Ideas for days out in the Avon area

With mortgage rates increasing almost on a monthly basis, finding spare cash for family trips is getting harder for many families. For two adults and two children a trip to Alton Towers near Birmingham will cost £95 to get in on the gate, plus petrol or coach fares, food, drinks and incidentals, and there’ll be little change out of £200. If pennies are tight then you must look closer to home for your holiday entertainment.

We are so lucky in this area with a wealth of really good places to visit. The best thing of all is that many of them are either free or very low cost to enter. Take a look at one of the best forms of daytrips: the picnic. Children love the basic simplicity of eating outside. To begin with include them in the planning and the packing of food. What would they like to eat and drink, and what special treat would they appreciate for lunch? Then simply walk to your local park, cycle or hop in the car and drive there. Afterwards, take a walk or a cycle ride with them, and return tired, exercised and happy in the knowledge that it will have cost you a fraction of £200.

Finding a suitable venue for a picnic is your first priority. Take out an Ordnance Survey map from the library and look for footpaths and cyclepaths locally, so you don’t even need to travel by car or bus. Alternatively seek out the Great British coast and countryside.

Here is a quick round-up of places to go in the region that are free or cost less than (or nearly) a fiver a head. It’s not a comprehensive list – please do send in your top tips for a family day out and we can share them with our readers. (email them to h.mottram@bepp.co.uk)

Avon Valley Railway. Bitton, near Keynsham. (www.avonvalleyrailway.org) Tel 0117 9325538. Adult £5, child £3.50. Family £13.50. Heritage railway trip of six miles.

British Empire & Commonwealth Museum. Temple Meads, Bristol. (www.empiremuseum.co.uk) Tel 0117 9254980. Adult £4.95, child £2.95, family £12. Modern children-orientated insight into our imperial past and present.

Bristol Ferry Boats. Various stops on Floating Harbour. Tel 0117 9273416. (www.bristolferry.com) Single £1, round trip £1.70. Regular round trips throughout the day around the docks.

City Farms. (www.farmgarden.org.uk) There are several in the area and all have different opening hours. They are usually free to visit (donations welcome) and are home to farm animals.  Most farms have some basic amenities. They include: Bath City Farm, Kelson View, Twerton. Tel 01225 481269; Hartcliffe Community Park Farm, Lampton Avenue, Hartcliffe, Bristol. Tel 0117 9782014; Lawrence Weston Community Farm. Saltmarsh Drive, Lawrence Weston. Tel 0117 9381128; Windmill Hill City Farm. Philip Street, Bedminster, Bristol. Tel 0117 9633252.

Clifton Suspension Bridge and Exhibition. Bristol. (www.clifton-suspension-bridge.org.uk) Tel 0117 9744664. Free if you are on foot. Parking on-street on the Leigh Woods side where small exhibition is located. The bridge views always inspire.

Farleigh Hungerford Castle. Near Bath. (www.english-heritage.org.uk) Tel 01225 754026. Open from April 1. Adult £3.50, Child £1.80. Castle with high walls and death masks in the chapel.

Helicopter Museum. Weston-super-Mare. (www.helicoptermuseum.co.uk) Tel 01934 635227. Adults £5.30, Child £3.30, Family £14.50. Fantastic choppers.

Horse World. Whitchurch, Bristol. (www.horseworld.org.uk) Tel 01275 540173. Adults £4.50, children £3. More than just horses.

Parks: Victoria Park in Bath is a must due to the huge playground; Ashton Court near Bristol features vast acres of grassland; Clifton Down, Bristol, is wonderful; Blaise Castle and House woodland park is also a huge area of woodlands and grasslands with a playground and is free to visit in north Bristol.

Open land: Worlebury Wood near Weston-super-Mare slopes down to Sand Bay, both offer lots of picnic possibilities; The Mendip Hills; The Forest of Dean; Sand Point, North Somerset; Brean Down, Somerset.

Pirate Walk and Slave Trail. Bristol. Saturday and Sunday at 2pm. From Wildwalk on Millennium Square, Bristol. Tel 07950566483. Adult £5, child £3.50.

Westonbirt Arboretum. Tetbury. (www.forestry.gov.uk) Tel 01666 880147. Adult £7, child £2. (Ok this is not quite a fiver a head but at £2 a child it’s good value.) Acres of space and trees.