WITH a girlfriend named Charlie, there was only one place to take her for Easter. A chocolate factory. And wanting to get away from York, there was only one place to go. Cadbury World, near Birmingham.

From the moment we were handed our Wispa Gold and Creme Eggs, we knew it was going to be a good day. And Charlie's young cousins thought so too.

There may not have been many oompa loompas, but there was still plenty to see, do and eat.

It is a bit of a trek down to Cadbury World but the look on the faces of the kids made it all worth while.

It is a fantastic concept. Cadbury's sell all types of chocolate to millions of people around the world. Children love chocolate. Why not invite them down to see how it is made, and maybe even sample the odd chunk?

And it is a concept that works.

While I queued up for the tickets, Charlie took the girls into the enormous confectionery gift shop, the perfect way to pass the time.

By the time we went in to the first exhibit, chocolate fever had well and truly struck.

The first batch of chocolate of the day was placed in our eager hands and we headed into the jungle where the history of every girl's favourite food was revealed.

Bright exhibits made it visually interesting, but we moved on swiftly to the first of many videos throughout the day.

To keep everyone entertained any family attraction needs to balance information with things to do.

This test seemed to fail at the first couple of exhibits, but by the time we reached the third, the boredom disappeared.

Shaking chairs, heaters, steam and noise made the Making Chocolate multi-sensory cinema the perfect attraction.

When the cocoa beans were shaken, so were we. When they were roasted, so were we. You get the idea.

This was quickly followed by booths detailing exactly how such classics as Crunchie, Creme Eggs, and Turkish Delight are turned from vats of brown liquid into the most delectable of delights.

A classic highlight had to be the Cadabra ride, a trip in funny little cars around a world inhabited by funny little brown men.

Nothing to do with chocolate at all really, but fun and a nice break from walking nonetheless.

A taste of liquid chocolate didn't go down quite as well, the sickly taste was a little too much for us.

In fact, we hit somewhat of a chocolate overload by the end of the tour. Its pungent smell became a little overwhelming and after a good couple of hours we couldn't face anything other than savoury snacks.

A range of amusing photo opportunities are presented to visitors, with a chance to stick your head on to the body of the sexy Cadbury's rabbit - too good an opportunity to miss.

The rabbit, and other advertising ploys, prove to be among the more interesting exhibits.

The display detailing the filming of the pre-Coronation Street chocolate people sketch is fascinating - but still not as interesting as being handed a CDM (Cadbury's Dairy Milk) and a bag of chocolate buttons.

Noises have been made in the past about opening a chocolate factory tour in our fair city - if Cadbury World is anything to go by, we are really missing out.

Apparently five million people have visited this site and we have got to be among the four happiest who have left it.

It was a great day for the youngsters and a great day for Charlie in the chocolate factory.

Fact file

Cadbury World, telephone: 0121 451 4180. Online: www.cadburyworld.co.uk

For bus and train information contact 0121 200 2700

By road: take the M1 down to the M42 then from junction 2 follow signs to Cadbury's World. Journey time, just over two hours.