1. Latitude, Henham Park, Southwold Suffolk
The festival hosts an impressive bill of musicians and bands who perform on four stages – The Obelisk Arena, The Uncut Arena, The Sunrise Arena, and the Lake Stage – as well as including theatre, art, comedy and more. Children under 12 get in free with a ticket holder and there is a dedicated family campsite with special activities laid on. However, the main attraction for families is really the Kids Arena. In this area a magical mini-festival for kids takes place. It is as diverse as the rest of Latitude, with books, art, music and theatre, heaps of participation and fun, from drama workshops to an insect circus, making your own pizza to joining their Glee club.

2. Bestival, Robin Hill, Isle of Wight
Bestival is one of the smaller, boutique festivals. It has a special Bigtopmania Kidzone Team with a host of artists and activities designed to keep the kids happy and far from bored with all that adult partying!! There is a baby Big Top for the shows, a Crafts Marquee, a Toddlers Under 5s Area, Jan’s infamous Van, a dressing up tent, a bouncy castle, face painting, and an outdoor play area.  The kids area is located right next to the family camp area and it is a bit of a peaceful haven for the kids to play in away from all the hustle and bustle.

3. Big Chill, Eastnor Castle Deer Park, Worcestershire
The Big Chill calls itself UK’s most family-friendly festival. Children under 13 get in for £4 and at the Kids Zone, children can enjoy performances from No Strings Puppet Theatre, Crazy Comic Club, Scamp Theatre’s production of Pinocchio, John Hegley and many more. There are also ongoing activities and workshops for kids in movement and dance, drum making, arts and crafts and giant 3D sculpture. There are several options for sleeping at The Big Chill 2010 – you can bring your own tent to camp, bring a camper-van, or you can try a bit of luxury camping in the form of a yurt or pod pad.

Other festivals worth checking out are WOMAD, Charlton Park, Wiltshire and Green Man, Glanusk Park, Wales, both of which let young children in free and are very childfriendly.

Top tips for when you are there include writing your mobile phone number on the back of their hands, packing plenty of baby wipes and snacks, ear plugs (for when you or the kids want some sleep!) but most importantly go with some other friends with kids so you can share this extraordinary experience.

Maybe I’ll see you there!

London Wetland Centre
Children under 16 will be allowed free admission and there are various tours as well as:
10.30 – 11.30am Paper making and turtle making
12.00 – 12.30pm Pond dipping – showcasing a healthy pond makes a happy garden
1.30 – 2.00pm Healthy Wetlands Healthy People games and activities
2.30 – 3.00pm Dr Quack’s medicinal plant trail – find out the historical medicinal uses of wetland plants
3.30 – 4.30pm Paper making and turtle making

WWT Caerlaverock Wetland Centre, Dumfries and Galloway
To celebrate World Wetlands Day, WWT Caerlaverock will be free to all children. This year’s theme will be ‘Healthy Wetlands-Healthy People’. Share in the global celebration of wetland ecosystems by visiting this outstanding example. Special guided walks and talks throughout the day.

Other Wetland Centres also worth visiting are:

Minsmere, Suffolk

Cley Marshes, Norfolk

Shapwick & Meare Heaths, Somerset

“was beginning to wonder where all the UK parent blog activity is.”

And that’s a shame, because reading what others have to say is at least half the fun. [British Parent Bloggers is doing sterling work to rectify this, of course!]

Anyway, I thought one things that could make the process easier is for us to share our subscriptions in a way that others can easily access. And here it is: our OPML file

An OPML file is just a list of blogs and news feeds that you can import into your news reader in one fell swoop rather than having to subscribe to them all individually.

If you want to have a look:

1. Save the file
2. Open up your news reader (see here for more)
3. Import the file
4. Update your news feed and you should have everyone’s latest posts to read.

Lastly, but definitely not least, thanks to David for sharing the technical tip.

The person to have added the BEST COMMENT by 12pm on 31st July will be the winner.

The rules are as follows:

1) You must register at the site and enter the first section of your postcode.

2) Your opinions must appear in the comments section of the place listing, rather than the notes section.

3) Your comment must be a minimum of 30 words and express some useful information specific to the place you are talking about. So, just saying “this place is great” will not count. Positive and negative comments are acceptable but no offensive remarks are allowed.

4) You must have direct knowledge of the place you are commenting on.

5) You can find places by searching by keyword or postcode. However, if after carrying out a search, you cannot find the place you want to comment on, then feel free to add the place yourself.

6) If you win, you will be contacted via the e-mail address you give when you sign up, so please make sure this is correct.

7) The winner will be paid the cash via paypal, so if you don’t already have a paypal account you may need to set one up.
The winner will be announced here

9) The judge’s decision is final.

If you have any queries, please send me a message on the Little Legends system (NB you will need to be signed in)

Youth Hostels that are particularly family friendly include:

1) Bellever, Devon – a former farm near the Bellever forest and Dart River. Miniature pony centre nearby.

2) Oxford – a centrally based Youth Hostel, ideal for exploring this beautiful city of dreaming spires.

3) Sandown, Isle of Wight – walking distance from the beach and lots of family attractions nearby

4) Derwentwater, Cumbria – mansion situated next to Derwentwater with stunning views. Large outdoor area for kids to play in

5) Golant, Cornwall – this youth hostel overlooks the Fowey estuary and is close to the Eden Project and Bodmin Moor

6) Bristol – another city youth hostel based on the quayside. You can walk to most attractions from here.

7) Lee Valley, Hertfordshire – believe it or not they have waterside log cabins here. Lots of watersports on offer.

Arundel, West Sussex – another youth hostel that is close to the beach. Attractions such as an outdoor swimming pool and castle nearby.

9) Poppit Sands, Pembrokeshire – close to beach with lots of activities on offer nearby such as horse riding, fishing and cycling.

10) Danywenalt, Powys – a former farmhouse with lovely views. Some great walks and pony trekking close by.

Thanks to Families South West for pointing these out.

Wickedly Wonderful in West Sussex. Kids can take part in beach games, horse-riding and watersports

XUK (Cross Keys camps) in London or Norfolk. Children can choose from sports or artistic activities.

The Venture Centre on the Isle of Man, where kids can do gorge walking and raft building.

Do it 4 Real which has 23 sites across the country. Children can choose from a variety of pursuits including filmmaking and abseiling.

Every little helps, so if you can please:
* Add a comment; or
* Add a place; or
* Link to the site; or
* Spread the word.

There are still a few bugs that need ironing out so please bear with us! We will also be adding some useful new features soon.

Thanks

If you are looking for a place to go where you can relax with your kids, check out some of the following sites.

These sites are for family friendly hotels:

1) Fritton House, Norfolk. This small hotel has a boating lake and a model farm

2) Calcot Manor, Gloucestershire. Here you will find a play area, creche and bicycles.

3) Fowey Hall, Cornwall. Babysitting service available and situated near a beach.

4) Evesham Hotel, Worcestershire. This hotel has a games room and croquet.

5) Glenfinnan House, Scotland. There is a playground and fishing.

6) Bedruthan Steps, Cornwall. Here you will find Children’s Clubs, a baby listening service, indoor and outdoor play areas, children’s swimming pools and special facilities for their meals

If you are looking for a place to rent, have a look at:

1) Baby Friendly Boltholes. This has a selection of properties in the UK. One in particular has a soft play area in the house as well as both indoor and outdoor pools!

2) Country Cottages. A variety of self-catering accommodation suitable for families.