Hi we live near mansfield,notts as a reply to question about sundown adventure land weve been a few times with our children aged 2 and 6 and they think its great (weather permitting as its all outsde) our 2 year old especially likes the little houses that you can go inside in some of them theres secret entrances leading to the next house (i know this as they were there when i was a kid!!) its a really good day out but in most cases with the english weather it would have to be half decent for you to enjoy it as its all out door
Another great place is gullivers kingdom at matlock ideal for small children with lots of rides.
Hope this helps
Laura

Having taken our kids multiple times to Sundown - I would thoroughly recommend it - nice little cafe that is not too expensive - does sandwiches and some hot food. Nice little rides, permanent Father Xmas ride which is nice even in summer - good for picnics in summer and there are indoor soft play areas as well if the weather isnt good.
Why not try - White Post Farm and White Post Wonderland as well - on opposite sides of the roundabout on the A614 at Farnsfield - towards Nottm
http://www.whitepostfarmcentre.co.uk/ - joint entry ticket for both.
As for Legoland/Alton Towers - Legoland is a heck of a drive from Nottm - looking at at least 3 hrs - even if you dont get stuck in traffic on the M1/M25 - Alton Towers I would only do midweek, but even then there arent many rides aimed at little ones and it does get horrendously busy but they do do a baby swap system for adults on rides and you can hire buggies - cant speak for Legoland but Alton towers is nearer. Ever thought about Drayton manor park - has a little zoo as well wich is nice to escape to with little ones
http://www.draytonmanor.co.uk/ or
Twycross Zoo http ://www.twycrosszoo.com/
Hope this helps a little

If anyone would like to post a review for the Village Hotel Nottingham, please do so HERE.

Thanks.

Pippy

Thanks for that, hopefully the weather will hold out. Cant wait for Center Parcs, think weve booked every activity going lol

I live just 6 miles from Sundown adventure land or as us locals call it
" Pets Corner" and have seen it grow over the years.. the place is just fantastic for a day out..my only regret is that my kids are teenagers and won't be seen dead there any more! Ha..roll on grand kids so i can start all over again... anyway, i think the only negative thing i would say about it is that there is just one admission price..you pay admission for kids from the age of 2 upwards and if you have children of different ages, say 2 and and 6, it can be difficult to let them be together in certain parts of the park ( age limits, height limits etc) and they can be quite strict about this sometimes. It is open almost every day of the year, and has good facilities, although the jungle restaurant can get absolutely heaving. There are plenty of picnic areas you can go to..

The wild west is a great place for the kids to play, there is a space area, a Tudor area, fairytale area, the McDonalds farm area, merlins castle and i could just go on and on..in fact if you have a go in every area it is hard to get everything done in a day..oh yes, and the winter wonderland bit is great, the rides around the rapids when you get shot by bandits...see what a big kid i am! I even tried to get my step daughter a summer job there just so i had an excuse to go and play...

As already mentioned Sundown is a very good day out our 3yr old loves it and the cafe is not expensive at all which makes a change usually places like that are

I live in Notts so can comment on most of the above:

Sundown Adventure Land is great for young children

I agree with a comment above about White Post farm and next door Wonderland in farnsfield Notts - again fantastic for young children

Nearby to Notts - Gullivers kingdom is another great place to visit in Matlock Bath (Derbyshire)

Tales of Robin Hood in Nottingham City centre are also worth a visit - close to Nottingham Castle

Alton Towers is about an hour away

With regard to the Village Hotel - it is a good quality hotel with leisure facilities but I would warn anyone travelling to Nottingham that to describe it as the Village Hotel Nottingham is misleading because it is at least a 20 minute drive away from Nottingham City Centre

If you want a city break in Nottingham then avoid the Village Hotel

I'd like to recommend another excellent place for young children which is not so far from Nottingham or the Centerparc resort.

Rand Farm Park which is on the A158 just to the East of Lincoln. It is a really excellent place with farm animals, pets, tractor rides, indoor play areas, 2 cafes, huge outdoor play area with go karts, trampolines and playhouses. The staff are really friendly and helpful and the last time we went my 3 kids spent almost an hour holding the guinea pigs and rabbits!

I live in Lincoln and have seen this place grow over the years, I've also been to Whitepost and would say that Rand is better for younger children as it is more compact and there are lots of under cover activities if the weather turns bad.

I also think that Sundown Adventureland is excellent too!

Susan

and not far from Pets corner is Wetlands Nature reserve. A truly excellent place for the kids where they can see things like wallabies etc..

Yes Rand Farm is good we took our daughter(3) to feed the lambs, we went in the week when it wasnt school holidays and she got to feed 4 lambs as there wasnt many people there, i would imagine there being many disapointed kids if it was a busy time like weekends.

It's not too bad, even during school holidays. The staff are very good at rationing lambs and feeding time. During spring they have lots of lambs to be fed and during the summer they have lambs and sometimes calves to feed as well.

Susan