And when you fancy an historical outing, but your children couldn’t care less, there’s a perfect place where you both can win.
Blenheim Palace – royal favourite and seat of the Duke of Marlborough – sits at the edge of the chocolate-box village Woodstock, and just 20 minutes from the centre of Oxford.
It’s close enough to the dreaming spires that you could fit in a trip during a weekend away, but there were more than enough outdoorsy adventures here to keep any child happy.
First stop is the new adventure playground hidden behind the walled garden in the grounds of the imposing 16th-century palace.
Opened this year at a cost of £1.3million, it’s one of the best I’ve ever come across.
It costs £7 per adult or child on top of the rather punchy £35 for adult entry to the palace/grounds and gardens, £20 per child aged three to 16.
But it’s worth it thanks to immersive inter-connecting zones with secret chambers, clamber nets, tunnels, slides, rope bridges (and giant carrots!) which cover a site larger than a football pitch.
You can even get a little Thomas the Tank Engine themed train from the castle and back again if their little legs can’t quite take the trek.
On some days, the tickets are timed, but you can book in advance to prevent any queue meltdowns – and bear in mind you could easily spend a day at this beast.
There’s everything you need inside the playground – apart from shelter from the rain – including an on-site cafe and decent toilets.
And because it’s designed and created for children aged two to 12, it has everything from a super zipwire section to a dedicated toddler area.
There’s also a lovely man-made stream trickling through the centre of the playground – fun to paddle in (and probably soak yourselves through just as you’re about to leave).
And that’s not all. The palace is constantly coming up with fun themed things to do with the kids.
At present there is an Adventure Quest with 11 clues dotted around the playground.
The winner will get a ten-year family annual pass, ten family-of-four visits to the adventure playground, a week-long stay at the Blenheim Palace Lodge Retreat and more.
And if you don’t want to shell out the extra for the new playground, just outside this adventure zone there’s a massive hedge maze, a butterfly house and a pizza restaurant, plus plenty of places to picnic.
In fact, the kids could be so happy from all the playing, they might even agree to accompany you around the palace itself.
You can wander through its gilded State Rooms with their priceless collections of portraits, tapestries and furniture.
And there’s even tours of the upstairs – so you can nose around the Marlborough family’s private apartments and secret corridors – and downstairs to see how the palace staff live.
The beautifully manicured grounds and gardens are stunning, overlooking the River Glyme, and you could well imagine figures from history – including the Churchills, who used to live there – stomping around.
And there’s enough ice- cream vans dotted around the place to make even the most miserable kid smile.
If you fancy spending the night in these parts, the McDonald Bear Hotel in Woodstock is great.
Full of old-fashioned charm and beautiful bespoke rooms, it’s the perfect place to keep alive the sense of history.
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GO: Blenhem Palace
ENTRY to Blenheim Palace plus the park and gardens costs from £35 per adult and £20 per child aged three to 16, or £90 per family of four.
All prices include a free annual pass (see blenheimpalace.com).
Rooms at the Bear Hotel cost from £127 per night (see macdonaldhotels.co.uk/bear).