Cannock Chase: Birches Valley

I've written about Cannock Chase before but this review is for another location.  And to be honest I found Birches Valley a better family destination than the Marquis Drive visitors centre.  Maintained by the Forestry Commission it is the place to go for mountain bike paths and Go Ape and if you are accompanied by under 5s it provides plenty of scope for a family outing.

The playground in the forest is vast with a range of swings, climbing frames and walls, cargo nets and slides. The paths are good for small cyclists, and my small son was surprisingly interested in the fairy grotto. When we were there there was a Gruffalo trail which we didn't follow but looked like fun.  There are lots of good picnic sites if you want to bring your own.

The cafe is also a lot better than the one on Marquis Drive.  We went in the school Easter holiday so the cafe was busy and I queued for a while but the service was still good. We enjoyed coffee and apricot muffins, which were delicious, but we could have had freshly made baguettes, soup or jacket potatoes. There is also an ice cream kiosk which was doing a great trade.

 Overall on a fine day this is a lovely spot for family play and exploration.

 

 

Round up

Cafe latte price: £2.70 for a large one
Favourite cake: super fruity apricot muffins £1.60
Child friendly highlights: Great playground, lots of biking paths, gruffalo trail, fairy grotto, baby changing
Buggy friendly: Yes in parts, but it would need to be a sturdy one to cope with forest paths
Car parking: £3 all day

 

Verdict

Birches Valley is a great outdoor playing spot in a beautiful location and makes for a good value family destination.

 

Red Carpet Cinema, Barton Marina

I've mentioned Barton Marina before - it's a good place for a family walk around the lakes or to spot the canal barges moored in the marina. Until now I was a big fan of the Apple Tree Café, but now it has some serious competition.

Newly opened, the Red Carpet Cinema combines an independent two screen cinema with a café bar. The cinema programme includes children's films shown at after school time, as well as more grown up offerings. If your little one is under 12 months, you can take advantage of Baby Wednesdays, a film at 10.30am for you to bring your baby, where the film will be "on the gentler end of the spectrum" with the sound turned down. You can pick up little buckets of sweets or posh popcorn.

Even if you aren't going to the cinema, the café bar is a great food destination. The coffee is seriously good and there is a great range of cake and a brunch menu. My son is keen on the chocolate milk. We haven't had lunch there yet, but the menu promises pizza, sandwiches, jackets and salads. It's also licensed. Children can have half portions of selected items on the menu for half the adult price.

This is a civilised destination, great for food or cinema or both. Bring your kids for film or food after they've tired themselves out round the lakes.  Better still, get a babysitter and book yourself a night out.


Round up
Café Latte price: £2.25
Favourite cake: We've tucked into jammy toast (£1.50), and also chocolate brownie (£1.50)
Child friendly highlights: Child friendly films and Baby Wednesdays. Half portions of adults food items. Disabled toilet has changing facilities plus potties.
Buggy friendly: Yes
Car parking: Free at the Marina

Verdict
This is a great new venture, with all the details thought of. I can't decide if I'd rather bring my son for a film, my husband for a night out or just come on my own to enjoy the coffee and cake while reading a glossy magazine. Whatever, I'll be back!

Wolseley Bridge, nr Rugeley - swans and scones

This review is a combination of two place next door to each other. 

Firstly we visited Wolseley Centre. This is the headquarters of Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, set in a large wildlife reserve and it's a fun place to spend an hour with a small child.  We particularly liked the board walk area, set between the river and the ponds, where we watched ducks and their chicks and a couple of swans.  There is also a play trail - where you can play a tune on a fish or a dragonfly, a wildlife garden (look out for the bug hotel) and a sensory garden.

The centre hosts a range of children's activities - see the website for details of Nature Tots and themed birthday parties.


We didn't go into the centre building itself, but moved to the garden centre next door.  There is a large café here with a wide menu including hot food.  The main attraction for my son was the indoor soft play area within it.  At £1.50 for an hour's play it gave him chance to play happily while I drank (pretty decent) coffee.  It's not the biggest area, but it looked fairly new.  It's aimed at ages 8 and under.

We also shared the largest scone I have ever seen (think National Trust proportions), with cream and jam.  I almost couldn't finish it.

**UPDATE**
We had a great visit on a sunny day this school holiday and discovered more of the Wolseley Centre, including the rock garden and the meadow area on the right hand side of the drive. It made a great picnic spot. We also tried the coffee from within the Centre, and still recommend the garden centre for refreshments.

Round up
Café Latte price: £2.29 for a small one
Favourite cake: That amazing scone.  And the cream and jam.  All for £2.69
Child friendly highlights: The play trail at the Wolseley Centre, the indoor play at the garden centre.  Lunch box - £4.49 for sandwich, drink and 3 other items.  Same price for hot food.
Buggy friendly: Wolseley Centre boardwalk is very good, some steps in other areas. Garden centre is all easy access.
Car parking: Free at the garden centre, £1 donation at the Wolseley Centre.

Verdict
Taken together we spent a happy couple of hours at Wolseley Bridge.

Bluebell Woods, Yoxall Lodge nr Burton upon Trent

If you are reading this after the end of May, I'm sorry but you missed it for this year.  Come back in the autumn or try again next spring!  The Bluebell Woods at Yoxall Lodge are a temporary attraction, run by the family that farms the land here, open for several weeks in spring.  The site is a working farm, with several miles of beautiful woods and pasture, streams and a lake, all awash with stunning bluebells.  Try the walk of about 1/2 mile for little legs or up to 2 1/2 miles round the parkland.

The coffee is instant, in mugs, served on plastic patio furniture set out on the lawn.  But don't get sniffy, the view is great and the cake comes in generous portions and delicious.

There is a charge for this one - £4 for adults, £1 for children and under 5s free.  It's not one for bikes or balls, and not at all buggy friendly.  But on a sunny day it's a perfect place for a family walk in beautiful surroundings.





Round up
Coffee price: £1
Favourite cake: All at £2.75, we enjoyed the coffee cake and the apple cake (Victoria sponge with spiced apple filling)
Child friendly highlights: Lots of outdoor space to run around and explore.  The toilets are portloos and I couldn't spot any baby changing.  Some of the bridges have no handrails and the lake is not fenced.
Buggy friendly: Not really!
Car parking: Free (once you've paid your entrance fee) but all on gravel

Verdict
We visited on a sunny afternoon and it was beautiful.  We will come back when it becomes the Autumn Woods!

Packington Moor, nr Lichfield

Packington Moor is home to a cafe, farm shop and wedding venue, on a 700 acre farm between Lichfield and Tamworth.

The farm shop is a destination in its own right with an in house butcher, plenty of home made cakes and fresh fruit and vegetables on offer.  The cafe is in the same building, and focusses on fresh food, locally grown and sourced.  I have tested the hot pork sandwich with apple sauce and stuffing (£5.25) and can highly recommend it.

Packington is also one of my favourite spots to meet up for coffee and cake with a mum friend and her (very well behaved) children.  The coffee and hot chocolate are good, and the service is always friendly.

While the shop and cafe are the main attractions, they do work to make it friendly for young children, with a fleet of ride on tractors outside in good weather, and a children's menu for around £4.50.  But this isn't the place to bring your toddler to let off steam - there's no playground or bike riding space.

If you want lunch, I would recommend booking, particularly on Sunday.  This place is popular and rightly so.

Round up
Cafe Latte price: £2.30
Favourite cake: Tea cakes for £1.95  were very good (but I spotted amazing-looking coffee and walnut cake after I had ordered the tea cakes!) Try coffee and cake together for £4.95
Child friendly highlights: Outdoor tractors, colouring crayons for use at cafe tables, babyccino for £1, baby changing
Buggy friendly: Shop and cafe are, but car park isn't
Car parking: Free but all on gravel

Verdict
A cafe & farm shop destination rather than a family attraction with a cafe, but a good one if your little one is still in a high chair or happy to sit and eat.  Also a nice place to do Sunday lunch with the grandparents.

National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas

Living so close to the National Memorial Arboretum, it's a bit remiss of me to not have reviewed it before now.  It's a place we visited and enjoyed pre-child but I wasn't sure how my appropriate it would be for my pre-schooler.

The Arboretum opened in May 2001 and is the UK's centre for remembrance on a large site by the banks of the River Trent.  It has a vast array of memorial gardens, many but not all of them are military.  You may have seen some of them on the television including the Armed Forces Memorial and the recently unveiled memorial to the Falklands War. I find them fascinating, and if you have even the slightest interest in recent UK history you will find something to capture your imagination. The site is quite exposed and prone to flooding, so do dress appropriately!

My son enjoys the playground.  The sign says it is for ages 6 and above, but even at nearly 4 he can monkey around the balance bars, stepping posts and wobbly bridges.  No slides or swings though, so not really one for the littlest members of the family.  The playground is surrounded by trees which are dedicated to children who have died - some of the plaques make very sad reading.

He also found some of the memorials really interesting, including the big train dedicated to workers from the rail industry and the RNLI memorial.  As he gets bigger I think there will be more opportunities to explore and discuss what they mean.

I had 2 concerns - 1, that he would want to move the host of poppies and crosses that are placed on memorials around the site and 2, that he would have a tantrum that would upset visitors who have come to remember a loved one.  To be fair, he was very good and the whole place is very welcoming for families, but I do keep this in mind when we visit.

The cafe is not fancy, and the coffee is no where near as good as the nearby Apple Tree cafe, but it does a good range of drinks, snacks and lunches including Sunday lunch.  There was a good choice of cake too!  The Arboretum attracts a lot of coach parties so it can get busy, but there is plenty of seating. 

Round up
Cafe Latte price: £1.95 from a push button machine
Favourite cake: Ginger cake with lemon icing £1.90
Child friendly highlights: Small woodland playground, baby change, children's meals and drinks, children's activities.  There is no fence between the path and the river.
Buggy friendly: The site is very flat and easy for buggies, some on paths some on grass.
Car parking: Plenty, small charge depending on time of year. £1.50 in winter, £3 rest of year

Verdict
Overall this is a good place for a family visit  and a place to go back to year after year as more memorials are added and the trees grow bigger.

Apple Tree Cafe, Barton Marina, nr Burton uponTrent

Barton Marina is within the National Forest, on the Trent and Mersey canal and combines shops, places to eat and a lakeside walk with a busy canal basin.

Among the smart clothes and gift shops there is a toy shop and museum and The Butcher, The Baker and the Ice-Cream maker, which sells meat, bread and ice-cream (genius!) as well as fruit and veg.

On a fine day, you can take a walk around the lakes and spot the ducks or admire hundreds of canal barges moored within the marina area.  We visited as the snow was melting and the lakeside path was a mudbath, so bring wellies!  There is no playground area, and I wouldn't bring a bike, but there is enough space to wear out a busy toddler.

There is a choice of places to eat, but if it's coffee and cake you need, Apple Tree Cafe is the best choice.  It describes itself as an ethical coffee shop, delicatessen and fine foods company.  It has a beautiful interior and calming music.  The coffee is good, and the hot spiced apple drink (£2.40) is also worth a try.  There are plenty of varieties of cake to choose from, and it's a lovely spot for lunch with good soup, sandwiches and salads.  We like the Bargeman's Platter (£9.95) and the Croque Monsieur and soup combination for £6.95.  We've been bringing our toddler here since he was 5 days old, and it is friendly towards children of all ages, but they need to be on good behaviour!

One final point, this is a popular spot and food is cooked to order.  On busy days you may find yourself queueing for a table, then queuing to place your order and then waiting for the food to arrive.  You may want a book/crayons/toys in your handbag to prevent toddler meltdown.

Round up

Cafe Latte price: £2.50 for a large one
Favourite cake: Lots of great choice.  Coffee cake is good, as is the Millionaire's shortbread.
Child friendly highlights:  £4.95 for a child's lunch box (sandwich, drink, dried fruit and cookie).  High chairs, babyccino for 75p.  But no baby change (the Waterfront Pub has baby change if you are stuck) and none of the water areas are fenced off.
Buggy friendly: Cafe and marina is, lakeside walk generally ok but can get muddy
Car parking: Plenty of free parking


Verdict

This is a good place for a walk with a great coffee shop, and some of the best coffee in the area.  The Apple Tree is welcoming to families but not overly geared up for lively toddlers.  Bring grandparents or a book to keep the peace.  Or just keep it as one for indulgent child-free moments!

Cannock Chase: Marquis Drive Visitors Centre

Cannock Chase Country Park attracts mountain bikers, ramblers, dog walkers, horse riders and yet more mountain bikers from miles around.  It is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and includes forest, heathland and park areas.

If you have smaller children, the best place to start is the Visitors' Centre on Marquis Drive, where you can get to a host of paths suitable for buggies, scooters, trikes and bikes.  We like the paths marked on this map which provide enough distance and gradient for a small boy on a bike with stabilisers.  There are also family cycling trails of 3.5 to 9 miles, which we haven't tried yet.

The Visitors' Centre also has a good outdoor playground with swings, climbing frames and a good collection of wobbly bridges and balancing beams.  But it turns into a mud fest with the slightest amount of rain, so come with splash suits, old clothes and welly boots!  There is also a big area for picnics (including barbeques), frisbees and ball games.

The cafe is basic, but it does a range of hot and cold drinks, snacks, sandwiches, jacket potatoes (about £3) and bacon butties (£2.50).  And all those mud caked mountain bikers mean your kids will never make too much mess.

Round up

Cafe Latte price: £1.65
Favourite cake: Chocolate covered flapjack £1.50 - it was so chunky we shared 1 piece between 3
Child friendly highlights: highchairs, children's portions including beans on toast for £1.50
Buggy friendly: Most of the paths are ok, the playground is a bit harder going
Car parking: £1 for up to 3 hours or £2 over 3 hours, but plenty of roadside parking too

Verdict

Very much an outdoor destination, with the cafe not much more than a convenient pit stop, but a great place for bikes and good value food and drink.

Lichfield

Sometimes you are in town and just need somewhere for refreshment with small child/children.  So here are a few choices in the middle of Lichfield.

Lichfield Methodist church

The Lichfield Methodist Church coffee shop (limited opening, access from Tamworth Street or Backcester Lane) is not fancy, but it is very relaxed and the volunteers who run it are all very friendly.  Most of the other customers will be retired people or other mums with small children who are using the playgroup upstairs.  It provides the cheapest coffee in the city (and a loyalty card!), together with a slice of toast for 20p.

Café Latte price:  £1

Favourite cake:  We like the teacakes for 80p but one is never quite enough.

Child friendly highlights:  High chairs, small plastic beakers of milk or juice, trainer seats in the toilets

Buggy friendly:  Ramps up to the front and back doors, lots of buggy parking space

Car parking:  Lichfield City pay and display parking

 

Spark Café Bar

This café is a relatively new addition to Lichfield’s thriving coffee scene.  It’s becoming a real community hub, with book groups, quiz nights, fundraising events and workshops all regular parts of their offering.  The grown up food is good, with soup, gourmet sandwiches (I love the sausage sandwiches) and main meals throughout the day and evening.  It has a young diners' menu, with smaller portions of the main menu for £3 to £6.  Drinks for toddlers run to a large glass of milk for £1 or grown up juice.  There are high chairs but no baby change. 

This is a locally run business, welcoming to all, and deserves lots of support.  In my opinion it does the best coffee in Lichfield, and is also the perfect place for a bit of time out without children.

 

Byrkley Park, Rangemore, nr Burton upon Trent

Byrkley Park is one of those garden centres that has turned into a destination even for those of us not especially interested in plants!  The main attraction if you have small children is the play area, with climbing frames, slides and balance beams (no swings).  You can also have fun in the animal area with sheep, mini goats and a range of chickens and ducks and the aquarium area – my son particularly enjoys spotting the fish and the (plastic) crocodile in the fish tank which blows bubbles.

There are three ride-on machines – a lifeboat, car and tractor.  These cost 20p each ride, so you may want to have your excuses or your change ready!  Pre-Christmas there is a grotto (which we haven’t tried) and reindeer come to visit.

A large area of the shop is dedicated to toys and books, but it is possible to get out of the shop area without going through this if you need to.  There are also a lot of breakables (plant pots, Christmas decorations, china dinner sets) and small items (jewellery, crafts) so your busy toddler will need some supervising.

The café area is large, with inside and outside seating, They offer the full range of drinks, snacks, main meals and afternoon tea.  The service is not the most friendly and it isn't my favourite coffee in the area, but they are often busy, particularly for Sunday lunch, and I suspect many people are regular visitors.

Round up

Café Latte price:  £2.20
Favourite cake:  huge scones with butter for £1.95 (jam 25p extra)
Child friendly highlights:  high chairs, crayons and paper in the café area, lunchboxes at £3.95 for 6 items, trolleys that look like Little Tike cars (although these are really hard to steer)
Buggy friendly:  yes, all areas

Car parking:  Plenty of free parking including parent and child spaces

Verdict

Not great coffee but a regular Sunday afternoon destination, particularly if we need to buy birthday cards or presents

Lakeside Bistro, Beacon Park, Lichfield

In the last couple of years Lichfield’s Beacon Park has benefited from a multi-million pound makeover, which included a major upgrade to the play areas.  From baby swings and sandpits to a go kart track and rope swings, there is plenty here to keep children of most ages entertained.  My Thomas the Tank Engine obsessed son loves the red train in the middle of the younger children’s play area and the huge pirate ship where he likes to steer and walk the plank. 

 

There is also plenty of space for ball games and paths for riding bikes and trikes, benches and seats for picnics and on selected days you can ride donkeys.  The whole area is clean and well maintained, and the play area is very sensibly gated to keep your toddlers from straying into the lake!

 

Built as part of the overall upgrade, the Lakeside Bistro opened in spring 2012 in a great location next to the children’s play area.  This, and Chandlers Café at the Bird Street entrance to the park are owned and run by Chandlers, one of Lichfield’s favourite restaurants.  The Bistro does a full range of coffees, drinks (including alcohol) and snacks and has a reasonable breakfast and lunch menu, including specials from the restaurant.  It also does takeaway coffee if you want to drink your latte while your children play. 

Round up

Café Latte price:  £2.20

Favourite cake: the homemade chocolate chip cookies at £1.50

Child friendly highlights: high chairs and baby changing in the Bistro, kids menu from £3 - £4.50 for mains, party packages

Buggy friendly: yes, park and Bistro are all very accessible

Car parking: Easiest and cheapest parking is on Shaw Lane (20p for 2 hours up to 3.30pm).  But don’t park on the lines, or in anything other than a marked space –the Lichfield parking attendants are merciless.

Verdict
So far we’ve only been there when it’s been quiet, and I’ve yet to see how they cope with a busy day, but the Bistro has added a lot to the park.  Even on a cold day we can spend a happy hour here.

Fradley Junction, nr Alrewas, Staffordshire

Known in our house as “the boats and ducks” because those are the main items to see.  Fradley Junction near Alrewas in Staffordshire is the point where the Trent and Mersey canal meets the Coventry Canal.  The café next to the British Waterways car park is run by the owners, and provides a great range of hot drinks, sandwiches, snacks and cakes.  There are loads of seats next to the canal on fine days and reasonable indoor seating on wet ones.  Across the canal is a nature reserve with a buggy friendly boardwalk all the way round.  I never remember bread but the ducks don’t seem to mind.

On warm days the area is a hive of canal boat related activity and the canal locks are a source of fascination.  Don’t go if your toddler is likely to run off and throw themselves in the water as most of the area is unfenced and this would make for a stressful family outing, but if they are buggy-bound, or good walkers, this is a nice spot for a family stroll and refreshment.

Round up

Café Latte price: £2.10 for a large one

Favourite cake:  Millionaire’s shortbread

Child friendly highlights:  Children’s lunchboxes (sandwich, crisps, drink, raisins, chocolate, colouring book) for £3.60  Also smaller portions of beans on toast, egg on toast etc.  Highchairs provided.  And because they happily serve muddy dogs, cyclists, walkers and boaters, the chances are any mess your child makes will go unnoticed.

Buggy friendly:  café is but there is a gravelled area outside, canal towpaths are broad and flat but do get muddy

Car parking: £1 for the day at the British Waterways car park or free on the side of the road.

Verdict

A good spot for a stroll and coffee or lunch any time of the week, any time of the year