My wife needs to finish her dissertation so I have agreed to take kids completely out of house/away for the weekend. Original plan was to go to my parents on IOW but ferry is £143 and I frankly refuse to pay that.

So what to do with them. They are 5 and 8, into their outdoors and biking (will have tag a long for little one if needed) and we can do 2 separate days out or one night staying somewhere.

Live near Bristol but where do we go? What do we do? Ideas please

Watching the DH racing at Fort ‘Bill’. Appreciate you might find that a bit far/pricey from Bristol admittedly.

Loads of options in and around FOD – family cycle trail, Go Ape and Puzzle wood, Clearwrll caves and Beechenhurst sculpture trail. A pedalabikeaway burger for lunch. Would be a great day out and fairly close to to you

@a11y I did think about Fort Bill, but probably too far to drive up

@dafoj Thanks, should have said we do FoD a lot. Was up there last weekend enjoying the trails so looking for somewhere else to explore. It is a good backup option though

I dunno, £143 sounds like a bargain weekend considering you’ll get free board at the other end, some extra hands to look after the kids, probably free food, and your wife properly gets the house to herself to think.

anything else will cost more and be knackering.

Do Fort Bill, even the drive feels like an adventure once you get up into the lakes and beyond.

Stay at the Wye Valley YHA for the night. Unfortunately similar cost to your ferry but less driving and loads of adventures, bikes and not bikes, to be had round there.

https://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/yha-wye-valley

I would have suggested staying in St. Briavels castle (also a YHA) but unfortunately fully booked this weekend.

Or just go to the seaside at Weston Super Mud or somewhere not too far.

@goldfish24 it would only have been for 1 day as parents away on Sunday, if a whole weekend I ‘may’ have sucked it up.

Not really been to Weston so that may be an idea! Everyone loves mud don’t they?!

Do Fort Bill, even the drive feels like an adventure once you get up into the lakes and beyond.

from Bristol?  With a 5 and 8 yr old in tow?  For a weekend.    I don’t know if I’m just old, but that sounds like a grim way to spend a weekend!

Day trip to the trails behind the Nationwide in Swindon? 🙂

I’d look on Airbnb or booking.com and see what you can see last minute that’s affordable. Some sort of novelty camping set up, a converted train in a field or something maybe. Make fire, eat sweets, roam without agenda, ignore usual bed times.

Or go to a ‘foreign’ beach with fewer amusements but plenty of beach. Still easy day trip from Bristol.

https://www.thebeachguide.co.uk/south-wales/glamorgan/southerndown.htm

Whilst washing up made me realise that now the bridge is free and you’ve found your passports there is lots of stuff in Wales that we’ve done or is on the do list for when we visit the family there.

Thinking of things aside from outdoors stuff which is great but less so if very wet.

Lots of castles: Chepstow, Raglan, Caerphilly, Castle Coch. An annual family ticket may offer best value if doing 3 or more. https://cadw.gov.wales/

Go Roman for the day in Caerleon with the bath house, amphitheatre, barracks and museum.

The national museum in Cardiff is good and easy to get to on the train from Bristol.

Best of all is St. Fagans museum of history just west of Cardiff. Indoor and outdoor bits of museum and bits of ‘living’ museum type bits. An Elizabethan manor thrown in for good measure. Easily a whole weekend of stuff to do with kids.

https://museum.wales/stfagans/

Seem to remember that Bristol is worth visiting too 😉

Day trip to the trails behind the Nationwide in Swindon?

Followed up with kite flying at nearby Barbury Castle, along with a picnic.

I love the idea of a fort bill world cup trip with my 7 y.o boy and it sparking a lifelong interest in all things MTB, but then I think of the park n ride queues, the long drive up, the possible boredom with fast bikes and it becomes hit n miss.  He’d like the gondola trip though

Coke and Hoopla?

I would second St Fagans for a day out. Also Ramp World in Cardiff if they are into BMX/stunt scooter type stuff.

Or a trip to Swindons Steam railway and a train trip https://swindon-cricklade-railway.org/