Sharks, spas and arrows
Usher the kids out of the pool, towel them off and ride the Great Orme Tramway, dive with sharks at the Blue Planet Aquarium and trampoline in a slate cavern. Pack your irons for Ruthin Golf Course, ride the world’s fastest zip wire, tour Vale Vineyard. Relax at Bodysgallen Hall Spa, paddle Bala Lake or fire arrows at Bearded Men. So to speak.
Country kids
Usher the kids out of the pool, towel them off and show them what North Wales has to offer. Ride the Great Orme Tramway, the only funicular railway that rides on public roads. Dive with sharks in the massive tropical tank at the Blue Planet Aquarium. Or meet snow leopards, chimps and American alligators at the Welsh Mountain Zoo.
Head to Bounce Below for the giant trampolines and zip wire suspended in an old slate cavern twice the size of St Paul’s Cathedral. Stay with the underground theme at the National Slate Museum and hear how slate made Wales famous. Or take in the scenery on the Llangollen Railway along the Dee Valley.
Meet and greet furry friends at Foel Farm Park. Say hi to bigger species at Chester Zoo. Have sustainable fun at GreenWood Theme Park, with its eco-powered coaster. Enjoy a gentle day out among the butterflies and birds of Pili Palas. Or pack your cossies for days out on great beaches at Colwyn Bay, Rhosneighr and Harlech.
Trek the trees at Fforest Adventure. Climb to the roof of Wales on the Snowdon Mountain Railway and wave at the sweaty walkers. Ride Chester’s Grosvenor Park miniature railway, spot spooks on the ghost tour or clamber the play equipment and pamper the animals at Chester Blacon Adventure Playground.
For the grown ups
Pack your woods and irons for Ruthin Golf Course: if you can’t find the fairways, you’ll at least enjoy the views. Swim wild at Bala Lake, ride the coloured routes on two wheels at One Planet Adventure Trail or ride the rapids with White Active. Or walk the Snowdonia mountains or Loggerheads Country Park up Moel Famau.
Got a hankering for the city? Chester’s just the ticket. Shop The Rows, England’s oldest shop-front, bag big names at McArthur Glen Designer Outlet at Cheshire Oaks or admire the amazing architecture of the cathedral. Take a medieval walking tour, have a punt at the racecourse, then mix your own cocktails at Revolution.
Take a guided tour of Vale Vineyard with wine tasting and cheese platter and take home some sparkling rosé to wash down your supper. Relax with a massage or manicure at Bodysgallen Hall Spa. Fish the two mixed-species lakes at Llandegla. Or cast your rod from a boat at Rhos-on-Sea.
Try the world’s first surf lagoon at Surf Snowdonia, coasteer with North Wales Active or dig into history with houses and gardens at Erdigg, Bodnant and Plas Newydd. See the country’s only Prime-Ministerial library, Gladstone’s in Hawarden, or try Greenfield Valley for 70 acres of woodland, lakes, streams, monuments and factories.
