Summer days out with children in Warwickshire.
Below we have listed a range of ideas for you and your small people which we have broken down into Small Days Out – ones that won’t break the bank! Bigger Days Out – such as theme parks etc and ideas for Activities you can do at home with the children if you need a chill out day or for those rainy days when you feel like you need some focus.
Every July I sit down with the children and we write a list of the things we would love to do during the summer holidays. I am always so happy when I discover the cute things they say, this year my daughter would like to learn how to make friendship bracelets and my son wants to learn how to cut out circles (?). I love the random things they think of. It’s such a lovely thing to do with the children and give you something to focus on together. Of course they sometimes mention a big day out and so I usually create a reward jar for these and if they can fill it then they get their day out. Let us know what things your children come up with in the comments section below! So grab a pen and paper and get writing, some ideas below!
If you’re looking for ‘What’s On’ listings at local places please also have a look at our ‘What’s On In Warwickshire’ post which gives detail on events happening during the holidays.
Enjoy the guides below, you could even print them off and tick them as you go!
THINGS TO DO AT HOME
- Write your own bucket list with the kids, grab a big sheet of paper and follow these tips… http://www.takeitfrommummy.com/5505/five-ideas-for-a-stress-free-summer/
- Begin to create a holiday scrap book together. Collect tickets, activity sheets, memorabilia and photographs of your adventures. I normally buy a cheap photo album from the works, the kind that’s A4 size with the cellophane you peel back, it’s an easy way of doing it. A holiday scrap book is lovely to keep to look back on but also great for the children to take back to school or nursery to give them something to talk about when they return.
- Plant a tree in your garden
- Do a cosmic kids yoga session
- Make a tuff tray of fun, see loads of inspiration here
- Get some chalk and let the children get artistic on the patio
- Make a time capsule
- Order a Sassy Kids Box and get creative together
- Paint each others nails
- Play come dine with me with friends, the kids choose everything and help cook of course
- Paddling pool and water fight
- If it rains we make pizza from scratch & bake cookies
- Teddy bears picnic at home with friends,
- Giant wallpaper painting all down the garden – get a roll of backing paper from a DIY store
- Toilet roll animals
- Making parachutes for lego men,
- Cardboard Box Fun! Last half term we made a coffee shop from cardboard boxes! more ideas on our Pinterest Board here
- Make a den from bedsheets in the garden and have a picnic
- Summer holiday crafts – Check out our pinterest board here for more inspiration
- Make Paint Popsicles
Small Days Out:
- Stratford Upon Avon – We love the park and my little boy loves looking at the boats and a ride on the old ferry is only 50p each way x
- Geocaching – This year we are going to download a Geocaching app and see what all the fuss is about
- Foundry Wood, Leamington Spa, is perfect for little train spotters as it’s right next to the tracks and there’s always some lovely activities taking place see their family events here .
- Stratford Butterfly farm – not a whole day out but take a picnic and you can relax by the river afterwards
- Go Plane spotting at Sheldon Country Park, the planes fly right over your head! Perfect place for a picnic with children’s play area and cafe
- Jephson’s Gardens in Leamington, go and feed the ducks and take a walk round the Glass house and sensory garden, there are craft events weekly which you can see here
- Visit a Forestry Commission Gruffalo Trail –
You only pay to park and for an activity pack, we took a double buggy the whole way round and the children absolutely loved it! Plus you can download the app for free and have selfies with all the Gruffalo characters. - Ryton Pools There is a miniature railway, adventure park & you can feed the ducks. There are plenty of places for a picnic, and a toddler trundle every Wednesday too. Take money for the car park.
- Bubbenhall Wood and Meadow is beautiful for walks, picnics and there’s lots of events this summer from butterfly making to mini beast walks, see the events here
- Draycote park. Fab park. Have lunch. Feed the ducks. Go for a walk or a bike ride round there… All FREE
- Burton Dasset Hills with a kite
- The Herbert Musuem in Coventry – Completely free and lots of events in the holidays
- Coombe Abbey… We went there on a school trip today and there is loads to do and you only have to pay for parking. You can take a picnic go fishing, go on a bug hunt.. And they have a really nice meadow to walk through.
- Coventry Transport Museum is free & normally has kids activities in holidays,
- Take part in your local library’s Summer Reading Challenge, my daughter loved this last year and we will definitely take part again this year. The children borrow the books they would like and when they return they tell the librarian all about the book, they then get a sticker or stamp and when they’ve read the required amount of books they get a medal and certificate. It was such a lovely thing to do, we highly recommend.
- Bosworth Water Park For those happy to travel about an hour can recommend bosworth water trust – you can hire pedalo’s and enjoy the water and there’s a cafe on site too.
- Abbey Fields “We went today for the first time in years. The play areas is lovely”
- Air Museum in Coventry
- Red Wings Horse Sanctuary just past Southam way. It’s free but you can make a small donation if you like. It’s got a shop & tea rooms. Really lovely for little ones & horse lovers. Open all year round, every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday 10am to 4pm (closed Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays). Entry is completely free!
- Pick your own Fruit Picking available at Red Road Nursery and Malt Kiln Farm
- Get the train to Lichfield. Gorgeous park with small cafe for snacks or meals. Also loads of grass area for general run round. Plus a lovely shopping centre.
- Bourton On The Water! We love it there!!
- Cannon Hill Park in brum? It looks amazing and they have mini gold. Will definitely be taking Jake in the hols. You could make a day of it…..The nature centre is also in cannon hill
- Ryton Organic Gardens are worth a visit and while you’re there you can visit the ..
- Stock Pot Cafe which is lovely for the children and really welcoming
- Compton Verny
- Cinema – Check out mini mornings at Vue in Leamington here
- Swimming
- Bowling – Tenpin in Leamington Spa have meal and play deals check out their site here
- Mary Arden’s Farm
- St Nichola’s Park, Warwick – a little paddling pool on hot days, a fun fair and plenty of room to run
- Hill Top Farm – We went there this morning, such beautiful views and the kids can run free 🙂
- Chesterton Windmill – Take a picnic and enjoy!
- Coventry War Memorial Park – Pop over for playground, loads of grassy areas, a water play ground (now reopened) and events for toddlers.
Bigger Days Out:
- Ash End Farm
- Gullivers in Milton Keynes
- Twin Lakes
- Think Tank museum in Birmingham
- Space Centre in Leicester is fab!
- Snibston Discovery Museum which has an amazing outside space with water channels, wheels, dams with boats to float in it etc & big play area! I love Snibston, it is science themed but has a fab outside play area with lots of hands on things to explore including a really tall swing, you can go so high on it I was on it for AGES stuff the kids lol! x
- Severn Valley Steam Railway
- Monkey Forest
- I recommend Dudley zoo, we had a great day out there
- Cadbury’s World
- Plantasia
- Woburn Safari Park
- Umberslade Adventure – Our children are really ‘outdoorsy’ and they love the climbing and generally being challenged, really well managed and plenty of parking, take a picnic.
- Cotswolds Wildlife Park
- Hatton Country World – We love the tractor rides
- Sea Life Centre Birmingham
- Jump In – New trampolining place in Leamington Spa, our kids love it
- Conkers is a great day out with the children
- All Things Wild
- Umberslade Farm Park – A full day out with pony rides and loads of animals and tractor rides, we love it!
- The MAD Museum in Stratford is nice if you have a day planned over there, especially if the weather isn’t the best
- Stratford Upon Avon Butterfly Farm, is lovely for all ages, it’s not huge though so plan it alongside a picnic by the river 🙂
- Drayton Manor and Thomas Land, usually lots of offers on and under threes are quite cheap, only about 45 minute drive too
- Warwick Castle, loads of 241 offers out there and a whole day’s fun to be had. Beware pushchairs and the castle don’t mix but even so theres loads outside such as an adventure playground, maze and falconry displays
- Stratford Armouries and Henry’s Castle Play Barn – We love it here, always clean and in a lovely location
- If it’s too hot for you, we love ice skating at Planet Ice in Coventry, plenty of parking and the children just love it!
We hope you’ve found some inspiration here, you can also check out our other guides below
