I know everyone is full on opinions on here so I am asking for some of yours. I need some ideas of some fun things to do around the area. I'm so tired of staying at home on the weekends and want to just get out and see the area. So if anyone has any ideas that are within an hour drive and that is kid friendly then let me know. Thanks everyone! 

What kind of things are you guys interested in as a family/individuals? 

& how old are your kids? that way i wont suggest things that wont be suitable. 

There is colchester zoo, there is a pirate pool for kids in Bury St. Edmunds at the leisure center,there is Abby Gardens in Bury St. Edmunds that is fun to bring kids to with a bird atrium, In great Yarmouth on the coast they have an aquarium and lots of fun games like miniature gulf and go cart racing down the board walk. 

My son is going to a bday party soon at the Funky Fun Center in Cambridge - I was looking up directions and found this site - looks informative http://www.dayoutwiththekids.co.uk/search.php?county=cambridgeshire 

There is a great little magazine that I found at Sainsbury's in Thetford called 'Lets Go w/ the Children'. It is full of activities and places to go in East Anglia (w/in an hour or so). I love it and use it often! If you cannot get out this way, I would be happy to send you one if you want! 

This is a site with fun things to do in Suffolk with kids. You might find something on there :) http://www.dayoutwiththekids.co.uk/search.php?county=Suffolk 

The Dino park in Norwich is AWESOME!!! 

Thanks guys for all of the suggestions. My kids are 3 and 11 so these should be great. 

thers also the banham zoo and on sundays theres a huge car boot sale which me and my husband likes a lot 

I highly recommend an English Heritage membership. There are several properties close by, and my children always have a blast. (Such as: Audley End House, Castle Rising Castle, Castle Acre Priory, and just a little farther to Framlingham Castle and Orford Castle) We recently went to http://www.inspirediscoverycentre.com/index.html and, while smaller than expected, was a lot of fun. There's also a Toys R Us nearby (we didn't go in). We hope to go http://www.caithness-crystal.co.uk/index.php soon; looks cool. It's about an hour to drive down to Epping, where you can hop on the Tube into London. 

Go Ape is good for older kids. West Stow is a good place to go. It has a lil playground there too. There is Kids Play in Bury for younger kids. My nephews & their friends love it (though it's not somewhere to go all the time). I think swimming is free for kids around here now. Not 100% sure though! National Stud in Newmarket is good too. You can go on tours. Apparently Duxford Air Museum is a good day out. Africa Alive, Banham Zoo & Dinosaur Adventure are all good. You can get season tickets that have benefits & look out for the 'Big 3' promotion. 

I highly recommend an English Heritage membership. I second that. We easily got our money's worth and went to so many more places knowing we wouldn't have to pay! They give you a book with all sorts of places to see and events happening and they are all organized by region. We've also done the dinosaur park by Norwich; Wells-next-the-Sea is a great beach to hang out on; you can rent a boat to drive around on the broads-- split it with another family, there's plenty of room. So much to do here! We just finished our fourth year and feel like we haven't had enough time to do everything yet.