RYE-ASSIC Soft Play Park

Soft play centres aren't usually the sort of thing that demands a special trip, but RYE-ASSIC near Hoddesdon does what it does well if you've got young kids in tow. It's an indoor play facility - slides, ball pits, climbing frames, the usual suspects - aimed squarely at the under-tens crowd. You're looking at a couple of hours maximum before the novelty wears off, depending on your child's stamina and your tolerance for screaming toddlers echoing off padded walls.

This matters most if you're staying at one of the nearby caravan parks like Lee Valley Dobbs Weir, just over a mile away, and the weather turns foul. There's precious little else to do indoors in this part of Hertfordshire when it's bucketing down, so RYE-ASSIC fills that gap. It's the sort of place you'd visit on a Tuesday afternoon rather than plan your entire holiday around.

Worth knowing before you go: opening hours and admission prices weren't available at time of writing, so ring ahead rather than rock up hoping for the best. The location between Hoddesdon and the Lee Valley parks means it's reasonably accessible if you're based in that part of the county. If the kids are old enough for outdoor activities, the surrounding parks offer far better value for a full day out, but on a drizzly afternoon when small children are climbing the walls of your caravan, this becomes rather useful.