Hundreds of eight and nine-year-olds from Gloucestershire and Bristol schools will descend on Cattle Country at Berkeley for fun and frolics as guests of local Rotary clubs next week.

A total of 817 children will be there on Wednesday, June 11, and Thursday, June 12, at the invitation of 11 clubs as part of Rotary's Children's Fun Day initiative.

For nearly 35 years, Rotary clubs in the UK and Ireland have been offering exciting days out to disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs including many who are severely disabled.

This year, clubs involved include the Rotary Club of Gloucester, Gloucester Quays, Gloucester Severn, Rotary at Kingsholm, Stroud, Dursley, Tewkesbury, Cotswold Tyndale, Chipping Sodbury, Bristol and Bristol Breakfast.

The largest contingent will be taken to the park by the Rotary Club of Gloucester who will be hosting 357 children from 11 local schools. As with most of the other children attending the two days of fun, the city children will have free transport, a packed lunch and an ice cream.

There will be plenty to entertain the youngsters including two play barns, trampolines, a zip wire, a castle, a boating lake and paddling pool as well as sheep, pigs, goats, chickens and other animals.

Keeping an eye on the children to ensure they come to no harm will be a number of teachers, teaching assistants and carers.

In previous years there has only been one fun day. This year there will be two days in order to improve the experience of the children attending with some, like those attending from Milestones in Gloucester, Alderman Knight in Tewkesbury and St Rose's School in Stroud, needing one-to-one care.

The event, as always, is co-ordinated by the Rotary Club of Gloucester led by Rotarian Richard Wright who thanked Inner Wheel, the Cathedral Breakfast Club and the Salvation Army who will either be helping out on the two days or providing sandwiches.

Richard said: 'It's a real community event and my thanks also go to Tony Cullimore, his daughter Katy and Simon Guy at Cattle Country for giving Rotary two days' sole use of their facilities. Each year they have introduced and improved what is on offer and their co-operation is invaluable.'