Kites, chimps and clubs
Swing your clubs at the Lakeside Golf Course. Tackle the bike trails on the Trailforks website. Sup Malarkey or Magnitude at Monty’s Brewery Visitor Centre. Or fish the Camlad River on the estate. Meet Thomas and friends at Drayton Manor Theme Park. Watch the red kites feed at the visitor centre. Or meet tigers and chimps at Dudley Zoo.
Country kids
Catch the flicks at Shrewsbury Cineworld. Bounce the day away at Jump In Shrewsbury. Meet adorable farm animals at the Park Hall Countryside Experience. Make new friends at the Dinky Donkeys Experience. Or steam through the glorious mid-Wales scenery on the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway.
Head to Shropshire Climbing Centre for over 450 sq.m of bouldering and ten roped lines that provide between 20 and 30 roped routes. Discover Thomas and friends at Drayton Manor Theme Park. Ride the nature trails with the Shropshire Hills Mountain Bike Centre. Or go on horseback with the Country Treks Equestrian Centre.
See hundreds of red kites fed by a lovely lake each day at Bwlch Nant yr Arian Visitor Centre. Stick around to ride the mountain-bike trails and recover with coffee and cake in the visitor centre. Or head to nine-acre Wonderland, where you can meet fairytale characters and see their houses.
Knock the pins down at Hollywood Bowl in Shrewsbury. Escape from a real prison at Prison Break Shrewsbury. Try quad-biking, mountain boarding, clay-pigeon shooting and archery at The Edge Adventure Activities. Or meet Sumatran tigers, lions, Asiatic bears and chimpanzees at Dudley Zoo (plus castle).
For the grown ups
Keep up your fitness at The Flash Leisure Centre in Welshpool. Keep your golf swing intact at the Lakeside course, complete with spectacular Powys scenery and challenging greens. And tackle the many mountain-bike trails that criss-cross the countryside on the Trailforks website.
Walk Marrington’s river gorge and dingle, watching out for kingfishers, otters and river trout. Trek the moorland on Stapely Hill and read the fairytale plaque at Mitchell’s Fold Bronze Age Stone Circle. Check out the ancient rock formations at Church Stretton, then refuel in the town’s tea shops.
More sedately, try a bottle of Malarkey or Magnitude at Monty’s Brewery Visitor Centre. Fish the Camlad River that runs through the estate. Paddle to Arley or Bewdley with River Severn Canoes and catch the steam train back. Take a trip on a riverboat with a retractable roof with Sabina River Cruises. Or hang-glide from the Long Mynd.
Head back into history to discover magnificent monuments such as Powys Castle and Garden with its museum complete with Far Eastern artefacts. Just down the road, Montgomery Castle dates from 1223 and offers lovely views over the Welsh border. Visit Shrewsbury for the abbey and shops. Or come for the food festival or flower show.
Happy hens
When you’re choosing somewhere to celebrate your upcoming nuptials with your besties, where better than a Tudor country house bursting with charm? Marrington Hall comes with space for 14, spaces to be together and spaces to be apart. It also offers the small matter of a five-acre estate and a heated outdoor pool.
Dine and drink in the baronial dining room or out under the big skies, contemplating another dip in the pool. Take your marshmallows and Prosecco out to the firepit. Get competitive over table tennis or croquet. Or make time for some pampering on a spa day with hot tub and hammock at romantic Fishmore Hall.
Order up the mixology experts from Jam Inns and enjoy an in-house cocktail masterclass for two hours. Try kicking a ball around while wearing a large zorb, with West Midlands Bubble Football. Bust your way out of jail at Prison Break Shrewsbury. Or try a walking escape game with Bridgnorth Diamond Hunt, with pubs along the way.
Head out to sample the cocktails at Blind Tiger and The Libertine Cocktail Bar and Tearoom, complete with Alice in Wonderland theme. Enjoy local house beers at The Salopian Bar. Eat out on the terrace with river views at The Boathouse. Or take a tipple on the Severn Valley Railway in a converted railway station at The Railwayman’s Arms.
