucks, HP10 0LX London has a great selection of city farms from Hackney to Vauxhall that brilliantly bring a bit of the countryside to the city. But at half-term it's worth taking the kids a little further a-field to see animals in their natural surroundings. Odds Farm Park isn't exactly in the thick of the country nor is it a real-life operational farm. Instead it is especially designed for children so everything from the Rabbit World to the demonstration barn is geared towards giving kids a fun and informative day out. May sees the start of the 'meet the animals' and sheep racing events (May to October, weekends and holidays). At this time of year you can also see the lambs bottle feeding, go to the goat show, feed the pigs at piggy's tea time and get on board for tractor and trailer rides. Add to that year-round activities like crazy golf, go-karting and both indoor and outdoor play areas (because you just never know with the British weather) which come complete with climbing frames, slides and sandpits. Venue: Odds Farm Park Address: Wooburn Common Road, Wooburn Common, High Wycombe, Bucks, HP10 0LX Phone: 01628 520 188 Timing: Spring / Summer 10am - 5.30pm Pricing: £7.95 (Adults), £6.95 (Concs & 2-16 years), Free (Under 2s) Travel By: Train Journey Time: Approx 40 mins Depart Station: London Marylebone Rail Nearest Station: High Wycombe Rail  Thorpe ParkStaines Road, Chertsey, KT16 8PN New for this year is Time Voyagers, a 4-D movie which its audience on an archaeological journey through time. But Thorpe Park is best known for its white knuckle rides with names like Stealth (Europe's fastest rollercoaster, new and improved last year), Colossus, Nemesis Inferno, Detonator and Vortex. Meanwhile X: No Way Out, affectionately known as "blackwards", is the world's only backwards in-the-dark roller coaster. With rides like these you'll know how it feels to be propelled 205ft in the air while travelling from 0 to 80MPH in under two seconds. Kids love it and plead to be taken there time and again - one 13 year-old fan of the Stealth ride counted 49 goes in one year. Swirling, diving and corkscrewing screamathon rides are for strong-stomached, adrenaline junkies only - and the most challenging come with a height restriction of 1.4 metres. But there are also plenty of less hair-raising things for smaller visitors to do across the 50-acre site. The Octopus' Garden has a clutch of rides like Fantasy Fish, Slippery Serpent and Swinging Seashells suitable for younger ones (minimum height mostly 1.3 metres). A great way to entertain the kids this half-term. Please note: Canada Creek Railway is closed for 2008 due to building work on a new roller coaster launching next year. Address: Staines Road, Chertsey, KT16 8PN Phone: 0870 444 4466 Timing: 26th - 31st May 9.30am - 7pm | Opening times vary throughout the season so take a look at their website when planning your visit. Pricing: Online - £25.60 (Adults & 12+ years), £16.80 (Under 12s) | On the Day - £32 (Adults & 12+ years), £21 (Under 12s) Travel By: Train Journey Time: Approx 40 mins (train) plus 12 mins (bus) Depart Station: London Waterloo Rail Nearest Station: Staines Rail then bus to park (runs every half hour) Thorpe Park - Information  Windsor CastleWindsor and Maidenhead, SL4 1NJ Windsor Castle is the oldest inhabited castle in the country and the preferred London residence of the Royal Family. It stands in beautiful grounds on the far western edge of London, and is one of the best places for a day trip from the capital. It's easy to see why the Royals love their Windsor home. This half-term you can also see an exhibition of the HRH The Prince of Wales at The Drawings Gallery, celebrating Prince Charles' sixtieth birthday. Exploring the rest of the castle you'll find a truly majestic building - solid, imposing and at the same time graceful. Visitors can check out the State Apartments, Queen Mary's Doll House collection, and the magnificent St George's Chapel, festooned in the banners of Knights of the Kingdom, from the Crusading era to that of Margaret Thatcher. One of the best features of the castle is walking around the ramparts, feeling the ancient stone under your feet and looking out over the parks. The Royal Parks are extremely wild and lovely, and teeming with deer, offering hundreds of quiet beauty spots to be found. Windsor is a magical place and well worth a visit this half-term. Address: Windsor and Maidenhead, SL4 1NJ Phone: 020 7766 7304 Pricing: £14.80 (Adults), £8.50 (5-16 years) Timing: 9.45am - 5.15pm | Last Admission 4pm | Castle Closed 17th May | State Apartments & St George's Chapel Closed 30th May Travel By: Train Journey Time: Approx 1 hour Depart Station: London Waterloo / London Paddington Rail Nearest Station: Windsor & Eton Central Rail / Windsor & Eton Central Rail Windsor Castle - Information  Family Hotel Outside LondonBerkeley Park by BridgeStreet Worldwide, Marlborough Crescent, Hayes Heathrow, UB3 5FG Bang next to Heathrow airport and with spacious suites, the Berkeley Park is a modern, purpose-built hotel which offers a convenient place to stay if you're arriving from abroad or travelling with family. It's also very handy for exploring the surrounding area which includes some top family attractions from Legoland and Windsor Castle (both about 20 minutes drive away) to Chessington World of Adventures which can be reached by car in around 40 minutes. All apartments, some of which can sleep up to four people, come fully furnished with modern appliances including widescreen TVs and DVD players - ideal for distracting inexhaustible youngsters. You can also cook all their favourite foods in the fully-equipped kitchens and there's even a grocery delivery service. Venue: Berkeley Park by BridgeStreet Worldwide Address: Marlborough Crescent, Hayes Heathrow, UB3 5FG Phone: 020 7437 4370 Nearest Station: Heathrow Terminals 1, 2 & 3 Tube Book Berkeley Park by BridgeStreet Worldwide |
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