Blenheim Palace has an eggcellent Easter weekend planned for all the family to enjoy from 30 March – 2 April, with lots of additional fun to be had over the entire Easter holidays.

Follow an over-sized Easter Egg Hunt throughout the 'Capability' Brown Parkland and Pleasure Gardens with some 8ft giant decorated eggs to find. Explore the grounds to seek out the special 'Blenheim Egg', note its location on your map and enter into a competition to win an Easter surprise.

Blenheim Palace's Pleasure Gardens will transform into an Easter wonderland with lots of interactive experiences, family-friendly activities and shows to enjoy.

Find a traditional Victorian fairground with vintage rides for the whole family.

Embark on an Easter Bunny Walkabout; or frolic with the fairy stilt walkers; plus have a go at Archery and get jumping on the bouncy castle or trampolines!

Families can also see an Easter Puppet Show, watch Balloon Twisters, take part in Circus Skills Workshops and have their faces painted over the four day celebration.

All the usual family favourites can still be found in The Pleasure Gardens throughout the holidays, with permanent features, including the giant Marlborough Hedge Maze, The Butterfly House and the Adventure Playground.

Tuck into a feast of family-friendly food with a range of fresh hot and cold snacks, handmade pizzas, soups, salads, ice cream and a selection of healthy choices for children.

La Manga Club's highly-rated West Course has won new recognition as one of Europe's elite golf venues after being included in the respected Top 100 Golf Courses website's latest European rankings for the first time in its burgeoning history.

The 6,347-yard par-72 layout was one of 15 new entries in the updated list of the best courses on the continent, breaking into the standings at number 95.

Designed by Dave Thomas and opened in 1996, the West Course is the newest of La Manga Club's three 18-hole courses, with the tree-lined layout offering the perfect contrast to its older resort siblings – the North and the South, host of numerous high-profile tournaments including five Spanish Opens.

Announcing its decision, the Top 100 Golf Courses website said: “The West Course is, without doubt, the jewel in the crown at La Manga Club and is totally different from the other two layouts.

“Gone are the palms and in come the pines, doglegs and tight, tricky holes. It's a beautiful course, well manicured and with marvellous scenery all around.”

Featuring three 18-hole golf courses, a nine-hole academy course and outstanding practice facilities, La Manga Club has been at the forefront of European golf since opening in 1972, and this winter joined a select group of courses in Spain to have been granted royal status by the Spanish royal household after being awarded the title 'Real Golf La Manga Club'.

Three times the size of Monaco and nestling in an exclusive corner of Murcia in south-east Spain, the resort recently celebrated its 45th anniversary and has gone from strength-to-strength over the last 12 months following continued investment on and off the golf course.

Among the top accolades it has received recently, La Manga Club was named 'Europe's Leading Luxury Resort & Villas 2017' at the World Travel Awards Europe and 'Europe's Best Golf Venue' at the 2017 World Golf Awards.

The official overseas training base of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the resort's unrivalled facilities also include a 28-court tennis centre, a new European Cricket Performance Centre and a 2,000sqm spa and fitness centre. In addition, it features the choice of a five-star hotel, four-star serviced apartments and townhouses and more than 15 bars and restaurants.

People can banish the winter blues and get fitter by joining in cycleathon sessions at Sandwell Central Library this month (January).

Five minutes on the library’s exercise bike means a mile travelled and is a good way of getting that little bit fitter.

Library staff are inviting everyone to come in and try out their exercise bike and see how many miles can be clocked up during one month.

Central Library in High Street, West Bromwich, has a range of fitness equipment to try and you can also borrow resistance bands and choose from a wide range of books on health and fitness.

Those wishing to lose weight can also take advantage of the Weigh2GO scheme where you can use smart Fitbit scales to get weighed and have the information sent straight to your phone.

Councillor Elaine Costigan, Sandwell Council's cabinet member for public health and protection, said: “This is another good idea for people to use a few minutes at their local library to get a little fitter for the year ahead.

“People calling in for books and the other library services can have a quick workout to get a health mind and healthy body.”

This Spring will see the return of the UK’s muddiest fundraising event for little ones – Peppa Pig’s Muddy Puddle Walk for Save the Children. Last year saw 160,000 children across the UK take part, raising an incredible £243,000 for Save the Children’s vital work, and this year the charity hopes even more people will sign up, take part and donate.

Between 23 and 29 April 2018, nurseries, early years groups, families and children up and down the country are being encouraged to take part in a Muddy Puddle Walk to raise money for the international children’s charity.

Organising a Muddy Puddle Walk is a great way for your little ones to explore the world around them and jump in muddy puddles, like Entertainment One’s Peppa Pig, for a worthy cause.  Whether you splash in puddles along a trail at the park or get creative and make your own puddles indoors from paper and foil – your Muddy Puddle Walk will be a fun day to spend together that littles ones won’t forget. Raise funds in the way that suits you – help walkers get sponsored for their walk, ask for a donation to take part or even bake Muddy Puddle cupcakes to sell on the day! The money you raise will help Save the Children’s work to transform the lives of vulnerable children in the UK and around the world.

Sophie Pirouet, Fundraising Campaigns Manager at Save the Children, says: “We hope everyone will get outside this Spring, come rain or shine, and help raise much needed funds for Save the Children. It’s so easy to take part and it’s the perfect excuse to explore the outdoors with your little ones. By jumping in muddy puddles like Peppa Pig and raising money for Save the Children you can help give children a brighter future.”

By taking part in a Muddy Puddle Walk and raising money for Save the Children, you can help vulnerable children around the world have a safe place to play and learn.  Sign up now at MuddyPuddleWalk.org  for your free Muddy Puddle Walk Fundraising Pack full of fun Peppa Pig inspired activities to help you get started – with tips for great walks indoors and out, fundraising ideas, fun activities to get your walkers ready for the big day and at the end of the walk, there’s a free Peppa Pig sticker reward for every child. The fundraising pack will also explain what life is like for children in different countries, helping them see how they are making a difference through supporting Save the Children.

Leading property developer, Ion, who has been instrumental in helping City of Wolverhampton Council deliver the Interchange masterplan for the city, including the i10 office and the new bus station, has announced a public consultation event on Thursday, 18th January to showcase the plans for the eye-catching i9 modern office development proposed for Railway Drive.

It is hoped i9, which will provide 50,000 sq. ft. of Grade A office space, will be completed in 2020 and could become a national or regional headquarters for a major business.

Glenn Howells Architects’ design was selected by the council and development partner, ION, from a strong field of ten UK leading architects and urban design practices.

They are the architects behind the Paradise Birmingham scheme – one of the biggest city centre development projects in the UK.

Fraser Godfrey, architect from Glenn Howells said: ‘The design had to be sensitive to neighbouring landmarks such as the Chubb Buildings and the Prince Albert pub and will become a stunning contemporary addition to Wolverhampton’s family of red-brick Victorian buildings. It is set to house restaurants or cafes in the ground floor of the building as well as a rooftop amenity space, with panoramic views towards the city centre conservation area and Interchange.’

A drop-in event held on Thursday, 18^th January, 3pm to 7pm at the Light House, The Chubb Buildings, Fryer St, Wolverhampton WV1 1HT, will give the public the opportunity to see the plans that Ion has developed for the site, meet the architects and give feedback to the developer’s team. Ion’s plans are also available to view on their website – http://iondevelopments.co.uk/projects/wolverhampton-i9/.

Ion is an expert at regeneration and have been instrumental in various transformational city centre schemes around the country including Liverpool Lime Street, Mann Island and the Speke Airport Hangers and Terminal Buildings.

Steve Parry, managing director of Ion, commented: ‘Glenn Howells have created a brilliant concept for i9. It will strengthen Wolverhampton’s appeal as a place to conduct business. We look forward to showcasing the design and hearing the feedback from the public.’

Councillor John Reynolds, Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: ‘Glenn Howells Architects have produced outstanding designs, that combined with blueprints for the other parcels of land, will help us quickly progress developments with our Interchange partners over the coming years.

‘Since i10 was completed we have seen increasing demand for quality office space in that location of the city, particularly from large space users.

‘i9 was always envisaged to satisfy that demand, and we are confident these plans will deliver a landmark office building of the utmost quality that is entirely appropriate to its important historic setting.

‘We want this building to become the design and quality benchmark for future developments in the city and to demonstrate our ambition for the city centre.’