Whitehouse Holiday Park - Fun Days Out

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.

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.

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 copper mines on the Great Orme were uncovered in 1987 during a landscaping scheme. They date from the Bronze Age, long before the Roman invasion, and are thought to be the largest prehistoric mine discovered in the world so far. Archaeologists, cavers and mining engineers are still uncovering more tunnels and surface landscape.

The tour is self-guided. You start in the visitor centre with a short introductory film, then head down two levels of the mine along a 200 metre underground route, using slopes and staircases. Back above ground, a surface walk takes in the smelting shelter and the opencast mine, and there is a gift shop. Hard hats are provided, which helps with the low ceilings. It suits curious children and adults, walkers exploring the Great Orme, and anyone interested in early British history.

Tip: It's cold underground (5-8°C), so bring warm clothing and sensible footwear; the floor is uneven and wet in places. Pushchairs and wheelchairs can't do the tour.

Anglesey Sea Zoo is an independent aquarium and marine conservation centre on the south coast of Anglesey, near Brynsiencyn. Over 40 tanks show native British sea life, including octopus, lobsters, seahorses, conger eels and jellyfish. Highlights include the No Bone Zone for invertebrates, a wolf fish lair, a real crashing wave, a shipwreck and a kelp forest full of big fish. You can chat with the marine biologists too.

Much of the profit goes into conservation work, such as the seahorse breeding programme and the Lobster Hatchery of Wales. Outside there's a free adventure playground, crazy golf, picnic spots and a walk along the Menai Strait with Snowdonia in the distance. It works in any weather, suits all ages, and the site is fully accessible to wheelchairs and pushchairs. Parking is free, and dog pens with fresh water are provided outside.

Tip: No need to book ahead, as tickets are bought on the door. Standard and family tickets stay valid for 6 days after the day of purchase, so you can return for free in that time.

Penrhyn Castle is a country house at Llandygai, near Bangor in Gwynedd, built in the style of a Norman castle. Thomas Hopper rebuilt it in this Romanesque Revival form between 1822 and 1837, and it is Grade I listed. It is regarded as Hopper's finest work and as one of the most important country houses in Wales.

Inside, the art collection is of international importance and includes works by Palma Vecchio and Canaletto. The castle was a summer holiday home for the Douglas-Pennant family, and guests included Queen Victoria.

The story behind the castle also covers the slate industry of North Wales and the slave-plantation wealth that helped pay for it. The National Trust has explored these links to colonialism and historic slavery, so there is plenty of history to take in alongside the architecture and paintings.

Beaumaris Castle on Anglesey was the last of Edward I's royal strongholds in Wales, designed by James of St George beside the Menai Strait. Four concentric rings of defences, a water-filled moat with its own dock and a near-perfect symmetrical plan make it a striking sight. Money ran out and building petered out in the 1320s, so the gatehouse and inner towers never reached their intended height.

Walk past the wet moat and over a short wooden bridge to explore the grounds, the wall walks and the inner ward. There is an on-site exhibition, a gift shop and a guidebook, plus picnic tables if you want to eat there. It is part of the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd World Heritage Site, so it will appeal to castle and history lovers. Dogs on short leads are welcome on the ground floor levels.

Tip: Use the main town car park opposite for the most direct route in, and watch for two-way traffic there.

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.