Tag: Uswitch

Botanic Gardens is top ten UK family-friendly eco-attraction

  • Uswitch.com reveals the best family-friendly eco-attractions in the United Kingdom, ranking each attraction out of 100
  • The attraction ranking in first place, with 71 points, is GreenWood Family Park based in Gwynedd, Wales
  • The second-best eco-friendly attraction is Pensthorpe Natural Park in Norfolk, with a score of 64 out of 100
  • Wildwood Trust in Kent, ranks third with a total score of 53 points out of 100
  • A quarter (24%)[1] of all analysed reviews praised the attractions’ eco-conscious factors, such as educational information and sustainable ethos[2]
  • Find out how you and your family could be more eco-friendly by reducing your personal carbon footprint with the Uswitch Carbon Footprint Calculator

The summer holidays can often be overwhelming for parents who don’t know where to take their children for a fun-filled family day out, so Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service, have analysed the best eco-friendly attractions for parents and children to enjoy.

Uswitch.com experts scraped TripAdvisor reviews for eco-friendly attractions in the UK[3], monitoring keywords and phrases that reflect having a great family visit[4].  Over 34,000 four and five-star reviews were analysed, with six categories to determine a family-friendly eco-friendly attraction – Enjoyability, Family compatibility, Food availability, Affordability, Conservation and eco-friendly components and Cleanliness[5].

Table 1: The UK’s eco-friendly attractions, ranked

RankAttractionLocationPercentage of reviews mentioning keywords and phrases in each categoryFinal Score
EnjoyabilityFamily- friendlyFood availabilityAffordabilityEco-friendly componentsCleanliness
1GreenWood Family ParkGwynedd78%73%80%5%38%14%71
2Pensthorpe Natural ParkNorfolk64%53%79%4%56%8%64
3Wildwood TrustKent53%47%63%4%76%5%53
4The Eden ProjectCornwall43%27%63%7%23%3%40
5The Living RainforestBerkshire40%38%56%4%52%4%37
6Centre for Alternative TechnologyPowys42%32%59%2%24%6%35
7Markshall EstateBraintree42%27%64%4%20%6%35
8National Botanic Garden of WalesCarmarthenshire48%24%70%3%20%5%35
9The Royal Botanic GardensLondon38%18%56%4%21%3%20
10Royal Botanic Garden EdinburghEdinburgh26%11%43%1%15%2%6

Source: Uswitch.com

GreenWood Family Park in Gwynedd scored the highest of all the attractions with 71 points out of 100. This is no surprise since the park is home to two spectacular attractions: the world’s first people-powered rollercoaster, and Wales’s longest sled run.

The park’s Enjoyability factor was notable, with three quarters of reviews mentioning how fun (78%) or family-friendly the park is (73%), and even more favoured the quality of food (80%).

Norfolk’s Pensthorpe Natural Park scored 64, awarding itself second place in the eco-attraction rankings.

Four-fifths of reviews (79%) praised the quality of food, while over half (53%) cited the family-friendly nature of the attraction. In line with this, over three-fifths (64%) applauded the park for its fun factor.

The Park gained a mediocre score on affordability, with 4% of reviews showing negativity towards the cost of the attraction.

Table 2: The top-scoring attraction for each category analysed

Category analysedTop scoring attractionLocationPercentage of reviews relating to the category
EnjoyabilityGreenWood Family ParkGwynedd78%
Family-friendlyGreenWood Family ParkGwynedd73%
Food availabilityGreenWood Family ParkGwynedd80%
AffordabilityThe Eden ProjectCornwall7%
Eco-friendly componentsWildwoodKent76%
CleanlinessGreenWood Family ParkGwynedd14%

Source: Uswitch.com

Wildwood Trust, formerly known as Wildwood Discovery Park and located in south-east England, is ranked as the attraction with the most eco-friendly components, with over three-quarters (76%) of reviews mentioning this factor.

Overall, a quarter of reviews (24%) for all the attractions combined mentioned eco-friendly and conservation efforts made by the sites – and a further quarter (24%) noted the family-friendly elements of the attractions.

Uswitch encourages anyone interested in how eco-friendly their household is to find out their personal carbon footprint and read tips on how to lower it using the  Uswitch Carbon Footprint Calculator.

Sarah Broomfield, energy expert at Uswitch.com comments: “The relatively high numbers of reviews regarding how eco-friendly the attractions are show that visitors are mindful of where they like to spend the day with their families.

“It is great to see that a majority of these eco-friendly attractions live up to their status and are excelling in customer satisfaction.

“It is unfortunate, however, that eco-friendliness seems to come at a cost; affordability is low-ranking for these attractions, which is not ideal for those with large families or low incomes.”

Find out how you could save nearly £1,000 a year with Uswitch here.

A third of Edinburgh pupils having to share vital home schooling tech with siblings

As Scottish families adjust to a third national lockdown and the challenges of homeschooling again, Uswitch surveyed parents to find out how the nation’s homeschooling parents and children are coping this time around. 

Lack of homeschooling resources for Edinburgh kids

  • More than half of Scottish children don’t have full-time access to a laptop for school work.
  • A third of Edinburgh pupils are having to share a laptop with siblings. 
  • A third of Edinburgh parents have had to supply homeschool tech for their kids.
  • 1 in 10 Scottish families have sought out tutor support to fill knowledge gaps, while a quarter of parents have had to spend on a homeschool set up.
  • On average Scottish parents have paid £158 on homeschooling costs, £61 less than the UK average.
  • In total, the UK’s struggling parents have been left with a £3.7 billion bill due to homeschooling costs.

Scottish homeschooling families failing to connect online

  • A quarter of Scottish parents are struggling to homeschool due to broadband problems.
  • The biggest broadband concern is slow speeds disrupting the school day. 
  • Despite this, only 10% of Scottish families have switched or upgraded their broadband provider. 

Scottish kids falling behind due to homeschooling

  • A quarter of Scottish kids don’t get all their school work finished during the school day.
  • 1 in 10 Edinburgh children are having to work longer hours to keep up with their workload, while another 1 in 10 pupils’ work goes regularly unfinished.
  • 68% of Scottish kids are supported by school for less than half a day leaving parents to fill in the gaps despite working.
  • More than a third of Scottish children don’t have any live video call lessons, with just 1% of children receiving a full school day of live video teacher support.  

Mental health concerns for Scottish children

  • 1 in 3 Scottish parents surveyed stated homeschooling has had a negative impact on their child.
  • Of these parents, 53% said their child is more isolated and detached socially
  • More than half think their child’s motivation to learn and concentrate has worsened.
  • A third said homeschooling has negatively impacted their child’s mental health, stress and learning.
  • More than 1 in 4 parents expressed concern about their child’s fitness and while a third are stressed their child’s anxiety has suffered at home.
  • While 22% of parents said poor sleep such as bad dreams and sleeping later are an issue for their child because of remote learning.
  • A fifth of Scottish parents are concerned about their child’s happiness overall.

Meanwhile Scottish parents are experiencing increased guilt, with over a quarter of Edinburgh parents identifying feelings of guilt due to the challenges of remote learning.

Find the full piece here: 

https://www.uswitch.com/broadband/homeschooling-wifi-issues/

Nick Baker, broadband expert at Uswitch.com, comments: “As UK families adjust to a third national lockdown, many parents are feeling increased pressure to successfully navigate homeschooling while working remotely. 

“To take off some of the pressure, take advantage of helpful learning tools available online, such as the BBC education programming available daily. Additionally, if you’re concerned your child is falling behind due to a lack of resources, speak with their school to find out if you qualify for extra help and the Government Get Help With Technology Scheme. 

“With children logging on to learn online, you’ll likely have more devices than usual connected to your broadband during the day. Ensuring your internet is up to speed will help elevate connection stress and keep the school day running smoothly. 

“If you are having trouble with your broadband, try these top tips and check out our homeschooling Wi-Fi issues guide to solve your most common home Wi-Fi problems:

  1. Reboot your router – the classic ‘unplug it, leave it 30 seconds and plug it back in’.
  2. Location, location, location – if your router is located further away than it needs to be, try moving it to the room you’re most active in or the center of your home.
  3. Disconnect unnecessary devices – turn the Wi-Fi off on gadgets you’re not using, even if they’re in a drawer. They may be using bandwidth in the background.
  4. Run a speed test – this will determine whether your router is running at the speeds you signed up for.
  5. Purchase a Wi-Fi extender or ‘booster’ – this will optimise your broadband for faster and stronger connections.

Find the full study here.