UK's best and biggest inflatable water parks to beat the heatwave as a family
With slides, inflatable blast bags, family-friendly obstacle courses and the huge free fall slides from just £20 entry too.
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Cliff Lakes Aqualand, Staffordshire
Go big or go home at Cliff Lakes Aqualand in Staffordshire, which is the biggest aqua park in the UK.
Across the lake are six separate courses with various challenges such as climbing walls, tunnels, trampolines, and high ropes.
The general admission price is £24 per person for an 80-minute session.
The price includes a shortie wetsuit (3mm or 5mm) and a buoyancy aid.
One happy visitor wrote on Tripadvisor: "Great day out! So much fun with all the different courses, quite a workout but so worth it.
"Would recommend to anyone, best time to go is in summer as you do jump into the lake."
Aqua Park Group, Rutland Water
Aqua Park Group has three sites across the UK and features the largest collection of bespoke, high-impact water obstacles.
The biggest inflatable is at its water park in Rutland Water and it's called the Rutland Mammoth.
The giant slide has a 5.5 metre free-fall drop - and is the tallest of its kind in the UK.
Across the waterpark is also Tornado Tower, a 3.5 metre inflatable that you can jump off into the lake water below.
TUI resort next door to giant waterpark
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There are blast bags, slides, trampolines and inflatable climbing frames.
Visitors must book online before going to Rutland Water and a one hour session costs £21, or, you can book two hours for £31.
Other Aqua Parks across the UK include Aqua Park Lakeside and Cosmeston Lake.
Aqua Action, Essex
Aqua Action is a floating aqua park in Ilford, Essex which you can get to via the Elizabeth Line which goes between Shenfield and London Paddington.
It's open until September 28, 2025 and on the lake is a 3.5 metre climbing tower and the two metre high balance beam.
There's the highly anticipated and hilarious blast bag, the jumping platforms, and thrilling drop slides and entry is £20 for a one hour session.
For the younger ones aged one to eight, there's a puddle park too called Aqua Tots.
Kids can jump on the giant turtle, hop on the inflatable swans, and have a good old splash about.
Entry to Aqua Tots for children cost £12 and an extra £2 for their accompanying adult.
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Thorpe Lakes, Surrey
Thorpe Lakes is known as London's Ultimate Watersports Resort, and is set across 150 acres of lakes - and it has a huge inflatable too.
It has wobbly balance beams, towering slides, bouncy trampolines, and climbing walls.
The only downside to this inflatable waterpark is that it's only open on weekends.
Entry cost £20 for 55 minutes of fun, and you get a life jacket included with the option to hire a wetsuit.
WHAT IS A HEATWAVE?
Since 1960, UK temperatures in June have surpassed 34C in only three years, with the hottest being 35.6C, recorded on June 28 1976.
A heatwave in the UK is met when a location records a period of at least three consecutive days, with temperature values meeting or exceeding the heatwave temperature thresholds.
Across the north and west of the UK this is 25C, and across Greater London and the Home Counties, 28C.
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Bewl Water Aqua Park, Tunbridge Wells
Bewl Water Aqua Park just outside Tunbridge Wells has an enormous Witbit inflatable.
It has a floating obstacle course with room for jumping, sliding and balancing.
Individual tickets cost £25 each for children (between 6-12 years old), teenagers and adults - for 50 minutes.
Also on the lake are pedalos for hire, paddleboarding and canoeing are also options.
One visitor wrote on Tripadvisor: "The Aqua Park was AMAZING! The kids loved it and my partner loved it even more. Swimming in the reservoir was just lovely, it was warm and the cool water was so refreshing."
Here are the lidos in the UK mapped – with water slides, cocktail bars and some are even FREE to enter.
Three of the UK's biggest indoor waterparks with tropical climates and heated infinity pools.
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The Sun
14 minutes ago
- The Sun
I feel sexier than ever after op to shed 4lbs from saggy 34HH boobs says Rhian Sugden… as she reveals stunning results
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'I thought they actually removed the nipple, but they don't,' she reveals. 'They remove the lower part of your boob, pull your skin down and then basically, use a cookie cutter to pull your nipple back through. 'I've got a mole that was on my upper chest that is now down by the nipple. My nipples have come up by 12 cms.' Although she was nervous about the double procedure - a breast reduction and uplift in one - Rhian was initially worried they hadn't gone far enough when she came round from the surgery. 'I was still out of it because of the general anesthetic. And I remember looking down and thinking they had put an implant in, not because they were big but because they were so perky,' she says. 'When the nurse came out I said: 'Have you put an implant in?' And she said, 'No that's all you.' 'I was still shocked at the size of them when I came out but the swelling has gone down now, and I feel like they're settling in a bit more. 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Two decades as a glamour girl have left her with few inhibitions and just minutes after we meet she whips off her bra to show me the scars - which run incredibly neatly around the nipples and down the underside of her boobs. 'I'm really happy with how they look,' she beams. 'I think he's done a really good job. We chose our surgeon well.' Rhian previously revealed husband Oliver Mellor was not keen on the idea of a reduction - but she says he is chuffed with the results. 'Oliver was a bit nervous at first because he likes big boobs and he was worried about the scarring,' she says. 'But he can't believe how well they've turned out. He's very pleased with them. He says I look like Pammy (Anderson) again because they're so perky. They look good and they're still a good size. A decent handful for him.' Oliver was a bit nervous at first because he likes big boobs and he was worried about the scarring. But he can't believe how well they've turned out. 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The Independent
43 minutes ago
- The Independent
From Cornwall to the Outer Hebrides, these are the best campsites in the UK for families
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There's an award-winning pub just a stroll away, plus family attractions such as Paultons Park, which is home to (whisper it) Peppa Pig – so you may never get to leave, and the New Forest Wildlife Park is nearby. Pitches £50, bell tents £190 Book now Wales 13. Bert's Kitchen Garden, Llyn Peninsula, Wales Perfect for coastal charm At this perfectly pastoral campsite, sandwiched between the mountains and the sea on the Llyn Peninsula, pitches are mown out of wildflower meadows and campsite life revolves around the site's lovely restaurant, set in the heart of a kitchen garden and serving homegrown produce. Bert's has no electric hook-ups, no wifi and is car-free, so kids can be properly free-range. And with treehouses to make forts in and rope swings to dangle off, you may barely see them once you've pitched your tent. The practical stuff is taken care of by shower blocks stocked with eco-friendly toiletries, composting toilets, BBQs to hire, an on-site sauna and a kitchen with fridges and sinks for washing up – and there's even free hot chocolate on tap. There are also three smart shepherd's huts complete with king-sized beds. 14. Chapel House Farm, Herefordshire Perfect for peace and quiet – and pizza Chapel House Farm is a charming, low-impact campsite that welcomes families with a love of nature to a peaceful corner of the Golden Valley of Herefordshire. With 20 car-free pitches scattered across wildflower meadows and woodland, children have the freedom to roam safely here, and the site also offers fire pits, eco toilets, hot showers and stunning views of the Black Mountains, which bigger explorers will love to tackle on foot. Nearby, you'll also find rivers for paddling, local cider farms and scenic walks to proper pubs. Top tip – camp on a Friday, when the farmhouse serves up freshly cooked pizzas from their wood-fired oven. They also sell local beers and ciders and meat from the farm for slap-up evening feasts. Pitches £30 Book now 15. One Cat Farm, Ceredigion, Wales Perfect for rewilding in Wales Croeso cynnes (that's a warm welcome in Welsh) to One Cat Farm - who knew going off grid could be this wonderful? At One Cat Farm (now actually home to five friendly rescued felines), four cosy and fully kitted-out wooden cabins perch around a wild swimming lake in a remote valley. The land here is being rewilded, and you and your little campers may all that way too as you explore the Cambrian Mountains to the east and the hidden coves of Cardigan Bay to the west of the site - you may even spot dolphins in the deep. Back on the farm, kids can play on rope swings, relax in a hammock spotting red kites above them or row the boat moored up on the lake while you get busy lighting the campfire. 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Daily Mirror
43 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Direct trains from UK to top European city with €4 beers set to start soon
A deal has been signed for an expansion on rail travel from the UK to a popular European destination - making it easier than ever for people to go on city breaks For those looking for a quick city break - there's a new European destination that will now be easily accessible via train. Britain and Germany have just signed a landmark deal that will "fundamentally change how millions of people travel". Named The Kensington Treaty, the agreement will hopefully be in place in the early 2030s and marks a shift in relations between the two nations. It was sealed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's on his first official visit to the UK on July 17. One of the key elements of the deal - as outlined in the UK goverments Plan for Change is the commitment to provide a long-distance direct passenger rail service between the two capitals according to The Times. It's expected travel time from London to Frankfurt is likely to take about five hours and London to Geneva is expected to take five hours and 20 minutes. Eurostar and other train operators had an eye on expanding the number of destinations served by the Channel Tunnel since the original service was launched in the 1990s. It also allows there to be easy travel to other German cities including Frankfurt. The joint UK-Germany transport taskforce will now explore the infrastructure, border and security needs to be able to create the route. As well as looking into the commercial and technical requirements such as safety standards and what is needed from rail operators to make the direct service happen. Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, said: 'We're pioneering a new era of European rail connectivity and are determined to put Britain at the heart of a better-connected continent. "The Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie - in just a matter of years, rail passengers in the UK could be able to visit these iconic sights direct from the comfort of a train, thanks to a direct connection linking London and Berlin." "This landmark agreement - part of a new treaty the Prime Minister will sign with Chancellor Merz today - has the potential to fundamentally change how millions of people travel between our two countries, offering a faster, more convenient and significantly greener alternative to flying.'" It comes after Eurostar has since announced plans to launch direct services to Frankfurt and Geneva in the early 2030s, as well as working on a direct route to Berlin.
