ROYAL GUNPOWDER MILLS, Queen Meads

I had been recommended the Royal Gunpowder Mills by a friend, and with the kids now a slightly bit older we decided it would be worth a try. It's only open to visitors a couple of times a month on a Sunday, and on our visit from 11am to 4pm. We got there at 11am as it opened, there is a big sign as you come off the main road, but the site is located at the end of the drive once you have driven past all the housing. Car park is a fair size, and the entrance is located to the right once you have got into the car park. Once you have gone in, it's probably worth getting yourself booked on to the tractor ride. It leaves at specific times. We went straight towards the miniature railway which took us up the site to the gunpowder mill railway. Again, there are some set timings for this, but when we got there we pretty much had the train to ourselves. The railway takes passengers for a ride further up the site, stops and then comes back again. We managed to see the deer as well as bits of the site. The guys running the railway did a fab job at showing us all about the railway, and even let the young 'uns sit in the main cab. The tractor ride was incredibly informative and really gave a good idea of how big the place truly is (massive!) and how much history is here (loads!) Again you get to see the deer, and lots of the old buildings - lots of areas are covered in greenery where nature has taken over. The kids were also given a sheet of things to look out for on the journey. At lunch we popped back to the car to get our picnic and sat at the benches next to the play area (obstacle course / zip line). There is an area where you can get a free tea / coffee - as well as toilets if required. Post lunch, we went to create some rockets and had a little competition to see who's rocket could go the furthest - kids enjoyed this! (Well, the adults did too!) After the rockets, we went to look around the exhibition and armoury. Lots to read here, and kids did do a few little interactive games (mixing the substances at the factory etc.) but they weren't quite so keen to stand and read! The armoury was literally a room full of different guns, rifles etc. When we came out of the exhibition, we just had time to have another trip on the railway. The volunteers were great and radio'd up to ensure we would catch it on time! Once our second trip on the railway was finished it was closing time... we had been there all day! We thought the dedication and hard work by the volunteers was great - we even thought about volunteering ourselves, but it's a bit of a journey away! (Although if they ever do a family volunteering day where the kids can get involved, we would certainly consider it!!)