Celyn - Fun Days Out

Chester Zoo is a conservation charity and one of the UK's largest zoos, covering 130 acres with over 30,000 animals from more than 500 species. You can explore over 10 indoor habitats, including the UK's largest tropical biodome, and walk through the lemur area to get close to the troop. The Monsoon Forest habitat and award-winning gardens add plenty more to see.

There are five adventure playgrounds for children, and you can take the Islands Lazy River boat ride. Keepers and Zoo Rangers give daily talks about the animals they care for. The zoo is a short distance from Chester city centre and the M56, and it has been rated the UK's number one zoo by Tripadvisor.

Tip: Book online in advance to save on gate prices, and parking in the zoo car park is free.

The Welsh Mountain Zoo is a zoological garden near Colwyn Bay in Conwy County Borough. It covers 37 acres and has been open since 1963, so it has built up a good range of animal areas over the years.

Features named in the sources include Chimpanzee World, a Lemur Walkthrough, Red Pandas and Otters on the Prytherch Himalayan Terraces, Gibbon Heights, Condor Haven and a Children's Farm. There is also a Jungle Adventureland and a wallaby enclosure. The zoo has also bred the first Bactrian camel born in Wales. With a farm and walkthrough areas alongside the bigger enclosures, it suits families and anyone who likes seeing animals up close.

Tip: Check the zoo's website before you go, as the sources note that animal exhibits such as the sea lions have changed over time.

Plas Newydd in Llangollen was the home of Lady Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, two Irish ladies who eloped and set up house together in the late 18th century. It began as a five-roomed stone cottage and was enlarged with many Gothic features. It is now a museum.

The most unusual feature is the exterior, where reclaimed oak carvings from broken-up furniture and church fittings are set patchwork-style over much of the outside, alongside black-and-white trim and stained glass. The ladies also developed the gardens, adding a "ruined" archway, rustic bridges and a temple. Visitors included Wordsworth, Sir Walter Scott and the Duke of Wellington. Those interested in the story of the house and its famous residents will find plenty to look at.

Tip: Look closely at the outside of the house as well as the rooms, since the patchwork of reclaimed oak carvings is its most unusual feature.

Conwy Castle was built by Edward I between 1283 and 1287 and is part of a World Heritage Site. Eight large towers and a high curtain wall still stand, and it has the best preserved set of medieval royal apartments in Wales. The ruins are split into an inner and an outer ward, with a Great Hall undercroft and chapels to explore.

The main draw is the walk around the battlements, reached by restored spiral staircases in the great towers. From the top you look out to the mountains of Eryri (Snowdonia) and down over the harbour and narrow streets of Conwy. The town is still ringed by 1.3km of medieval walls, so it is worth a look round after the castle. The path up from the visitor centre is steep with several steps, and the towers involve a climb, so it suits those happy with stairs.

Tip: Climb the spiral staircases and walk the full battlement circuit if you can. Cadw highly recommends it.

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct carries the Llangollen Canal across the River Dee in the Vale of Llangollen. Designed by Thomas Telford and William Jessop, it is a cast iron trough held 127 ft (39 m) above the river on eighteen hollow masonry piers, with 19 arched spans. It is 336 yards (307 m) long and about 12 feet wide.

The aqueduct is made for narrowboats, and a towpath runs alongside the water on one side, so you can see the structure from the canal itself. It is a Grade I listed building and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Trevor Basin sits just over the aqueduct, at the end of the canal route that was completed.

The Conwy Valley Railway Museum sits beside Betws-y-Coed railway station, on the site of the old goods yard. The museum building holds a collection of railway artefacts, and the attraction began with a former standard gauge railway carriage, which is a licensed buffet and restaurant car.

Outside there are two small railways. A 7¼ in gauge miniature steam railway runs for a mile around the edge of the site. Passing loops let more than one train use the circuit at once. There is also a one-third full-size electric tramcar running along half a mile of 15 in gauge track. It is one of only two electric tramways in Wales, so it is a good one for tram and railway fans to tick off.

Erddig is a late 17th-century country house near Wrexham, saved from dereliction in the 1970s. The Yorke family had an unusual relationship with their servants and commemorated them in portraits and poems, and the servants' quarters and estate workshops survive well. Outbuildings include the Joiners' Workshop, Smithy, Sawmill and Stables, and the house holds a fine collection of 17th-century furniture.

Outside, there is a restored 18th-century walled garden with Dutch influence, plus a large estate of meadows, lakes, woodland and waymarked walks. Families can use the Wolf's Den natural play area in Big Wood, and the Hayloft Restaurant serves hot food, cakes and afternoon tea. It suits history fans, walkers and families who want a mix of house, garden and open air.

Tip: Postcodes aren't always recognised by sat navs, so follow the brown signs on the A525 or A483. Parking is free. Dogs are welcome in the garden and on the estate on a lead, but not in the Hall, Hayloft Restaurant, shop or Wolf's Den (assistance dogs are allowed everywhere). Check the National Trust dog page before you go, as rules can change.

Flint Castle (Castell y Fflint) was the first of the castles built during Edward I's campaign to conquer Wales, and it sits on the western shore of the River Dee estuary. Its ruins are looked after by Cadw, and access is free via a path. Most of the site, including the keep, is open to the public.

The keep is the star. It stands apart from the rest of the castle, with walls 7 metres thick at the base, and the layout is unique in the British Isles. Inside, a vaulted passage runs all the way around the ground floor. A spiral staircase in the north east tower leads up to a platform with views over the Dee Estuary.

The castle has a long history, including sieges by Welsh forces, a spell holding Richard II in 1399, and a three-month siege in the Civil War before it was slighted. It suits anyone who likes castle history.

Tip: Head for the spiral staircase in the north east tower to reach the viewing platform over the estuary.