Find things to see and do, and places to stay, in England.

England

Conkers Discovery Centre is a family attraction in the National Forest, with a mix of indoor and outdoor play and interactive exhibits.

Activity Centre

Conkers Discovery Centre

Derbyshire

This is a circular walk in the National Forest that you can take either from the Conkers Discovery Centre, the Conkers Campsite, or the National Forest YHA. 

We picked up a leaflet for the 'Newfield and Stonepit Walk' of the National Forest while staying at the Conkers Campsite. This walk takes you through some of the industrial past of the area, including the Moira canal and furnace. 
However, as we found, much of the route was overgrown and difficult (or impossible) to follow on the official map - especially the Stonepit field. 

This route here is our recorded route using Ordnance Survey OS Maps app of the official 'Newfield and Stonepit Walk' but with the route we took due to changes in footpaths since the walk's leaflet was published.

Moira Heritage Walk

This is the summit of Bardon Hill, which is part of the Leicestershire 3 Peaks Hiking Challenge. This is the highest point in Leicestershire!

Bardon Hill

This is the summit of Birch Hill, which is part of the Leicestershire 3 Peaks Hiking Challenge

Birch Hill

Some campsites have very little facilities; others have lots.

Well, this campsite has a theme park!

Drayton Manor Campsite is run by the Camping and Caravanning Club. You can stay at this campsite even if you aren't members of the Camping and Caravanning Club.

Drayton Manor Campsite

This is the summit of Beacon Hill, which is part of the Leicestershire 3 Peaks Hiking Challenge.

Beacon Hill

There are always lots of animals to see at Ash End House Children's Farm. 
Kids can get hands-on, as they are each given a bucket of animal feed. You can then roam through the animal enclosures and feed them.
There's also pony rides, tractor rides, bottle feeding, egg collecting, and a number of other organised activities.

Ash End House Children's Farm

The Cannock Chase campsite is run by the Camping and Caravanning Club. It's set in Cannock Chase with the forest directly accessible from the campsite.

Cannock Chase Campsite

Not far from the M6 and the city of Birmingham is Cannock Chase in Staffordshire.  The Go Ape centre is located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, known as Birches Valley.

This has one of their largest treetop adventures, with the longest zip wires being 260 metres.

Cannock Chase also has the Forest Segway, so if heights are not your thing, try one of these. (Note that age and weight restrictions apply - you need to be within a certain weight range for the Forest Segways to balance). Or of course, give the Treetop Adventure a try.

There are also plenty of walks and family-friendly cycle trails at Cannock Chase. If you can't bring your own bikes, you can hire some there.

Go Ape in Cannock Chase

The Forestry Commission has a number of Mountain Biking Trails at Cannock Chase. Some of these are marked as 'green' all-ability trails suitable for the family. So we went along and checked them out.

Cannock Chase Family-Friendly MTB Trails

From the campsite's website:


> If you're planning a camping holiday in the Peak District, our Club Site near Ashbourne is the perfect base from which to explore the area.
Known locally as the gateway to Dovedale, this lovely campsite has 70 pitches spread over three fields, two of which offer hardstanding pitches and a third with grass pitches. The facilities are of a high standard and include hot showers, a washing up area and laundry.

From the campsite's website:

<blockquote>If you're planning a camping holiday in the Peak District, our Club Site near Ashbourne is the perfect base from which to explore the area.
Known locally as the gateway to Dovedale, this lovely campsite has 70 pitches spread over three fields, two of which offer hardstanding pitches and a third with grass pitches. The facilities are of a high standard and include hot showers, a washing up area and laundry.</blockquote>

Conkers Discovery Centre

Our Review

Facilities

Activities

Prices

On The Map

Address

How to get in touch