Forget fairies and teddy bears. With kids of a certain age and disposition, only ghosts and creepy-crawlies will do. Some kids like nothing more than being made to squirm and scream, so treat them to an awesome but gruesome day out this half term.
Cannibal lecture
The world's first exhibition devoted to cannibalism has opened at Gough's Cave in Cheddar, Somerset. The cave claims to be the first authenticated British cannibal site and the burial place of Cheddar Man, Britain's oldest complete skeleton, who still has relatives living in the area. Designed to be educational but fun, other exhibits include the bones of a cannibalised human dating back 12,500 years and a giant rotating human skull complete with butchery marks.
Cost Entry price is £5.50 for adults, £5 for seniors, £4.20 for children. (01934 742343; cheddarcaves.co.uk).
Plague on your house
You'll need a nose peg and a strong stomach at Warwick Castle's Plague and Pox Week. Meet medieval plague victims, watch the doctor work his magic with his weird and wonderful medicines (urine, maggots and pigs' bladders) and sympathise with the toilet cleaner, known as a gong farmer.
Cost Adults £12.95, children (four-16) £7.95 or families (two adults and two children) £34. Warwick Castle (0870 442 2375; warwick-castle.co.uk).
Tomb raiders
Budding Lara Crofts and Indiana Joneses who aren't afraid of bats and boa constrictors will love the newest attractions at Amazon World on the Isle of Wight. Ominously named The Tomb, the ride is based on a Mayan burial chamber and takes you through five chambers, each dedicated to the ancient animals and gods.
Cost Adults £6.25, children £4.75 (01983 867122; amazonworld.co.uk). Wightlink (0870 582 0202; wightlink.co.uk) is offering a two-night break at Somerton Lodge, Shanklin, with half-board in a family room for £110pp for adults and £55pp for children, including return ferry from Portsmouth or Lymington.
Whiffs and nasty niffs
Take the blindfold challenge at one of the 'stinky' daily discovery sessions at Almond Valley Heritage Centre, Livingston, West Lothian. Those who dare will have to use their noses to identify all sorts of strange smells - some fresh and floral, others rotten and nasty.
Cost Adults £3, children (aged three-16) £2, families (two adults and up to four children) £10 (01506 414957; almondvalley.co.uk).
A bug's life
Shrink in size by up to 1,000 times and come face to face with the creepy-crawlies and micro-bugs that live in the soil at the Centre for Alternative Technology near Machynlleth, Powys, which aims to teach all age groups about renewable energy, composting and organic gardening. In a special attraction to teach children about sustainable sewage, they'll venture into a mole hole to see just what lurks beneath.
Cost Adults £5.35, children (five-16) £3.20, family tickets from £15.90 (two adults, two children). CAT (0845 330 8355; cat.org.uk).
