Summer is in full swing, and there’s no better time to plan some exciting family adventures in London. The city comes alive during the warmer months, offering a plethora of activities and events that are perfect for keeping the kids entertained. Whether you’re a local resident or a visitor, here’s a curated list of what’s on in London to make the most of your summer in London with the little ones.
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Photo by Lewis McCracken on Unsplash
Scotland is a beautiful country with so much for families to see and do, and Inverness is no exception. Nestled on the northeast coast, where the River Ness meets the Moray Firth, it’s the largest city and the cultural capital of the Scottish Highlands. Inverness is steeped in history and natural beauty, and is a great base for exploring the surrounding area. With this in mind, I thought I’d share some of the best things for families to do when visiting Inverness:
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Everyone loves a family day out, and it’s a great chance to bond and explore the world together. Cambridgeshire has a lot to offer in that regard, pleasing clans the world over decade after decade. There’re great transport links here too, so you can quickly get the train from Huntingdon to Peterborough, with very little fuss – you’re never cut off in Cambridgeshire.
However, if you need further inspiration as to what you can get up to here, here’re 3 good ideas for family days out in Cambridgeshire.
Punting in Cambridge
Punting is iconic of Cambridge, and Cambridge is iconic of Cambridgeshire. Even young kids can get involved if they’re positioned toward the middle of their parents’ flat-bottomed boat. You can explore all the small rivers of Cambridge this way, and ease into a serene and relaxing day spent drifting along the water with your loved ones.
Don’t want to do any of the legwork yourself? That’s okay! In Cambridge, you can take guided tours while punting, the same way you can clamber aboard an open top bus in most of the major tourist cities and have a guide inform you on your surroundings. It’s certainly a tranquil way to pass the time with your folks, so give it a go!
The Riverside Park
The Riverside Park can be found in Huntingdon, and here your family can enjoy a lot of different activities. These include walks along the river, hay meadows, canoeing, river cruising and there’s even an enclosed children’s play area for the day’s activities. The park has a nice and quiet atmosphere, so if you’re looking for somewhere to lay low and unwind, The Riverside Park is that perfect place you crave.
In the summer, you can also expect to find concerts and local bands showcasing their talents too. Therefore, there’s a nice laid-back vibe here that feels more like a gathering of village locals than a big bustling city park that’s teeming with strangers. In the end, you wouldn’t be the first person to swap a city for some country living, so pay a visit if it sounds like you’d all love it there.
Nene Park
Located in the heart of Peterborough, Nene Park is full of things to do for the whole family. It plays host to Ferry Meadows, which is one of the largest country parks in Cambridgeshire. Train rides, open water swimming, sailing, climbing and of course long walks, it’s all available here. There’s a lovely cafe to be found here too, so if you or your kids need a little rest at any point, you’re covered!
You can also tailor your day even further to your needs by utilising the Ferry Meadows events programme if you have a particularly big family on an ambitious adventure. Pick out what you want to do and get to it! In any event, there’s seemingly endless woodland, meadows and water to play in here, providing everything you need for a great family day out.
The summer holidays are almost close enough to touch, and we’re already thinking about things that we can do to fill up the six weeks holidays. There will be things that we do which are just for the four of us (and sometimes including Maureen!) But we also want to take the opportunity to use our summertime freedom to spend quality time with the whole extended family. With this in mind, we’ve been thinking about what we need to consider to make our day trips fun for every generation of the family and we thought we’d share some tips with you today.
Whether you’re pushing a buggy, a wheelchair or using a walking stick or crutches to get around, access is something that should be at the front of your mind. Choosing places to visit which are very hilly or have a lot of stairs is going to be a nightmare for anyone with less than perfect mobility check websites ahead of time to see if any provision has been made for disabled tourists or those with small children. Take a look at this post if you’re interested in accessible days out in Yorkshire.
There is no such thing as a great British day trip if you can’t stop somewhere for a decent cuppa! This is especially true if you’re day tripping with older members of your family but everyone needs to eat, so you might want to check out whats on offer before you plan your trip, obviously a picnic is a good option for the whole family and you can take food to suit everyone, minimising the risk of someone going uncatered for.
One of the most important things to think about on any family trip is whether there will be public toilets available. Don’t forget, if you’re planning a trip which includes several generations or family members with additional needs you will need to also consider if there are wheelchair accessible amenities as well as changing tables which can be used by both mum or dad.
If you’re going by car then parking is going to be something you need to think about, too. Is the parking close to where you’re going? Is there disabled parking? Is there family parking? Is there a park and ride? Do you need to pay for parking and does the machine take coins, notes or cards? Many places offer free parking to blue Badge holders, but there are some which still charge even for disable parking, so it’s all stuff that you’ll want to be prepared for in advance.
Often, the older members of the family make sacrifices when it comes to day tripping – if you’re going somewhere kid-centric, Nans and Grandads end up being coat-holders and buggy watchers while the youngsters have all the fun. Try to think about whether there’s entertainment for ALL ages so that the family coat rack doesn’t end up bored out of their mind!
Even if you’re going away this summer, there’s a good chance that you’ll have at least a month at home, which you’ll be wanting to fill with activities for the kids, keeping the dreaded cries of “MUUUM, we’re BORED!” at bay for as long as possible! There are loads of things that you can do across a variety of budgets, which will fill their summer nicely, and this is just a few of them:
Pony Camp
If you live near a riding stable and have kids who love animals, find out if they’re doing any sort of pony camp during the summer. Last year, Sausage went to a pony camp one day a week for the entire holidays, and although it wasn’t cheap (we paid about £25 per session), it meant that even during quiet weeks, there are at least one day with guaranteed fun! Our stables bought all of their Horse Nutrition Products from Spillers, so we knew they were well cared for.
Shopping Centres
Take a look at the shopping centres near you; many of them have fun days for kids all the way through the holidays, with various characters like Chase from paw Patrol or Anna and Elsa from Frozen turning up. They’re generally free or very cheap, and give you a chance to pop into town for an afternoon of low-cost fun.
Pick Your Own
The nice weather means that you’ll be wanting to get outside as much as possible, and a PYO farm is a lovely bit of wholesome fun for the whole family. You generally only have to pay for the fruit you actually want to take home with you and the kids get to spend a few hours doing something which is about a million miles away from screen-time.
Fun Classes
Okay, so I’m not suggesting you get them doing school work in the holidays, but there are a few different places you can take them where they’ll get to learn something fun. YO! Sushi do awesome sushi making classes for kids, which we tried last year and the girls ADORED, but you’ll also find stuff at your local library, like coding classes, which your kids might enjoy, and again, they’re usually pretty cheap.
Litter Picking
This summer, Husband, the girls and I have decided that we’re making it our mission to go litter picking at least once a week. We live in a beautiful rural spot which is popular with dog walkers and cyclists, but we see an alarming amount of trash and mylar balloons when we’re out on walks. We figured, if we pick up as much as we can, we might offset some of the damage, doing a good deed and spending time together in nature at the same time. It might not be hugely glamorous, but it’s free and we’ll get a nice warm glow for having dome something for the environment.
