The absolute summer holiday destinations for Worcestershire's 90s kids

Six long weeks without school stretched out before you and needed to be filled.

If you lived in Worcester during the 1990s chances are you visited at least one (if not most) of these places during the summer holidays.

1. Gheluvelt Park swimming pool

Before the splashpad...there was the paddling pool (picture precovid)

This was a staple of every summer holiday in Worcester.

Lying on your (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle/Care Bear/Looney Tunes) beach towel with the sun beating down on you or striding through the depths of the pool to cool off - there was nowhere better to visit on a sunny day.

You would arrive early to make sure you had a good spot around the pool and enjoy lounging about while the waters were relatively clean.

The "deep end" may have only been about a foot deep but by the end of a day it felt deeper as the water turned murky from people continuously running through muddy grass to the pool.

2. Bennetts Farm

I have hazy memories of visiting Bennetts Farm in St Johns during the summer holidays as a child.

Possibly because the chance to have some of its delicious ice cream fresh from the farm has clouded all my other memories of the place.

But it was always popular with families looking to see the dairy cows and enjoy a scoop or two of ice cream.

3. Farmers Arms in Kempsey

The playground at the Farmers Arm in Kempsey was legendary in the 1990s.

Here was a place where you could play for hours while your parents sat in the beer garden.

There was the trampoline that was governed by a very strict '20 jumps per child' rule (or it may have been 30).

All the kids would gather around and count, frequently there would be heated debates about whether a jump counted or if there was such a thing as a half jump.

To cool off you would have one of those giant glass bottles of pop between you and your siblings/friends.

4. Quasar

Laser tag places may be all over the place now but when Quasar opened in Farrier Street it felt like the city had stepped into the future.

On a rainy day this was a hit as you wore a heavy pack and ran about in the dark, shooting lasers at your friends.

It was pretty much pitch black which meant you would run head first into a wall at some point (despite the no running rule).

5. Playscheme at Brickfields

Friends have happy memories of the Playscheme which used to run for three weeks every summer holidays in Brickfields.

"We used to go swimming twice a week, Thursdays was always big trip day.

"It always used to be Weston on the first week, Drayton Manor/Barry Island on the second and a mystery trip on the third week!"

There were also holiday clubs in Perdiswell and St John's which ran similar schemes.

6. Droitwich Lido

Droitwich Lido is still incredibly popular now but that is after a refurbishment and reopening in the 00s.

Before it was shuttered in the late 1990s, many summers were spent relaxing poolside or braving jumping into the deep end.

It was so cold, it used to take your breath away so a lot of time was spent standing around the edge building up your courage to take the leap.

7. Jurrasic Run at Sansome Walk swimming pool

I can't put into words the excitement I felt whenever I saw the posters going up at Sansome Walk swimming pool about the Jurassic Run.

It was a dino-themed inflatable obstacle course which floated on top of the water probably to tie in with the hugely popular film at the time, Jurassic Park.

You had to clamber over and under obstacles without falling into the water and, at the end, I believe there was a slide.

I can't remember if there was definitely a slide at the end because I only ever made it about halfway before falling off.

8. King's School Fete

Back in the day you would be guaranteed an actual celebrity opening the King's School Fete which brought a touch of glamour to the summer holidays.

I am pretty sure Mr Motivator and Chris Tarrant both opened the fete while they were at the peak of their fame in the 1990s.

9. Jungle Mania/Hullabalo/Courts ball pit

Long before there was an ASDA in Worcester there stood Jungle Mania and Hullabalo.

A soft play area in Lowesmoor above a furniture shop, it was the perfect place to visit on those rainy summer days.

If you were not in the ball pit here you would head to the shop around the corner to Courts in Pheasant Street which had the rocket ball pit.

Anyone else remember that?

Worcester Arts Workshop

If you showed any flair for drama, art, pottery or similar then you would probably have been signed up for a summer course at the Worcester Arts Workshop.

No doubt some of your parents still have your summer works of art taking pride of place on a shelf (or perhaps gathering dustin the attic).

Do you remember these places? Do you have pictures or is there anywhere we've missed? Get in touch catherine.phillips@newsquest.co.uk.