Top Ten free or low-cost summer holiday activities

Top Ten free or low-cost summer holiday activities

The school holidays can be great fun – and, before you know it, extremely expensive! All those ‘occasional’ ice creams, cheap bucket and spades, and trips to the zoo can mount up and make September’s bank statement a horror story! 

Here’s our top tips for getting the most out of these precious days with your children – without draining the bank account. 

 

1.Litter pick on a new-to-you beach

Pack a picnic and get the family out in the sea air. Maybe give a reward for the first one to fill their bag, to find a ‘rainbow’ of plastic bits, or for the most interesting find (there are apparently five million pieces of Lego still washing up from a shipwreck in Cornwall). Take a picture and send it to Two minute beach clean if your kids love a bit of social media! 

2.Geocaching

Hiding a little box of treasures began in 2000 with Geocache and is still completely free. You can either put together your own box of goodies and hide it (guidelines are on the website) or hop out and look for another one, using an online map. Hours of fun all over the UK.

3.Try a new sport

There are lots of fun sports you can try with the kids from paddle tennis to paddle boarding. Many towns and villages have a court that is free to use, an accessible river or a skate board ramp. Check out our website for rackets, bikes, kayaks and much more that will enable you to have a go without shelling out for new kit. 

 

4.Rainy day activities

Most museums in the UK are free, including many of the biggest London ones. Booking a train in advance will save you money and signing up for a family railcard can get you even more discounts. You can book your free ticket in advance to save money at the Natural History Museum for example – where Dippy the Dinosaur is back in pride of place! 

 

5.Kids Theatre Week, London

For the whole month of August, kids go free to many shows in the West End, offering a great opportunity to see some top shows for less. 

6.Explore history

English Heritage has lots of spectacular, free-to-entre sites from the north of Scotland to the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall, including castles, gardens, ruined Roman forts and ancient stone circles. 

 

7.Make a day of it

Lots of attractions, stately homes and councils have adventure playgrounds for kids to run amok to their hearts’ content. While you might have to pay for house entry, or a nominal parking fee, the playgrounds, mazes and petting zoos on site are often free. Check out your local area for sites like Lydiard Park, Suffolk or Dyffryn Gardens in Wales for example. 

 

8.Get messy

Arts and crafts are always a cheap and fun activity for kids who like to get messy. Try finger painting – scale it up for older kids, who can try to copy a famous painting like Munch’s Scream or Monet’s Water Lilies – or set them free with chalks on your patio (it washes off with the next rain!). A glass painting kit is a cheap way to bring a new dimension without much cost and give them something to keep. Or make use of items from your recycling box.

9.Growing interests

Give them the choice of something to grow – their favourite vegetable or flower for example. Maybe get their favourite colour of both. Even if you’ve only got a windowsill, you can start to grow an avocado plant, blueberry bush or tomato.

 

10.Outdoor challenges

The Woodland Trust has a huge range of indoor and outdoor challenges, from magical fairy doors to mud pies. They also offer crafts you can make with things you’ve found on your walk, as well as worksheets on which you can identify trees, seeds and flowers. 

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