Horrible Histories has a hideous hold on my two. Scarlett, 8, and Fin, 5, can’t get enough of the BBC series that dwells on the blood, guts, and general nastiness of times gone by that we adults usually prefer to skate over.

If your kids are similarly fascinated by the down’n'dirty details of the everyday life of our distant ancestors, then a visit to the Jorvik Viking Centre at York might be the half-term trip they are hankering after.

It’s part of an archaeological site where a 1,000-year-old Viking settlement is still being excavated by the experts. The remains of the Norseman’s homes are unveiled, household objects explored and the sights, sounds – and even smells! – of day-to-day Dark Age living are recreated.

Nifty audio and video displays will get your kids up close and personal with all the blood and barbarity they could ever want as they investigate they investigate oodles of information from the 5-year long dig at Coppergate and piece together the jigsaw of where the Vikings came from, why they came here and how they lived and died.

Pre-book (recommended during busy school holidays) by calling 01904 615505 or booking online at https://www.jorvikbookings.com/index.php

Baby-Friendly Boltholes nearby:

Yew Tree Cottage, Westow, Yorkshire

http://www.babyfriendlyboltholes.co.uk/luxury_stays__yew_tree_cottage__yew_tree_cottage-child-friendly-accommodation-38790.htm

Here’s a way to make sure that budding baby swimmers stay trendy and accident-free in one cute package. Award-winning Bambino Mio have a new range of funky swim nappy prints for 2012.

No need for bulky disposable nappies as the little person begins to discover the joys of paddling in the swimming pool or the sea.

Elasticated waist and leak proof leg cuffs stop the sort of nasty leaks that tend to make you and the baby unpopular poolside. An adjustable waist band ensures a flexible, secure and comfortable fit, a lightweight cotton lining is soft on the skin, and super-stretchy swim fabric will allow even the most active tot to splash about without problems.

Completely reuseable and available in brown stripe, pink stripe, orange stripe, blue shark and pink daisy, the Bambino Mio swim nappy is available from stores and online for a RRP of £8.75.

For more info, take a look at www.bambinomio.com

It’s one of those ‘Doh! Why didn’t I think of that!’ moments. A neat little invention that’s so simple you can’t believe you didn’t think of it yourself.

Remember when yours were tiny and they’d (finally, mercifully) fall asleep on a blanket? I’d tip-toe over and try to bundle them into my arms and off to bed – and of course I’d wake them up in the clumsy process.

So, why not invent a blanket with handles? Too late – David Solomons has beaten every other travel dad in the world to the punch.

He dreamt up the Bundl to help his wife lift and carry their baby daughter when birth complications made bending down a no-no, and his own dodgy back put him out of the frame too.

It fits into car seats, pushchairs, cots and cribs and is ideal for the supermarket trolley baby seats. No more having to lay a blanket down before you lay your baby down. Now you lay blanket and baby down at the same time.

The Bundl has already picked up a business innovations award from Barclays Bank. Really wish I’d thought of it first….

For more information, take a look at www.snugglebundl.co.uk/

There’s a lunch-time secret lurking amidst the sleek multi-million pound penthouses that overlook the River Thames next to London’s world-famous Tower Bridge. In an area that is usually the haunt of extremely well-paid City and media types, you and the kids can get a brilliant (and entertaining) weekend lunch for a total of £22.50.

Cantina Del Ponte is a smart, grown-up eaterie with great views over the river, thronging with well-heeled professional networkers on a week day. But on relatively-quiet Saturday and Sunday lunchtimes, they have launched a 3 course family sharing menu that Jane, Scarlett, Fin and I decided to give a try.

It’s a symphony of gleaming cutlery and sparkling glasses. But the mainly Italian and Sardinian staff were all smiles and friendliness, happy to have an excited 7 and 5-old crashing around the place. There was none of the tense-making stuffiness that often mars any meeting of small people and fine dining places.

Scarlett & Fin couldn’t have been happier when they were allowed to prepare their own upmarket thin-crust pizzas at the table and then send it off to be cooked and returned to them to scoff. Jane & I loved the delicious bruschetta with garlic, tomato and basil, the fab (and huge) selection of regional charcuterie, and a tasty baked salmon with capers, produced with a flourish from a foil parcel at the table. Servings were all generous, and half a bottle of prosecco (£10 extra but well worth it) helped things along nicely.

It’s a great spot for a post-lunch stroll too. There’s a wide riverside path, strewn with giant ship’s anchors, where Scarlett and Fin ran (and climbed) off their food, the gadget and book-filled shop at the Design Museum 100 metres in one direction, and Tower Bridge itself 100 metres in the other.

All in all, a million times better than shelling out for some limp and disappointing fast food in one of the many over-priced tourist traps in that part of central London

There are book shops for kids. Then there’s Seven Stories. I love this place – it’s one of the hidden literary gems of Northern England, the whole country is fact. It’s like a reading wonderland for children and parents alike, an old warehouse building, chock full of books, exhibitions, creative activity sessions and readings by top authors.

It’s hidden away in a kind of urban dell, tucked behind an unprepossessing trading estate in Newcastle’s Byker area. Inside, it’s an inviting combination of play centre, book shop and reading museum that will entrance children from 2 – 14. They can read & browse, paint & play, tog themselves out from a selection of wacky dressing up boxes.

My two Scarlett, 7, and Fin, 5, never turn down an opportunity to go. On our last visit, they sat, open-mouthed, as Lost & Found author Oliver Jeffers read his book and then screened the wonderful, gentle animated film of it in the cosy, atmospheric attic. Then we trotted off to the basement to make fairy tale shoes in one of the many inspirational creative workshops. On another occasion, they sat on cushions and watched a film of the brilliant Michael Rosen reading his perennial favourite, Going on a Bear Hunt. Oh, and if they get peckish, there’s a fab cafe overlooking the canal.

We usually stay for at least a morning. You can even more of a day of it by visiting the city riding stables up the road.

For more info, take a look at http://www.sevenstories.org.uk/

Baby-Friendly Bolthole nearby:

Fourstones Cottage, Northumbria

http://www.babyfriendlyboltholes.co.uk/fourstones_cottages__coast_cottage-child-friendly-accommodation-4007.htm#property_main

If you could give physical form to the old idiom ‘killing two birds with one stone’, it would be this fabulous three-story town house sitting on a hill and gazing serenely over the butter-coloured beauty of Bath. It’s an oasis of country village calm hidden away just ten minutes walk (or two minutes) drive from the shopping, eating and sight-seeing possibilities of the famous Georgian city.

My two could hardly believe their luck as they whooped around the expansive, high-ceilinged rooms, and explored the beautifully finished bathrooms. Within minutes, they were both happily sprawled on the smart (but not too smart) lounge sofas, reading and drawing as if they’d been living there for years. I always take that as a clear sign that a house has passed the baby-friendly test.

Jane & I loved the top end kitchen with everything from squirrel nut crackers to a massive fridge stocked with wine, milk and lovely local clotted cream, courtesy of friendly, helpful owner Kate. She’d also left us home-baked scones a covetable retro tin (they were gone within minutes as you can imagine!)

Her quirky taste and sense of humour gives the house a grown-up and yet playful feel with saucy, kitsch paintings of 70s nudes and a bust of Beethoven, sporting a Moroccan fez. Lots of books too – and not the usual shelf-fillers. I was tempted to steal away with a wonderful collection of Ted Hughes poetry and get how-to about allotment owning!