Silver Birch at Blackwood Forest (Wheelchair-adapted) - Fun Days Out

Paultons Park is a family theme park on the edge of the New Forest National Park in Hampshire, set in 140 acres of parkland. It has rollercoasters, thrill rides, family rides, indoor and outdoor play areas and water splash parks, along with a collection of birds and animals.

Peppa Pig World is the headline area, with Peppa-themed rides and a large indoor playzone. The park also has themed areas including Critter Creek, Lost Kingdom, Tornado Springs and Valgard, a Viking-themed land. The park describes itself as a family venue, and most of its rides are designed for children and families. It will suit families with young children, and anyone who likes a day of rides alongside the animals and gardens.

Tip: Tickets are for a set date and some days sell out, so book your visit date in advance.

Marwell Zoo is a 140-acre zoo at Colden Common, near Winchester, run by the conservation charity Marwell Wildlife. It is home to hundreds of animals, including giraffes, leopards, meerkats and penguins, with red pandas, snow leopards and a walkthrough lemur exhibit among the other residents.

Alongside the animals there are seven adventure play areas, cafés and a gift shop, and animal feeds are on offer, subject to availability. The zoo sits in the grounds of Grade I listed Marwell Hall, which dates from around 1320. Families with children are the natural fit, though anyone who likes wildlife and a long walk outdoors will find plenty to fill the day. Café Graze serves hot food, sandwiches and sweet treats, and has vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options.

Tip: Book tickets online for the correct day before you arrive, and allow about 4 hours on a first visit.

Winchester College was founded in 1382 and has been on the same site ever since. It is still a working boarding school, but members of the public can join its daily guided tours and see the heritage museums and collections.

The medieval buildings are the main draw: Outer Court, Chamber Court, the cloisters and the chapel, built in flint with limestone facings. The chapel keeps its original wooden fan-vaulted ceiling. A Wren-style classroom block called School dates from the 1680s, and the War Cloister of 1924 is a memorial to Old Wykehamists killed in the two World Wars. The college's museum, Treasury, has held an exhibition on Jane Austen's connection with the school, where eight of her nephews were educated. Austen spent her final weeks at No. 8 College Street, which the college has opened to visitors in the past.

Tip: Public access is through the daily guided tours, so check the Winchester College Heritage pages before you go.

Thorpe Park sits between Chertsey and Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, on the site of old flooded gravel pits that give it a watery setting. It opened in 1979 and is run by Merlin Entertainments. Today it's a full day of rides, with a strong line-up of roller coasters.

Big names include Hyperia, Stealth, Colossus, Nemesis Inferno and SAW – The Ride. If you'd rather get wet, there are water rides such as Tidal Wave, Depth Charge and Storm Surge. The park also has gentler rides for those who prefer to laugh rather than scream. Older visitors may like the history too: Flying Fish began life as Space Station Zero, the park's first coaster. Coaster fans, families and groups of friends will all find rides to suit them.

Tip: Book your tickets online in advance to guarantee entry.

Legoland Windsor is a LEGO-themed theme park and resort in Windsor, Berkshire, on the site of the former Windsor Safari Park. It has more than 55 rides and attractions across 11 themed lands, plus live shows, building workshops and the Miniland models. It is the most visited theme park in the UK.

Younger children are the main audience. They can earn a driving licence at the LEGO City Driving School, ride the Dragon Coaster through a medieval castle, or explore a lost underwater city in a submarine. Older kids and LEGO fans can head for Flight of the Sky Lion, a flying theatre ride, or the Minifigure Speedway dueling rollercoaster. There is also an indoor LEGO-themed Adventure Golf course, and the BIG Shop is the UK's largest LEGO store. Children under 90cm go free.

Tip: Book your tickets in advance to guarantee entry, and pre-book parking to save time on the day.

Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, a World Heritage Site and one of Britain's best-known landmarks. The outer ring of huge sarsen stones, topped with lintels, was raised in the third millennium BC. It sits within a landscape dense with burial mounds and other Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments.

You can walk up to the Stone Circle and take photos, then step into the reconstructed Neolithic houses. Children can have a go at finding out what it takes to move a sarsen stone. The exhibition explains how the builders lived and worked, and includes a Neolithic man brought to life face to face. There's a café for a snack, and plenty of wider landscape to explore on foot.

History fans, families and anyone ticking off an icon will get a lot from it.

Tip: Pre-book your ticket before you travel.

Jane Austen's House is a small independent museum in the village of Chawton, near Alton in Hampshire. It occupies the 17th-century house where Jane Austen lived with her mother, her sister Cassandra and family friend Martha Lloyd. Here she revised Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey for publication, and wrote Mansfield Park, Emma and Persuasion. The house is Grade I listed.

Inside, the furniture on display includes a Clementi pianoforte similar to the one she owned and a Hepplewhite bureau-bookcase containing several of her works. The collection also holds eighteen music books that belonged to her, with pieces copied out in her own hand. The museum holds regular events, including recitals on the pianoforte and performances based on her books.

The New Forest Wildlife Park sits on the edge of the New Forest near Ashurst and Lyndhurst. It specialises in animals that are or once were native to Britain, plus otters and owls from around the world. The otters are the stars, including the world's largest collection of giant otters, and you can also see wolves, a lynx and Bodie, Hampshire's only wolverine.

It's easy to get around, with daily keeper talks and a walk-through wallaby enclosure that lets you get close to the animals. There are adventure playgrounds for children, a tearoom and a gift shop. Reviewers describe it as small but full of things to do, so it suits families with young animal fans and anyone with an interest in conservation. Keeper experiences are available if you want to get closer to the animals.

Tip: Parking on site is free but first come, first served, so arrive early on busy days. Put the full address into your sat nav rather than just the postcode.