Northumberlandia
Visit Northumberlandia, the Lady of the North
There is genuinely nothing else quite like Northumberlandia. Just outside Cramlington, a vast reclining female figure has been sculpted from 1.5 million tonnes of rock, clay and soil, rising a full one hundred feet from the surrounding parkland. Designed by the artist Charles Jencks, she stretches a quarter of a mile long, with four miles of paths winding over and around her. It's part art installation, part country park, and entirely unforgettable for a child who's never seen a landscape quite behave like this before.
The lowdown:
Where: Blagdon Lane, Cramlington, Northumberland, NE23 8AU
When: The site itself is open every day, 24 hours. The visitor centre and café operate daily, typically 10am to 4pm during winter months (hot food stops slightly earlier), with hours often extending during school holidays.
Cost: Free to enter, with a suggested £2 donation for parking
Parking: A generous car park sits right at the entrance, with disabled bays and an electric vehicle charging point. The nearest train station is Cramlington, around two and a half miles away, and the X21 and X22 buses from Newcastle stop close by at Beacon Hill Fisher Lane roundabout.
Why your wild child will love it: this is proper scrambling, climbing and running territory, with slopes of varying steepness to conquer and genuinely spectacular views from the top. Keep an eye out for the diggers working in the neighbouring mine, always a hit, along with frogs and toads in the ponds dotted around the site.
Contact: Current opening times at nwt.org.uk.