Ragley Hall Park and Gardens, Alcester, Warwickshire
A sure-fire winner for the under-12s, the adventure playground in the grounds of this Palladian mansion has been a favourite with visiting kids for many years. The top child-magnet is the '3D' maze in which your little critters can go up and down as well as round and round (and round...). There are climbing walls and an aerial runway, and they can grapple for supremacy in the extensive wooden fortress. The Small People's Playground caters for the tots, and next door is a caf© and souvenir shop, plus a restful lakeside picnic area for you to have a snooze in the sun.More info: www.ragleyhall.com
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Lower Leas Coastal Park, Folkestone, Kent
This pleasant seaside area, revitalised in recent years, is home to the largest free playground in the southeast of England, running beside a Green Flag beach. It lies in the middle of the coastal park and is state-of-the-art as far as adventure playgrounds go. There are slides, a spiral helter-skelter and top-class aerial runway, as well as an enormous toddlers' sandpit, an area for children with special needs and a half-sunken pirate ship. Elsewhere in the park you can explore the beautifully landscaped gardens, complete with a wildlife zone, and check out the free summer programme at the amphitheatre.More info: www.shepway.gov.uk
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Chatsworth, Bakewell, Derbyshire
There's something for kids of all ages (and even the odd over-excited adult) at this huge adventure playground in the woodlands of the famous stately home. The sand and water play areas are heaven for younger children â they can splash about, play water games and build sandcastles to their hearts' content. Meanwhile your older offspring can test their skills on the climbing towers, wobble their way along the ropewalks and whizz down the spiral slide. There's also a 'commando wire', so expect lots of ear-piercing screams as they descend it.More info: www.chatsworth.org
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Bowood House, Caine, Wiltshire
A legend among younger kids (12 and under) for 30 years, it was designed by a Cornish boat builder using timber from this beautiful country estate near Swindon. There's a full-size pirate galleon, complete with rigging and crow's nest, and kids love climbing the huge scramble-net up to the lofty walkways, and riding the big slides and flume tubes. Number one attraction, though, is the 'death slide', which starts with a vertical drop. There's gentler stuff too, such as spinning discs and trampolines, and the Soft Play Palace, with its gentle indoor fun, is perfect for the little ones.More info: www.bowood.org
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Floors Castle, Kelso, Scotland
Here at this country house on the Scottish borders, overlooking the River Tweed opposite Roxburghe Castle, kids can enjoy the mystery of entering the walled garden, where they will find the adventure playground. It's free to enter, and its highlights include a 'flying fox' ride, on which the kids grip the overhead handle and slide down the cable ride, and an undulating slide called the 'slippery dip', which will have them reaching the bottom and running back up for another go, time and time again.More info: www.floorscastle.com
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Harewood House, Harewood, Leeds
Opened by no less a dignity than the footballer Jack Charlton in 1970, then reopened in 1993 by Tony Dorigo, another Leeds United and England player, the adventure playground at this country home of the Queen's cousin, the Earl of Harewood, is world-class, and well worthy of the patronage of such great sportsmen. The children's imaginations can run riot in the adventure tower, and there are lofty boardwalks aplenty, as well as the usual slides and climbing opportunities.More info: www.harewood.org.uk
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Go Ape, various locations
High-wire fun in the forest canopy is what Go Ape is all about. This adventure company now has 22 of its woodland obstacle courses in locations throughout the UK, where the fun-packed programmes of 2-3 hours, including a safety briefing, will have Baboons (10-17-year-olds) and Gorillas (18 years-plus) hurtling down their zip wires (the longest, at 426 metres, is at Aberfolyle, in Wales) and negotiating ladders, walkways, bridges and tunnels made of wood, rope and wire. Non-swingers can watch friends and family, safe on the forest floor, but participating kids must have an adult accompanying them.More info: www.goape.co.uk
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Cannon Hall Farm, Cawthorne, South Yorkshire
They've spent a lot of money on the adventure playground at this open farm near Barnsley, and it's now one of the best in the north of England. The tunnel slides are ever-popular, and there are all kinds of elaborate climbing frames, ropes and ladders to challenge the kids' clambering skills. Toddlers can often feel left out at adventure playgrounds, but not here, where there's a specially designed, separate play area for those aged three and under, with sturdy toys and sensory games.More info: www.cannonhallfarm.co.uk
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