Why you should use Stay, Play & Explore with the family

You may recall at the start of the week I wrote about our Stay, Play & Explore adventures that we were going to have in Leicestershire. We had a lot of fun, it was great to get a break from the normal routines: cooking and cleaning – you know the usual things. Did you know that it’s not limited to half term? You can do it anytime in the year. 

We had a two day break as a family, which included three tickets to local attractions (listed on the ticket) and an overnight stay in a local hotel with breakfast included. We chose the Sketchley Grange hotel as it has a swimming pool and gym, which I thought would be a good idea for Daddy and the kiddies. We chose to leave on Monday, mid morning and we arrived at Conkers in Leicestershire for lunchtime. We had a quick picnic and got stuck into the action. Pirate Pat was there promoting his appearance on Britains Got Talent in the next couple of months and he did some magic tricks for the children. It was funny and it kept the kiddies captivated for a good half an hour. 

We managed to walk around Conkers in a couple of hours, we went on the train to the water side park and played there for a little while. There was so many pockets of parks, spread out over 100 acres, it was great outdoor fun. There was a fairy labyrinth and a big playground too, lots of fun for the little ones. The adult assault course looked fun but we couldn’t do that with the kiddies. The bit that was my favourite, and this is because it’s all about the memories, is the Gruffalo woods walk. The children walked around the woods, reading the signs and working together. Noah was reading the larger words and Isla was in charge of the small words. It was really good teamwork. Isla is really starting to recognise her words. They were very happy to find the Gruffalo at the end. 

We left Conkers and went straight to the hotel, to check in. This was the bit that the children were most excited about. Noah had us on time watch all day: “When is it 3 o clock Mummy?” “Can we check in yet Mummy?” “Where’s the hotel Mummy?”. It really helped that the hotel room was just amazing. Brand new. Clean. Huge. Two kingsize beds that sat next to each other, nice TV that was viewable from both beds. A lovely bath in the shiny bathroom and really powerful shower too. It was a perfect family room. The children argued over who was staying in what bed and with whom, Daddy joined in too. But when it got to bedtime, Daddy fell asleep with Noah and Isla fell asleep with Mummy. It was a lovely family evening. We went to a nearby Harvester for dinner as the children were quite hungry. After we all had nice full tummies we retreated to our wonderful hotel room for the night. 

Breakfast was lovely. A choice of hot and cold food, plenty for the vegetarian to eat too. Which is nice. We sat in the garden room restaurant staring out into the lovely garden, which had rabbits bouncing around and birds flitting from one branch to another. After breakfast we went to the spa area and the children had a swim. Isla did really well, swimming a good couple of metres without aid. She is getting there. Noah was very confident and managed a couple of lengths. It was nice to see their progression. 

After we checked out we went to Twinlakes Theme Park, Leicestershire, as it was sort of on the way home, we arrived at lunchtime and spent five hours going from ride to ride. It was great for the younger ones, I would say it’s perfect for 8’s and under. Isla went on her first “big girl” roller coaster, which she loved and Noah went on his favourite: log flume. The theme park has a lot to offer: play areas, farm area, roller coasters and a small log flume. There is also two huge barns full of places to eat and more rides, so if the weather turns there is still things you can do. I liked the Wind in the Willows ride. There did seem to be a lot that was closed off, but hopefully it will be fixed up soon and ready to be used again. The Halloween decorations around the park were amazing, I would recommend it over the Halloween period. 

It was a perfect family, mini break, that meant we got away from our home town and together as a little foursome for a couple of days. Family time is so precious and making memories like this is really important. Especially when the days are filled up with school and work. I am so glad I found out about the Stay, Play & Explore deal. I really do recommend it. 

All you have to do is visit the Stay, Play & Explore website to book your short family break away in Leicestershire. It’s really easy to book and only costs £139. 

I am also linking this post up to Country Kids, the great outdoor fun we had this week is definitely for sharing. Click over to the latest Country Kids post to see what others have been up to this week.