Monkey business

There's nothing our little monkeys like more than dangling ten foot in the air from a bit of cargo netting, so in honour of them and all the other cheeky monkeys out there this summer holiday, here's our list of five of the best adventure playgrounds you can visit for free in Cumbria.

5. Fitz Park Keswick

Newly refurbished and bang in the middle of town, Fitz Park is a great spot to let off some steam. Theres a zip wire and climbing frame for the older children, not to mention a scary dangle by your hands type roundabout for the daredevils. Little ones are well catered for with their own sandpit, climbring frame, roundabout, and boingy things. It's well worth a visit when you're in town..

4. Fell Foot Park

Fell Foot Park is situated on the south shores of Lake Windermere near Newby Bridge. The eighteen acre Victorian park has been restored to its former glory by the National Trust and makes for a great spot to picnic. In the summer you can hire rowing boats and the kids can paddle in the lake. For an extra cost you can take a boat trip from the park across the lake to Lakeside where you can visit the aquarium or even taken a trip on the Lakeside & Haverthwaite steam railway. The children's adventure playground has been done up in recent years and is hugely popular.

Photos from: thingstodointhelakes.com and http://www.flickr.com/photos/jesta/3452925223/

3. Whinatter Forest

A fab day out for all the family can be enjoyed at Whinlatter forest park. For less than a pound the children can try out their map reading skills on the rabbit run trail which takes them for a half mile walk around the forest culminating in a great play area. Big monkeys are catered for here too with the Go Ape tree top course up above, and hungry monkeys need look no further than the gorgeous cafe Siskins in the visitor centre.

2. Bitts Park, Carlisle

We love Bitts Park, it's a perfect spot for a summer picnic, with everything the kids could want from a park. There's a water play area, an interactive sandpit, pirate ship for the little ones, and some more challenging climbing frames for the older ones, our monkeys love it.

1. Brockhole, Windemere

Situated on the shores of Lake Windermere between Windermere and Ambleside the visitor centre at Brockhole has been owned by the Lake District National Park Authority since 1969.

Children are well catered for at Brockhole with an amazing adventure playground, and all sorts of organised activities and walks all year round. See  http://www.brockhole.co.uk/ for more details.

So that was our top five, what's yours? Have we missed any great playgrounds? We'd love to hear from you, add your comments and suggestions to the end of this post. Monkey see, monkey do...

Love Parks Week 24th July - 1st August

The organisers of Love Parks Week say it is the perfect excuse to get outdoors and enjoy the summer, with hundreds of events taking place in the UK’s parks and green spaces. The campaign is designed to celebrate and support our parks, so why not visit your local park during the week to show what it means to you?

In Carlisle the programme kicked off on Saturday with Homebase, the people who famously transformed Carlisle Railway Station, working their magic again, this time creating a park on English Street, complete with turf, benches, flowers and giant jenga. It made for a welcome oasis for the weary shoppers who were making the most of it with picnics and games when we went to take a look.

A full list of events can be found at http://www.loveparksweek.org.uk/ but in Carlisle the highlights include:-

'Into the Woods' at Talkin Tarn
28/07/2010 - 28/07/2010
Talkin Tarn Country Park

Flicks at Bitts
01/08/2010 - 01/08/2010
Bitts Park
Jazz Picnic in the Cathedral grounds
27/07/2010 - 27/07/2010
Carlisle Cathedral grounds
Nature in Bitts Park
27/07/2010 - 27/07/2010
Bitts Park
'On Yer Bike' in Bitts Park
28/07/2010 - 28/07/2010
Bitts Park Playing Fields, Dacre Road
Poetry Picnic in the Cathedral Grounds
29/07/2010 - 29/07/2010
Carlisle Cathedral grounds
Storytime in Tullie House Garden
28/07/2010 - 28/07/2010
Tullie House Museum
Tai Chi in Portland Square
30/07/2010 - 30/07/2010
Portland Square

The seaside town they forgot to close down?

Photo credits top row l to r: Midland Hotel http://www.mickrawcliffephotography.com/, Eric Morecambe http://media.lancashiretourism.com/, Kite Festival http://www.visitlancashire.com/

I used to be convinced that Morrissey was talking about Morecambe in Every day is like Sunday. However, a friend told us that the promenade at Morecambe was an excellent spot for learning to ride bikes, so one sunny Sunday we duly drove down with a boot full of bicycles. And the boot is where they remained.

Wow Morecambe certainly has changed! We spent an exciting morning watching kites fly above the beach in the Catch the Wind Festival http://www.moremusic.org.uk/ and then chilled out with a picnic in the gloriously named Happy Mount Park http://www.happymountpark.co.uk/ HPC is an old fashioned park with something for everyone, from Sunday afternoon brassbands, to swingboats and a train for the little ones, and a brand new adventure playground for older kids. On a hot sunny day the whole family can have fun running in and out of the fountains in the aqua park. All in all it was a grand day out for nout!