Daughter and son in law are taking their two little ones, 3 and 2 for a short holiday to Dorset next week. Does anyone know of any good places to visit? She found the railway at Beer Pecorama, the little one loves trains. Any other ideas gratefully received.
(edited to add - don't forget rock pooling on the beach between Lyme and Charmouth, at low tide there are lots of rock pools for little one's to poke around in, buy a net from a local shop and see what they can find!)
Don't forget the fossils. Either on the beaches or there is a very good fossil museum / shop in Lyme Regis at the top of the high street I seem to remember. Unfortunately I think they charge but worth a visit.
Also go crabbing at West Bay harbour. You can get lines at the fishing tackle shop next to the harbour.
Quote: Originally posted by Inner Zone on 23/8/2011
They might be a bit young for these:
Don't forget the fossils. Either on the beaches or there is a very good fossil museum / shop in Lyme Regis at the top of the high street I seem to remember. Unfortunately I think they charge but worth a visit.
Also go crabbing at West Bay harbour. You can get lines at the fishing tackle shop next to the harbour.
Agree with all of the above but Charmouth is better for fossil stuff and they can have a paddle in the stream and beach. Crabbing off the harbour at west bay is good but don't let them in the water at west bay. It's dangerously shelved. Paddling at Charmouth & lyme is safe.
depends how far you want to go - Weymouth is a more modern seaside with the sealife centre (has been reported as looking tired) although there is a small marine aquaria on the cobb at Lyme.
Dorchester has a dinosour experience I believe.
I've just come back from west bay the kids loved the crabbing . Don't bother with taking the kids to monkey world waste of £35 to get in . Lyme Regis was good fun to walking along the beach looking for fossils. And the hut in west bay called Rachels cook a pukka cod and chips.
I wouldn't recommend the Dinosaur museum in Dorchester at all! In our opinion, grossly overpriced and a real disappointment. If they were older, I would recommend the County Museum in Dorchester but I think that pre-schoolers probably wouldn't appreciate it.
For real trains, try the Swanage steam railway (no idea of cost but they look magical and you can see the castle from the station at Corfe).
We had a lovely day out at Monkey World when ours were 6, 4 and 3. It seemed quite expensive to get in but they had a great time and lasted most of the day.
Several friends with small children have recommended Abbotsbury Farm for a nice day out.
We have just come back from that area and our girls enjoyed :
sidmouth donkey sanctuary...its free and fabulous...if you like donkeys!
Charmouth fossil hunting, beach , and the heritage centre
Lyme for just chilling on the pebbles, rock pooling etc
Abbotsbury has a lovely childrens farm park and swannery
we also enjoyed sidmouth ,they had a folk festival on when we were there and also Lyme had its carnival week there was a lot of entertainment in both places.
She won't need to go far at all, it's a lovely area. At that age they'll just be happy playing on the beach. Lovely sandy one at Lyme & a bigger ones at Charmouth, where you can also hunt for fossils. The donkey sanctuary near Sidmouth is lovely and free.
You can also go on boat trips from Lyme, mackerel fishing is fun!
------------- Angie ~~
~ If you see someone without a smile give them one of yours ~
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Dorset, Lyme Regis ideas kids please
