I remember going to the Nature Centre with my mum and dad when I was about 5 so I know its been there for at least 20 years and I'd say its been there MUCH longer than that.

To get into the Nature Centre you have to walk into an old listed building, through a small gift shop (selling nothing that costs more than £1) and to the Customer Services counter. This is where you pay your £1.25 entrance fee - a child up to 12 is free with every paying adult so us 4 got in for £2.50 As you enter the actual Nature Centre you walk along a pathway and on either side theres pigmy goats jumping about - guaranteed to make a toddler laugh! You walk into a sort of courtyard where theres a pond where the kids can look for fish and tadpoles. And there the choices start.... The layout of the Nature Centre is WIERD, you always leave with the feeling that theres something you've not seen. And try to find somewhere again that you've already seen? No chance! There are pathways everywhere, crossing each other, walking round the back of buildings..... but its not bad - its quite cute the way they've tried to organise everything and not made a good job of it! Anyway, you walk around and eventually see otters, beavers (apparently they're there but I've never spotted one!), polecats, lynx, snowy owl, wallabys, donkeys, a reptile house, an insect house, birds, sheep and goats in fields and a bee house. Its a lovely walk round the Nature Centre cos its set out in a kind of trail and you've got trees on either side and benches to sit down. You go over bridges that cross a very narrow part of the River Rea and then you've got fields on either side of you with more goats and deers, some of them come up to you but there's signs asking you not to feed the animals all over the place. The goats will let the kids stroke them but the sheep tend to stay further away from the fence! Its nice to go just when the weathers warming up cos the sheep have their lambs in the field with them and the kids love that.

The Nature Centre also holds events during the year. Last year we took our 6 year old to an 'exotic animal' event which they were holding free for children. A man came in with a chinchilla, snake and tarantula and told the children all about the animals and then let them touch the chinchilla and hold the snake. Our daughter loved it and it was a good opportunity for her to do something she wouldn't normally do. We've also been to Christmas events where you pay £2.50 and make your own Christmas crackers, wrapping paper etc... and in the summer theres donkey rides for the children which costs £1.00 for a ride which lasts around 10 minutes. They hold hunt the Easter egg competitions and night-time walks at certain times of the year. You can find all their events listed for the year in the 'Whats on in Birmingham 2002/2003' booklet in the library.

When you come out you've got Cannon Hill Park right next door and theres a little bar (The MAC Centre) another cafe, pools, row boats, a brilliant kids play area and apparently its good for a spot of fishing. So you can spend an extra hour or two there having a couple of pints while the kids play. The cafe sell delicious chips in a bag for £1.20 and hot meals too in a posh chrome and glass affair. And my daughter tells me Cannon Hill Park is THE best place for conkers and acorns!