Plenty for all the family on a fun-packed weekend

This is not a big deal for someone living in the Midlands you may think, but considering I drive through the county on multiple occasions every year, I must admit I feel a little guilty about it.

Before, Hampshire was little more than the A34 and M3 through it to visit family – the only surroundings I appreciated were the Costa and the McDonald’s at Sutton Scotney services (other coffee and burger chains are available).

But that has now all changed.

The New Forest aside, Hampshire is perhaps overshadowed on occasion by its more appreciated neighbours.

However, Hampshire is every bit as beautiful as Wiltshire and Dorset (and I should know, having lived in Weymouth), while having the added benefit of having so much to do in close proximity.

We settled in for a weekend at the picturesque Marwell Hotel, with glass corridors guiding you through beautiful greenery to your room, and we were never on the road for long to reach our next destination.

In fact, from there, the first attraction we took in was Marwell Zoo – well, it is right across the road after all! With vast open spaces that remind you of African plains, it is the closest you will come in this country to seeing some of the world’s most incredible creatures in a habitat designed to be as natural to them as possible.

Whether it be zebras taking shade under a tree, rhinos having a kip or giraffes galloping around, it is spectacular to see.

After enjoying the new £7.8million Tropical House and spending the best part of an hour just watching the giraffes – they really are the most incredible creatures – we retired back across the road to our hotel, where we got ready for a beautiful meal.

With a tasting menu or more standard three-course options, it must be said the chef’s food was of the highest standard, like art on a plate, but there was also plenty to keep the kids well fed.

It’s not easy to get out with small children to enjoy the finest food, so to be able to do it in a setting where they too could be at ease made for a special evening of culinary wonder for my wife and I. The kids? They were more than happy with their chicken nuggets.

After a good night’s sleep, the next day though was all about the children though as we made the short drive to Peppa Pig World.

The addition of the nation’s favourite cartoon pig to Paulton’s Park over the past few years has revitalised the theme park and it was throbbing with families once again.

Two new rides – the Queen’s Flying Coach Ride and Grampy Rabbit’s Sailing Club – have opened this year to take the total to nine in the Peppa Pig section alone.

The kids absolutely loved the new rides and enjoyed the ones that have been in situ since Peppa Pig’s addition in 2011. You won’t stop singing the Grandpa’s Little Train song for at least a week, but the kids will remember your day out for much longer.

After the short drive into Southampton for some food (again, everything was so close, we spent no more than 20 minutes in the car at a time) we retired for the night and the next day we got the biggest surprise of our trip.

The Winchester Science & Planetarium is one of the best kept secrets in the south of England – it was such an incredible place to visit. We could have laid back and watched shows in the UK’s largest standalone planetarium all day – it was also a good atmosphere for my one-year-old son to have a little nap! But there was so much to do elsewhere as well. So many experiments were set up for the kids to enjoy and they learnt more in a day than I could hope of teaching them through the rest of the summer holidays.

A brand new interactive space zone – EXPLORER:SPACE – was also a real treat as you got a little of taste of what it is like to be an astronaut. I couldn’t resist putting on the space suit!

Hampshire really does have it all. Whether you want to relax and enjoy the natural beauty or get stuck right into a bunch of activities, you can only leave your holiday knowing there was more you could have done. But, most importantly, now I can let go of that guilt and know I will never neglect Hampshire again.

l For more details on Marwell Hotel visit www.marwellhotel.co.uk/

l For Paulton Park visit ww.paultonspark.co.uk/

l For more on the planetarium visit www.winchestersciencecentre.org or for more on Marwell Zoo visit www.marwell.org.uk/zoo/

l Explore Hampshire at www.visit-hampshire.co.uk