travel review

A Stay At Kettering Park Hotel & Spa

Kettering Park Hotel & Spa is a four-star functional spa hotel, located just set off A14 and within striking distance of landmark destinations like London, Oxford, Cambridge, Leicester and Birmingham. Amenities include a garden, an indoor pool, a sauna/steam room, a gym, meeting rooms and a restaurant/bar with a terrace. The spa offers mud wraps and Thai massages, and there are free parking spaces for up to 250 cars with disabled parking. There is also a 750-acre nature reserve close by, ideal for picnics and leisurely walks.

Grow Festival 2020

Northamptonshire, Britain’s Best Surprise year of arts and culture, was launched at this year’s Grow Festival, returns for its third in a series of festivals commissioned by Made in Corby and co-produced with The Core at Corby Cube. And yesterday, it was the end of Grow Festival!

As a first-time visitor, I hope they will be doing more and bigger events in the near future as it is always great to experience the arts and cultures in many forms with families. If you haven’t seen or been there before, it is held across two days (this year was Friday 7 and Saturday 8 February 2020) and consists of illuminating performances, experiences and workshops across Corby town centre.

Celebrating Christmas in Birmingham

Let the Christmas magic begin! Last week, it was my son’s birthday and we decided to treat Mr K to a posh steak house restaurant in Birmingham before heading to the largest authentic German Christmas market outside of Germany and Austria – Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market! If you are planning to visit the market or shop around Bullring and you are looking for places to stay, why not check out Birmingham airport hotel.

A Day at Wicksteed Park

If you are looking to do something fun this summer with children in the East Midlands, then you must visit Wicksteed Park which is located in Kettering! Wicksteed Park is not only a fun amusement park, but they also offer caravan and camping facilities on 16 acres (6.5 ha) of land right in the heart of the park. This park is packed with a mixture of traditional attractions and modern-day play equipment!

A Day Trip to Coral Island Blackpool

When you visit Blackpool, one of the most unmissable and must-visit places with children has got to be Coral Island! Coral Island is Blackpool’s largest indoor free-admission family-friendly attraction located at a prime area. It is directly opposite the beautiful Blackpool seafront, between Madame Tussauds and Sealife Blackpool by the Central Pier and right outside a massive car park! It is hard to miss, especially with its signature skull and crossbones! We love the place, especially my children. They could both camp there for the whole day if they were allowed!

Seals in the City at The National Sea Life Centre Birmingham

This week, we saw the two new additions at the National Sea Life Centre Birmingham, friends Miley and Boo. These two fostered seals have just taken up residency in a specially engineered environment. We can watch them up close as they swim and play in their new home and discover more about how they take care of these amazing creatures from their Sea Life experts.

Alton Towers Resort’s Stargazing Pods Review

Stargazing Pods is Alton Towers Resort’s brand new accommodation that had just opened to the public on the 12^th April 2019! These unique and cosy pods are set around a picturesque village where guests can embrace the outdoors and use the telescopes to look at the night sky with easy access to the theme park.

CAPCOM GO! At the National Space Centre

This Easter school holiday period, if you are heading towards Leicester with your family, then do check out this brand new CAPCOM GO! show at the National Space Centre’s planetarium! Last week, we were invited to experience CAPCOM GO! The Apollo Story which was produced by one of the world’s leading planetarium-specialist production companies NSC Creative, at the UK’s largest planetarium!

Magical Christmas at Drayton Manor 2018

Ho! Ho! Ho! Let’s go to Drayton Manor, home of Europe’s only Thomas Land™, to experience its award-winning Magical Christmas with the Imagination Parade and fireworks until 31st December 2018 to really get into the spirit of Christmas!

Drayton Manor Park is a short car hop for us and we have become quite a regular visitor! Throughout the years, we have seen so many changes and improvements in the park which keeps us going back again and again.

The Great Brick Safari at Twycross Zoo

From now until 7th January 2019, visitors at Twycross Zoo will have the chance to explore the world-famous Great Brick Safari with over 70 life-sized LEGO brick animals, showcasing 27 different species across the zoo. Twycross Zoo is set in an 80-acre site, caring for around 500 animals from over 125 species, located amongst the rural countryside in the heart of England, Leicestershire and it is easily accessed from major roads and motorways.

They are home to one of the largest primate collections in Europe and the only place in the UK, and one of four worldwide, where visitors can see all four types of Great Ape (gorilla, orangutan, chimpanzee and bonobo) as well as a wide collection of gibbons.

National Space Centre Review

Experience our breathtaking universe documented in UK’s largest planetarium and explore this vast resource covering the fields of space science and astronomy at the award-winning National Space Centre! It is indeed a real eye opener for first-timers like my family and me.

Inflata Nation Birmingham Review

Inflata Nation Birmingham has now opened their doors to the public! This £500,000 inflatable indoor theme park is located in Stechford Retail Park, which includes everything from a dedicated arena with its own slide and ball pool for under four year olds, to giant inflatable slides and an awesome two-lane assault course.

This place is great for family days out and can be enjoyed by all ages, shapes and physical ability. They also offer a variety of classes, such as fitness classes, disability friendly sessions, grown-ups only sessions, Inflata Tots sessions (just for pre-schoolers) and parties.

Coventry Transport Museum

Things to do in Coventry for free! School holidays can be very expensive, especially with the amount of money you spend just on entrance tickets. So one of the things we always look out for is free events around the Midlands and one of the top things to do is to visit Coventry Transport Museum.

Our Visit to Conkers

If you are looking for things to do in the Midlands this summer, then you must not miss out visiting Conkers! Conkers is a great family attraction at the heart of The National Forest, with indoor and outdoor play areas, interactive discovery zones, 4D cinema and an amphitheatre. Also not forgetting the Vertigo Adventures which was opened three years ago! Note that some activities will require booking at the Discovery Reception and extra fees may apply.

Celebrating 10th Anniversary of Thomas Land

Last weekend, we were delighted to be part of the 10^th Anniversary of Thomas Land press celebration which has been open at the popular Drayton Manor Theme Park since 2008! Did you know that since its installation, the Thomas engine, which journeys from Knapford Station to Tidmouth Hault, has travelled an incredible 13,799 miles in total? This is the equivalent to travelling from Scotland to London and back nearly 15 times!