Zeltplatz Abenteuerland

Kids most at home around a coterie of furry friends? Give them a more exotic taste with days of walking and talking with gentle giants and feathered beasts – something that’s close at hand hereabouts. The bison of Wisentgehege Hardehausen are roaming the plains 10 minutes’ drive from base, the Sababurg zoo is 45 minutes away and Willingen wildlife park is a little under an hour from Warburg. At a Schloss (oops… loss) for what else to do? Well the area’s practically teeming with castles, manor houses and ruins – start with guided tours of the stunning Residenzschloss Arolsen, then move on to Wasserschloss Heerse and Castle Corvey, then clamber around the ruins of Kugelsburg in Volkmarsen and the nearby Desenberg. Keep one foot in the past with explores of Marienmünster abbey and the visitor mine Kilianstollen, then if appetites for history still go unsatisfied pile into the car for a two-hour trek to Detmold open-air museum where 500 years of Westphalian life are laid out to wander through. When more urban days beckon, head with no delay to the city of Kassel, where hours tripping around the spectacular landscaped gardens of Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, visits to the Grimm Museum and Natural History Museum and (of course) a bit of shopping are absolute musts.