Out and About
Cambridge Twins Club
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Pools
Parks & Gardens
West Stow Country Park (& Anglo Saxon Village)
Cambridge city local nature reserves
Garden Centres
Notcutts (& Scotsdale) Garden Centre
Zoos and Wildlife
Museums
Play Areas
Summary of Cambridge soft play areas
Libraries
Eating
Loos & Lifts
Parkside Swimming Pool
http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/leisure-and-entertainment/swimming-pools/
Toddlers free, adults approx £4.
Kathy (b/g 9+ months): Definitely need 2 people. They have 4 family changing rooms if you are lucky enough to get one, which have a seat and a changing table which little ones can be strapped on/into. Otherwise there are some large cubicles which you might squeeze 4 into. Toddler pool very good, max of 30 people strictly enforced so never gets crowded, has a few separate zones, Jacuzzi style ledges, fountains/ waterfalls, 2 slides.
Other facilities include 2 long water slides with un-obvious opening times and a small normal pool and a teaching/ diving pool with a variable floor level. There are also some seats for restraining toddlers in the entrance way to the changing village so you get a chance to comb or dry your hair. There is also a nice café with quite a few high chairs and view of pool.
Cherry Hinton Hall Park
Good play area, Pond with ducks, geese and sometimes swans and seagulls. In summer has 2 paddling pools. Some interesting statues made from ex-trees.
Lammas Land
http://lnr.cambridge.gov.uk/reserves/paradise/default.asp
A nice park near the centre of town, lots of slides, swings, climbing frames etc. and a big paddling pool with hut hiring inflatables. Near the river so has bridges with views of ducks and punts. The car park has about 50-100 spaces (free) but is often busy. There is also a lot of open water.
Alexandra Park
CTC meeting comment: Alexandra Park (off Carlyle Rd) - twin friendly and much better than Jesus Green for little ones.
http://www.miltonvillage.org.uk/fmcp
Free (currently). Visitor centre with café, nice playground, good walk
round the "lakes", second playground just off the left side of the park
(you see it when you walk round the edge and has a gate to get there).
Cycle and pushchair friendly. Does have lots of water though, so can’t
just let them run off. CTC meeting comment: Plenty to do for a couple of hours, lakes, fish, ducks, swans, playground and café.
http://www.stedmundsbury.gov.uk/weststow.htm
The West Stow Country Park (& Anglo Saxon Village) between
Thetford forest and Bury St Edmunds. The picnic area, adventure
playground and nature trails are free though
the Anglo Saxon village costs about £5 per adult.
We didn't actually go
in the Anglo Saxon village but you can see a bit of it over the
fence when you do the nature trail and it did look quite extensive.
The adventure playground was OK, better for older kids (ours are 2), though there was a
nice slide and swings for littler ones. It quite fortunately had a nice
soft sandy covering as Sean got a bit ambitious and tried the wobbly
bridge on the bigger kids section and fell off before mummy could grab
him.
The nature trail was nice, either 1km or 1.2km which our 2 walked/
scampered most of the way round (they had piggy backs for the rest).
Ros enjoyed picking up branches and pine cones while Sean enjoyed
spotting the arrows that marked the trail, so that was a new word in
his vocabulary. There were quite a few nettles around which they both
managed to fall in, but didn't seem to mind too much. We spent a good 2
hours there, exhausted the twins and it was free.
£3 for adults, under 16s free. Kathy (b/g 12 months): Large gardens near the centre of Cambridge with
excellent outdoor displays and several excellent greenhouses. The greenhouse doors and paths can be
a bit tight for a double buggy. There is a lake near to the entrance and a fountain in the centre
but otherwise it is fairly safe. Many different areas including alpine, fragrant, historical and
rose gardens. A really good place to look for plant ideas!
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/angleseyabbey
House & Gardens & Mill: £7 per adult, £3.50 per child; Gardens & Mill:
£4.30 & £2.15. Under 5's and NT members free. Kathy (b/g 12 months): A large site with lots of
gardens and a watermill that still produces flour. An excellent place for walking around
and looking at nature. Has a good winter garden, snowdrop wood as well as formal gardens.
There is usually something nice to see in the garden whatever the time of year.
It has a Jacobean house which is supposed to be nice. There are many large open areas
but there is also areas with open water. CTC meeting comment: Lots of space for children to run around on the grass - ideal for when they were just beginning to walk. We could actually sit down and watch them for a few minutes before having to run after them!
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-ickworthhouseparkandgarden/
Admission: Park and garden only, Adult £3.10, Child £0.90, House and gardens, Adult £7, Child £2.50, Under fives free.
Opening times: Seasonal and different facilities have different times (check website)
Kathy (b/g 2 years): Another National Trust property. Large gardens and variety of nature trails. Big outdoor play area and recently renovated restaurant and toilets. Plenty of outdoor activities and space to wear out the twins.
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conProperty.1
English Heritage property. House & Gardens: £8.95 per adult, £4.50 per child. EH members free. Opening times: Seasonal and different facilities have different times (check website) CTC meeting comment: has a mini railway
http://www.cpswandlebury.org/page2.html
Free (except for £2 car park fee at Wandlebury). Fairly large forested country park on old iron age hill fort site
(Wandlebury) with nice views NE over the downs. Only good for walking or cycling, no playarea.
Large, fairly safe, plenty of room to run around. Crossing over the busy A1307 is a bit hairy
but leads to the Gag Magog downs (has its own car park which is free) which is popular with kite
fliers as has large open fields facing N. Excellent views over Cambridge. No play area but has
nature trail for older children.
http://www.themiltonmaizemaze.co.uk
Cost: about £4 per adult, toddlers free, children:
unknown. Open 17 Jul-5 Sep, daily. 1000-1700. Last entry 1615. Kathy (b/g 18 months): The maze
is on a 7 acre site so get your toddlers ready for walking! The bridges
can be narrow but there are probably alternatives for the double buggy.
(The maze has spotters on the bridges who are in radio contact and can
help with wheel chairs so might also help with buggies). There is a quiz
with the answers hidden around the maze and you are supplied with a map
sealed in an envelope so it was possible to find them all/get out again.
There is also a bouncy castle, ride on mini tractors (pedal and pushing
varieties), farm tour on big tractor trailer (cost extra) and a small
farm and farm shop. Good for an afternoon and quite safe. Kathy (b/g 2 years): There are 8 local nature reserves hidden around the
city, see the link to find out where. We have so far visited the three nearest us by bicycle and
had a nice adventure at each for the afternoon. Generally they are just quiet wild areas with a
few small paths through them and lots of brambles/ nettles, any wildlife has long since been
scared away by the twins charging along the trails, but they enjoy tramping around in their
boots spotting things. Number 6, Limekiln Close and West Pitt has the advantage of being
opposite the Robin Hood pub, ideal for parking or light refreshments afterwards. Number 3,
Barnwell East backs onto a playing field frequented by kite-flyers/ riders which was fun to
watch. Number 4, Barnwell West had some open water to watch out for.
CTC meeting comment: A nice walk with boats, ducks, playgrounds and café.
http://www.notcutts.co.uk/garden/cambridge.htm Free as long as you don't get tempted by the plants. Has pets and a
separate waterworld with indoor and outdoor fish and is fairly safe to have them wander around
the flowers and statues, but probably does require 1 person per toddler. Keeps them happy for an
hour or two for free. The one at Great Shelford is quite good too, particularly at Xmas.
http://www.sheprethwildlifepark.co.uk
Under 2's free, Child £4.95, Adults £6.95. Kathy (b/g 6 months): We found quite a lot of the paths were deep gravel
and narrow and we struggled to push the double pushchair around. There was quite a lot of
open water but at the time it wasn’t an issue for us. Playground looked fun. Costs are quite complex, see their web site. The Farm is free for under
3's, £3.40 per child, £5.40 for adults, National Trust members half price. Kathy (b/g 18 months): we went on a very cold day and most of it is
outside, a long walk from the parking to the farm, arrived at pig feeding time and it was very
noisy and quite scary so probably better for older children. Best bit was probably the guinea
pigs and the tractor tricycles. We thought it was quite expensive for what there was there. Tim (b/g 18 months): This is one of our regular Sunday
trips. As NT members it becomes a reasonable price and our two love seeing
the animals. There is a fair walk to the farm but we put them in the buggy
and treat that as our exercise. Feeding time for the pigs is very noisy
but there is now a new entrance that makes it easy to avoid the chaos.
Novelties include a milking demonstration, Horse-drawn bus to the farm
(at extra cost) and "hold the animal" sessions with the guinea pigs and
rabbits. There is a difficult to find adventure playground for older children
(looks very scary for our 2 at 18 months). The playground outside the
(extremely expensive) cafe is great and there are a good number of ride
on tractors. We always take sandwiches because of the cost of the food.
Note that there have been a couple of cases of e-coli infection detailed
in the press in recent months but to be fair there are plenty of notices
telling you to wash your hands after touching the animals and plenty of
sinks to wash them in. One other thing to note, the gardens are quite
disappointing if you've paid to see them, a small formal garden that is
regularly devoid of colour and a good sized kitchen garden (no greenhouse)
stocked with vegetables is all you get. If you want to avoid the expense
of the farm then the car parking and walking in the parkland is free.
In the summer the cows and sheep are usually grazing in the park so can
be "seen" free of charge. Free for under 2's, £4.50 children 2-13 years, £6.50 for adults. Kathy (b/g @ 18 months):
Ours had a great time wandering around on their own, managed the whole way round with
one of our friends pushing the empty pushchair for us! Nice size, probably takes 2-3 hours
to see it all, nice playground, undercover but outdoor picnic area. Pretty safe, no open
water but some pens with chicken wire type fence which little fingers can get through
and perhaps get pecked. Also had bouncy castle which just required a donation to play on. Prices and admission times vary during the year, under 3s free Kathy (b/g 2 years): About an hours drive from Cambridge, a popular
attraction, so advise getting there a little before opening time or quite a bit later to avoid a
queue. There are toilets at the entrance and a few animals to look at if you do end up waiting.
Starts with the safari drive, but you can either short-cut straight to the main area or cut out
some loops such as the cats/bears or monkeys. Circuits of the car safari can be done as many
times as you like during your visit. Animals really are close to the car so everybody can see
plenty. Rest of the site is quite compact and car free, so ideal for little legs, most
enclosures are walk-through so you get very close to the monkeys, lemurs, wallabies and farm
animals, and there are plenty of hand washing facilities at the exits of all these enclosures.
Other small animals are easy to see; in fact the marmosets were free-ranging. There is a large indoor soft-play area which needs supervision but had a
good range of activities, two outdoor play areas, geared at 2 age ranges. Getting hot food was
chaotic and cost more than the entry fee, a picnic is recommended.
http://www.baylham-house-farm.co.uk
Children under 4 are free, 4-16s are £2 and over 16s are £4, so in
comparison with similar attractions it is very reasonable.
Free bags of animal food are provided to children (adults have to buy them,
but at 20p a pop it's worth it!) and you can feed these to any animal willing to scoff them. This is a bit further away than most of CTC's featured expeditions,
but we have visited with the girls twice and both times had a lovely time. Baylham House
Farm is between Stowmarket and Ipswich, around an hour from Cambridge up the A14.
It is a rare breeds farm, family run, small and very friendly. Sheep, highland cows, chickens, rabbits, Kune Kune and other pigs,
and last but definitely not least (when it comes to appetite and cheekiness!) the goats are
all keen to taste the contents of your little white bags, and your hosts will provide
instruction on how to feed each. February half-term and Easter holidays are lambing times, and we
spent a lovely April Saturday cuddling lamb after lamb, it's not too busy and there
were plenty of lambs to go around! I felt a wince of sympathy for the mother sheep
with triplets... The farm has a small cafe and souvenir shop, and a pretty outside
picnic area - although they also welcome you to eat your picnic in the cafe if it is cold
or wet outside! Buggy access might be a problem in a couple of places where there are steps,
but you're sure to get help, and otherwise it is a lovely morning or afternoon's outing for
toddlers and up. Adults £6.30, under 3s free, Children 3-15 £4.30.
Open April-October 10am-5.30pm Unfortunately we chose to visit on what started out as a nice day but
rapidly became a very rainy day, after 2 weeks of rainy days, so the
park rapidly turned into a swamp. This meant walking around was quite
wet and slippery, the play area was saturated and the large white
pavillion which we took to be a covered picnic area was very boggy,
though the older wooden covered area next door was fortunately dry
and we were able to eat our picnic there rather than in the car. The site is quite compact so good for little legs, there is one bit of
open water with ducks and flamingos but otherwise seemed safe to run
around, (apart from on very wet days when your 2.5 year olds keep
running off to explore and slipping over in the mud). There was quite
a lot to see, with friendly deer and ducks to feed, and a butterfly
pavillion to shelter/warm up in. The play area was varied and
catered for all ages and the squirty maze was fun too. Our two seemed
scared by it at the time (we figured we couldnt get much wetter) but
that and the turtles were the main features they talked about
afterwards. Take a change of clothes!!!!
http://www.bedford-butterflies.co.uk
Adults £4.75, under 3s free, Children 3-15 £3.90.
A car full (max 5 people) - £16! Catherine (g/g 4 years): We visited Bedford Butterfly Park (BBP) with
friends on a windy, wet Thursday in October. It is close to Bedford so takes an hour to get
there from Cambridge, but was well worth the trip as we spent several hours there. Despite its name, this is not just a Butterfly Park. During our visit,
we visited the tropical butterfly house (twice), the small "bugs and beasties" world (many of
them playing hide and seek) and were fascinated by the feats of the leaf-cutting ants. Outside,
we met several friendly goats, two Kune Kune pigs, and a shed of rabbits and guinea-pigs to
feed and pet. We were grateful for the shed, as it was while we were there that the skies
erupted! Thankfully, there were enough cabbages and willing cabbage eaters (aka aforesaid
rabbits and guinea-pigs) to entertain our four girls and several other families, who rushed in
to escape the downpour. As well as the animals to visit, BBP provides free arts & crafts
activities in a separate building, two outdoor play areas (one with artificial surface, one
with grass and (ha ha) mud!) and a picnic area. In addition, there is a small nature trail,
which I’m sure would be lovely in the spring and summer, but we didn’t visit due to the
weather! The cafe (where seating gets busy during peak lunchtime) serves a
variety of sandwiches and hot food, as well as simple kids lunch boxes. There is also the
inevitable souvenir shop! While not a cheap day out, we were really impressed with how much there
was to do, indoors or under shelter, in lousy cold weather! BBP is open all year except for a
two-month stretch in November-January (reopening for a short Christmas slot), so is a good
option for a cold and rainy day when you have stir-crazy twins!
http://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/museum
Free, normally only open weekdays and Saturday. Kathy (b/g 18 months): Fun to be had exploring the skeletons. Fairly safe as most exhibits are
in cases and the skeletons must have survived decades of children touching them. Good for an
hour or so and the courtyard of the Sedgewick museum (geology and fossils) over the road is a
good picnic site. It has a hedged off grassy area quite far from nearest road so is safe to let
them out of the pushchair. Free admission, Monday to Friday 9am-1pm, 2pm-5pm, Saturdays 10am-4pm. Kathy (b/g 2 years): Nice entrance way staircase in a courtyard
conveniently located right by Lion yard (though not pushchair friendly). The museum is currently
being modernised but still suffers from lots (and lots) of bits of old rocks in display
cabinets. There is a huge dinosaur skeleton (Iguanodon) right by the door that the children
loved and a few smaller dinosaur skeletons and big ammonites that were interesting, but even
dinosaur obsessed 2 year olds got bored here quite quickly. There are some older children's
activities and lots of books for all ages to view. Perhaps at this age it is better as a nice
quiet area in the city where small children can safely be released from their pushchair for a
few minutes but not for a long excursion. There are frequently family activity days advertised
in the local paper/website. Adult £13, children under 16 free admission, Winter 10am - 4pm, Summer 10am - 6pm (last admission 45 mins before closing time) The last hour is free to enter, this means there is one and a half hours there free before they close the hangers.
http://www.cheekymonkeysltd.co.uk
Good value at £3.50 per child. There was a 90 minute play limit at busy
times. Closed on Mondays. Kathy (b/g 18+ months): This one opened in June 2005. Though I only heard about it by chance on
a radio show about farmers needing to try new ways to increase their income.... Chaplins farm and Cheeky Monkey play area in Fulbourn, we had a really
good time here. There is a baby area but it is basically a ball pit, big foam building blocks
and a slide so the twins (almost 2) spent 2 minutes there before they ran off. The rest of the
play area is a fairly well enclosed, very safe structure (plan on website) the twins could do
virtually every activity on their own and there was almost no way they could hurt themselves. We
thought it should be possible to supervise them with only 1 adult if required next time (though
we did have fun climbing and sliding too). The biggest danger was probably the bigger kids not
looking before they dived in the ball pit. The outdoor area is nice, most activities here are better for slightly
older kids, the 2 slides required mastering ladders and the tractors in the sand were quite hard
to pedal so mum and dad had to push those. Café and farm shop (cakes, preserves and pickles),
also has pick your own soft fruit and a golf driving range though we didn't try that. Spent at
least 90 minutes bombing around and twins were thoroughly knackered afterwards (so were the
parents). Catherine (g/g 3years): Has a fantastic outdoor space which makes this the preferred venue for us when the weather is nice!
Quite pricey at £4.70 a child (or £4 if you buy membership) for 2 hours
(which has to include any meal time). Kathy (b/g 18 months): This one opened on bank holiday Monday (29th Sept 2005), Funky Fun house
is just off Newmarket Rd, Cambridge. The Toddler play area had 2 nice slides off the big padded climbing
frame, a levitating ball machine and a few other soft shape activities. Also had 2 walkers and a
ride along toy. The twins (almost 2) did spend a lot longer than I expected in this area, but
the main problem was it was too easy to escape from this and we spent a lot of time chasing them
round the lovely large warehouse as they raced each other with the walkers, and some of the
staff seemed to think they should stay contained!!! The main play area was very good with lots of activities but mainly
designed for bigger kids. The twins wanted to explore but weren't quite tall enough for most of
the climbing required, so needed a parent helping them all the time. The slides were very shiny
and hence you went fast and landed with a bit of a bump. The helter skelter slide definitely
required parents to have a small child on your lap as you went down, we (parents) had some
friction burns from elbows not tucked in enough though. The big wavy slide is fun, Ros loved it,
Sean wanted to sit on someone's lap as it was so fast. Above the ball pit there were some air
powered guns, so the big kids could take some foam balls up with them and fire at the targets
above the pit, except of course they preferred firing at the people in the pit, which stung at
bit. However there were dedicated staff constantly monitoring all the play areas so I guess they
would stop any really rough play. There was also a soft football/ basketball court and a dance machine,
baby zone, plus big café/ restaurant, sofas and party rooms. If your twins are closer to 4 or 5
years old (or older) they would have a fantastic time playing on their own while you relax on a
sofa with a coffee, safe in the knowledge that someone else was keeping an eye on them. Parties
could be quite good fun too with all the staff to provide games. No outside area. Catherine (g/g 3years): During term-time they offer "Parent and toddler Sessions" 10am - 2pm for £3.50 per child (parents are free), this way you get 4 hours instead of the usual 2 hours.
Advantages over Cheeky Monkeys are lots of space and tables for carers and very spacious generally. Two separate play areas - one specially for toddlers where they are well entertained but safe from trampling by larger children. Food is good and varied.
Catherine (g/g 3years): The twins love both places, at this age both places have lots to offer. We find its even worthwhile taking a book as it is possible to have a quiet coffee and read while supervising.
Kathy (b/g 2years): Big library, entrance in Lion Yard, small but reasonably priced cafe, lifts only suitable for narrow double pushchairs.
CTC meeting coment: twin friendly, quiet and spacious.
Kathy (b/g 2years): small library, plenty of childrens books easily accessible and a few seats, librarians seem tolerant of twins running around.
Milton Country Park
West Stow Country Park (& Anglo Saxon Village)
University Botanic gardens
Anglesey Abbey
Ickworth House
Audley End House and Gardens
Wandlebury country park and Gog Magog downs
Milton Maize Maze
Cambridge city local nature reserves.
Ely Waterfront.
Notcutts (& Scotsdale) Garden Centre
http://www.scotsdalegardencentre.co.uk
Shepreth Wildlife Park
Wimpole Hall Farm
Linton Zoo
Woburn Safari Park
Baylham House Farm
Mole Hall Wildlife Park (nr Saffron Walden)
Bedford Butterfly Park
Zoology Museum
Sedgwick Geology Museum
Duxford - Imperial War Museum (Aviation)
Cheeky Monkeys
Funky Fun House
Summary of Cambridge soft play areas
Cambridge City Library
Milton Road Library
Cherry Hinton Library
Eating Out and About
Loos and Lifts