A Family & Friends Railcard costs just £30 a year and can save up to 60% on kids’ fares and take a substantial 1/3-off the price of adult rail tickets. Plus, you can get out of the driving seat, take the train and make travelling as much fun as arriving on your next family day out. Apply online for a Railcard in minutes and don’t forget to have a look at the fantastic offers on shows, events and festivals that are part of the deal too – all year round.
[youtube id=”2vnJPllIlHU”]
1/4 Take the train to Chester for a family day out at the UK’s best zoo
If you need a good reason for a family day out in Chester, the city can give you over 9000 without thinking twice. That’s roughly how many rare, endangered and just plain thrilling animals live at Chester Zoo. Named UK’s Best Zoo in 2015, it’s also number six in Trip Advisor’s world top ten – just behind San Diego and Singapore. Which is pretty incredible, considering it’s only an hour by train from Manchester. Spread out over 50 hectares of gorgeous parkland, even if you use the cute monorail to get about, zoo fun easily fills an entire day.
The city of Chester itself is packed with stuff to see and do. Show kids the legendary medieval ‘Rows’ and they won’t need convincing to walk round half-timbered, higgledy-piggledy shops – the kind of authentic fairy tale Disney dreams about. Then there’s the 11th century castle and spectacular wall-walk to explore. And, if you think churches are a bit on the dry side, visit Chester Cathedral and think again. Not only is the building magnificent, it’s in the process of being reproduced with 350,000 Lego bricks and young visitors can watch the master builders at work and do a bit of construction themselves. Leave some time for the Cathedral Falcon Garden too. It’s one of a kind and getting up close to birds, chatting to the falconers and watching flying displays is another unforgettable only-in-Chester experience for kids.
A Family & Friends’ Railcard saves up to £24.60 on a day-trip from Manchester to Chester for a family of four. Use the Railcard Journey Planner to see how little your own family day out could cost.
Buy now and save 20% with promo code FEB17FT when you buy a Family & Friends Railcard online until 20th February 2017.
[youtube id=”BBuAQx5aejc”]
2/4 Free family days out in Bristol are even better by train
Hop on the train for a family day out in friendly Bristol and it’s easy to understand why it was named European Green Capital City in 2015 – even the huge Clifton Suspension Bridge is just about engulfed in woodland. Take the kids and go see for yourself, the visitor centre’s excellent and tells Clifton’s story beautifully. Try the guided tour of the bridge every Saturday and Sunday at 3pm, all for free.
There’s a wide range of free and affordable things to do in Bristol. Wild, immense Leigh Wood is great for buggy-friendly walking trails. Blaise Castle has a children’s museum, adventure playparks and hectares of lovely parkland to explore. Kids can climb 32m high Cabot Tower, discover Bristol Art Gallery, the Arnolfini and M-Shed or spot the works of the city’s infamous son on the Banksy Walking Trail and not a penny changes hands.
Other great family activities include the harbour cruise on the Matthew (an exact replica of the ship John Cabot sailed to discover Newfoundland in 1479),the Bristol Science Centre and AirHop, the world’s largest trampoline park.
A Family & Friends’ Railcard saves up to £24.60 on a day-trip from Manchester to Chester for a family of four. Use the Railcard Journey Planner to see how little your own family day out could cost.
Buy now and save 20% with promo code FEB17FT when you buy a Family & Friends Railcard online until 20th February 2017.
[youtube id=”4WZbsCzsVeg”]
3/4 Catch the train for a historic family day out in York
York’s famous for its mighty Minster and chaotically quaint Shambles. As a relatively small city it makes for the perfect family day out by train – almost everywhere is better on foot. York Castle Museum jumped into Trip Advisor’s UK Top Ten in 2016. Not much of a surprise, from the recreated Victorian streets and excellent special events to the bloodthirsty, dramatic and fascinating permanent collection, it’s astonishing. Don’t miss a march round the wall-walk and take a hike to the top of Clifford’s Tower: all that remains of the original castle and the best view in York.
Naturally, you can’t have history without hauntings and ghostly goings-on in York Dungeon are the stuff of legend, definitely not for the faint-hearted. And, of course, York Minster’s a must-do. A bit like Chester, this glorious cathedral is keen to get a whole new generation interested, so it’s kid-friendly to a fault: children get their own Explorer Backpacks and an open invitation to hunt Dragons, meet Monty the Monkey or discover dozens of Regal Creatures on fantastically well designed family trails. There are enthusiastic guided tours of the cathedral itself created specially for younger visitors and you’ll always find somewhere peaceful in the Close to regroup, take a breath and decide what to do next.
A Family & Friends’ Railcard saves up to £24.60 on a day-trip from Manchester to Chester for a family of four. Use the Railcard Journey Planner to see how little your own family day out could cost.
Buy now and save 20% with promo code FEB17FT when you buy a Family & Friends Railcard online until 20th February 2017.
[youtube id=”22GQqhoKSWM”]
4/4 Hop on the train for a family day out by the sea in Portsmouth
There’s no getting away from the sea on a family day out in Portsmouth and why would you want to anyway? The ancient city of daring exploits, mariner’s tales and fabulous ships, makes more fun out of water than you ever thought possible. Want to get your bearings before you begin? Climb to the top of the iconic Spinnaker Tower. You can see for miles and, handily, it’s just 5 minutes walk from the train station.
Blue Reef Aquarium takes kids deep underwater for deadly sharks, manta ray and piranha, then introduces them to the ocean’s cute side with otters, sea lions and adorable turtles. For depth of a different kind, take to the harbour and climb aboard the Mary Rose. Most famous of all Tudor ships, she’s incredible to explore and – if you time it right – kids can do Tudor Dress Up and hear salty old seadogs telling Tales from the Tudor Warship.
HMS Warrior is another restored beauty worth getting to know better. Or you could go all out and dive into waves and pools and fly down flumes at Portsmouth’s Pyramid Centre. Then, once everyone’s worked the fun as hard as they can, make time for stellar fish and chips. It’s a family day out at the seaside, what else were you going to have for tea?