Full information about the following parks and attractions can be found in the October 2004 issue of Practical Caravan. For back issues telephone 08456 777812. Admission Price and Opening Times were correct at the time of publishing. Please check for latest information before visiting.

Where to go: THE SCIENCE MUSEUM

Address Exhibition Road, London SW7 2DD
Website Click Here
Opening times 10am-6pm, every day
Admission Free
 • The Science Museum is the mother of all interactive museums: its 46 galleries house 2000 hands-on exhibits, so kids will be able to push buttons and pull levers to their heart's content, while gaining a valuable insight into science and technology.

Where to stay: CRYSTAL PALACE CARAVAN CLUB SITE

Address Crystal Palace Parade, London SE19 1UF
Website Click Here
Open All year

Where to go: THE MUSEUM OF FARNHAM

Address Willmer House, 38 West Street, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7DX
Website Click Here
Opening times 10am-5pm (Tuesday-Saturday)
Admission Free
 • The Museum of Farnham is an immaculate 18th-century house. There's no café and just a tiny shop, but it's still perfect for families. Packed with items illustrating the town's history, most objects can be handled and the displays are at child height. Info panels give simple details lower down, and fuller explanations higher up.

Where to stay: HORSLEY CAMPING AND CARAVANNING CLUB SITE

Address Ockham Road North, East Horsley, Surrey KT24 6PE
Website Click Here
Open 27 March-3 November

Where to go: FALMOUTH ART GALLERY

Address Municipal Buildings, The Moor, Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 2RT
Website Click Here
Opening times 10am-5pm (closed Sundays)
 • This year, Falmouth Art Gallery was awarded a 'Museums Excellence Award for Education Initiatives' for making its paintings and sculptures accessible to all ages. Toddler steps and magnifying glasses let kids get up close, and if they fancy making their own art there are child-sized tables and chairs.

Where to stay: CARNON DOWNS CARAVAN PARK

Address Carnon Downs, Truro, Cornwall TR3 6JJ
Website Click Here
Open All year

Where to go: BIG PIT, BLAENAFON

Address Big Pit: National Mining Museum of Wales, Blaenafon, Torfaen NP4 9XP
Website Click Here
Opening times 9.30am-5pm (March-November)
 • Big Pit is a traditional coal mine that once employed 1300 people. Its engine house, blacksmith's workshop and pithead baths now house a variety of multi-media displays about the history of the pit. But it's the underground tour that's the most fun. Pick up your helmet, then plummet 300 feet to a murky netherworld of shafts, levels, seams, roadways, air-locks and stables.

Where to stay: BRYNICH CARAVAN PARK

Address Brecon, Powys LD3 7SH
Website Click Here
Open 31 March-2 November

Where to go: THINK TANK, BIRMINGHAM

Address Millennium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham B4 7XG
Website Click Here
Opening times 10am-5pm (last entry 4pm)
Admission Adult £6.95. Child (3-15yrs) £4.95. Concessions £5.50. Family and annual tickets are available, phone for details.
 • Thinktank aims to explain how science shapes our lives. Enter through galleries devoted to the present day ('Think now'), then go downstairs to the past ('Think back'), or upstairs to the future ('Think ahead'). Give your memory a work-out in the Brain Gym, play Musical Genes, or grow a laughing lettuce. There's a gallery for the under-7s, and the café has a children's menu.

Where to stay: CHAPEL LANE CARAVAN CLUB SITE

Address Chapel Lane, Wythall, Birmingham B47 6JX
Website Click Here
Open All year

Where to go: EUREKA!, HALIFAX

Address Discovery Road, Halifax HX1 2NE
Website Click Here
Opening times 10am-5pm all year, except 24-26 December
Admission Adult and child £5.95. Saver (up to 5 people) £27.50. Under-3s free
 • Eureka! is aimed at three- to 12-year-olds. To begin with, Scoot the Robot introduces visitors to the human body and the senses, from a giant mouth with a wobbly tooth, through a skeleton bike which teaches about joints and muscles. In 'Our Global Garden' Gordon Gnome is the guide. Heard that voice before? Yes, it's Alan Titchmarsh.

Where to stay: WOOD NOOK CARAVAN PARK

Address Skirethorns, Threshfields, Skipton BD23 5NU
Website Click Here
Open 1March-31 October

Where to go: CATALYST, WIDNES

Address Mersey Road, Widnes, Cheshire WA8 0D
Website Click Here
Opening times 10am-5pm (Tues-Fri + bank holidays + most school holiday Mondays) 11am-5pm (Sat and Sun). Closed most Mondays
Admission Adult £4.95. Child £3.50. Concessions £3.95. Family £14.95
 • The country's only museum about chemicals is set in a converted soap factory in Cheshire. It covers the development, manufacture and use of chemicals, and a host of touch-screen multi-media computers bring it all to life. The top-floor observatory is accessed via a spectacular glass lift, and gives fabulous views across the Mersey.

Where to stay: CHESTER SOUTHERLY CARAVAN PARK

Address Balderton Lane, Marlston-cum-Lache, Chester, Cheshire CH4 9LF Tel l 01244 671308
Open All year

Where to go: MAGNA, ROTHERHAM

Address Sheffield Road, Templeborough, Rotherham, South Yorkshire S60 1DX
Website: Click Here
Opening Times 10am-5pm
Admission Adult £9. Child £7. Concessions £7. Plus a variety of family and annual concessions
 • Magna lies within a huge former steelworks, and has galleries based on earth, fire, air, water and power, and displays on 'Living Robots' and 'The Face of Steel'. Kids can operate a JCB, explore tunnels, blow up a rock face, experience a tornado, travel in time, and hang onto their stomachs in a gyroscopic chair.

Where to stay: CLUMBER PARK CARAVAN CLUB SITE

Address Lime Tree Avenue, Clumber Park, Worksop, Nottinghamshire S80 3AE
Website Click Here
Open April-November

Where to go: KILLHOPE LEAD MINING MUSEUM, COUNTY DURHAM

Address Near Cowshill, Upper Weardale, County Durham DL13 1AR
Website Click Here
Opening times 10.30am-5pm (1st April-30th Sept). 10.30am-5.30pm (Bank Holidays/school summer holidays) Restricted winter opening
Admission Site and mine: adult £5. Child/ concession £2.50. Family £8.50. Site only: adult £3.40. Child/concession £1.70. Family £12.50.
 • Killhope was last year's winner of The Guardian's 'Family Friendly Museum Award', and boasts England's largest working water wheel and an excellent visitor centre. There are woodland walks, a hide for observing the rare red squirrel, and a playground for younger children.

Where to stay: DOE PARK TOURING CARAVAN PARK

Address Cotherstone, Barnard Castle, County Durham DL12 9UQ
Tel 01833 650302
Open 1 March-1 November

Where to go: MUSEUM OF TRANSPORT, GLASGOW

Address 1 Bunhouse Road, Glasgow G3 8DP
Website Click Here
Opening times 10am-5pm (Monday-Thursday). 11am-5pm (Friday + Sunday)
Admission Free
 • Glasgow's Museum of Transport attracts half-a-million visitors a year, and it's easy to see why. Its collection spans a huge range of transport including horse-drawn vehicles, bicycles, fire-engines, motorbikes, prams, and yes – even caravans. The Clyde Room contains around 250 models of world-famous ships built on the River Clyde, including HMS Hood, the Queen Mary, and the Queens Elizabeth I and II.

Where to stay: LUSS CAMPING AND CARAVANNING CLUB SITE

Address Loch Lomond, Alexandria, Scotland G83 8NT
Website Click Here
Open 21 March-28 October

Full information about the above parks and attractions can be found in the October 2004 issue of Practical Caravan. For back issues telephone 08456 777812. Admission Price and Opening Times were correct at the time of publishing. Please check for latest information before visiting.