Burnham-on-Sea Holiday Village

Meander into pretty Burnham-on-Sea, which has miles of golden sands (with donkeys, natch), and a bustling town centre with plenty of places to eat out. Wannabe Doctor Doolittles can talk to the animals at the Animal Farm Adventure Park, just four miles away, where there are plenty of opportunities for furry cuddles, plus a giant indoor play area, and occasional appearances from the likes of Peppa Pig or Scooby Doo. More wild fun is to be had at Cricket St. Thomas, whose beautiful grounds are home to meerkats, wallabies and the like, or for big game and monkey mayhem, try the drive-through safaris at Longleat House, a little further afield. Cheesy grins are guaranteed with a daytrip to Cheddar. Visitors can tour a dairy to see the famous cheese being made, sample their way through a sweetie factory, check out the toy museum, or simply take in the dramatic stalactite caves and plunging curves of the Cheddar Gorge. Join the witch hunt inside spooky Wookey Hole Caves, near Wells: somewhere among these wow-inducing underground caverns and lakes lurks the famous Witch of Wookey... Ramblers can romp around the remote tors and balancing rock formations of Bodmin Moor, and many tourists do some soul-searching at the haunted Bodmin Jail. Those left wanting moor can lose themselves in the savage beauty of Exmoor National Park, the inspiration for Lorna Doone, with resident Exmoor ponies and red deer, and the majestic pile of Dunster Castle on its eastern edge. Another popular stately home is medieval Forde Abbey, near Chard: a former Cistercian monastery with 30 acres of gardens. Anyone who has run out of steam after all that sightseeing can let the train take the strain, with a picturesque round trip through the Mendip Hills on the restored steamies of the East Somerset Railway.