Lift their eyes from their iPads with some breathtaking outdoor activities. Walk the Malvern Hills or the 30 acres of parkland at Spetchley Gardens, pick fruit in the Vale of Evesham, steam back to a bygone age on the Severn Valley Railway.
Go ghost-hunting in Drakelow Tunnels, go giddy in the playgrounds and splashpad of Gheluvelt Park, scare ‘em silly with tales of 19th-century amputation at the George Marshall Medical Museum.
Paint your own pottery at Green Frog, have an African adventure at West Midlands Safari Park. Stay in Bewdley to get all Tarzan under the jungle canopy at Go Ape Tree Top Junior.
Elsewhere, there’s riding, bowling, skating, ice-skating, canoeing and karting to get stuck into. Back at base, keep wearing them out with footy in the garden or table football and air hockey in the games room. Sweet dreams.
Cruise, ride or hike the local lanes and you’ll revel in the muddy majesty of the Malvern Hills. You’ll be inspired to go further, to discover more and wonder why you’ve not been more often.
To the south and east, the Cotswolds are all honeyed-stone cottages, mellow brick farmhouses, and willows trailing languidly in babbling streams. To the west, the Malverns are misty with ancient magic, hills that rise from nothing into big blue skies. Take in 15 counties from Worcestershire Beacon, then stroll along to Eastnor Castle.
See King John’s tomb at Worcester Cathedral or the pokey priest holes at Harvington Hall. Go Ape at Wyre Forest, enjoy plays, poetry and more at lovely, lively Malvern Theatre, or steam back in time over the valleys and viaducts of the Severn Valley Railway.
Shop till you drop? Worcester offers a mix of chains and boutiques, outlet shops, farm stores and delis. At night, the town buzzes with bars and bistros, restaurants and night spots. For homely, hearty eating, village pubs abound and Michelin-starred dining is just half an hour away at the Butcher’s Arms in Eldersfield. Pampering and beauty treatments are on offer at the house from My Personal Sanctuary.
