Remember when you were a child? With forests for playgrounds and the countryside free to roam, many people have fantastic childhood memories of exploration and adventure.

Sandy Balls Holiday Centre in the heart of the New Forest has a children’s playground perfect for today's little explorers – its own 120-acre estate is full of trees to climb, woods to play in and hideaways for dens.

There is now the perfect opportunity to get your children outdoors, climbing hills and trees, playing or cycling in the woods, following trails to the river, balancing over log bridges and playing on rope swings.

Organised activities on-site include archery, instructor-led kayaking on the Beaulieu River, pony trekking at the Arniss stables, five-a-side football with Saints in the Community coaches, a challenge on the boules court, bug hunting with nets and magnifying glasses or an adrenalin-fuelled off-road cycle scramble with the Cycle Centre-run Mud Rats – a two-hour adventure for 7 to 12-year-olds, which starts at £8.

For those who prefer to stay indoors, there is a family fun room with table tennis and pool tables, two swimming pools or a programme of activities to choose from which includes biscuit decorating, t-shirt painting and tie dyeing, working with wood, collage creating, ceramic plate and mug painting and freshwater pearl jewellery making.

And while the children are busy enjoying themselves, that leaves the parents space to indulge in a little time of their own – at the well-equipped Leisure Club, with an indoor and outdoor pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and state-of-the-art gym.

For more information on Sandy Balls click here.