FREE Days Out During The Summer Holidays

With many children already broken up from school and the rest of the U.K breaking up in the next week or so, I am sure there are many parents thinking 'what are we going to do for the next 6 weeks!'

If you're anything like myself I like to be out of the house - staying at home with an energetic, inquisitive 4 year old is not an option. However I cannot afford to take her on expensive days out every day.

I'm sure you have your favourite parks and play date locations near you but if you fancy a change that is free or cheap then take a look at our extensive list of places or events to visit this Summer holidays.

We have tried to make this a national list so hopefully you will be able to find some fun things to do that are local to you.

Museums and Galleries:

• The British Museum*London
• National Portrait Gallery* Trafalgar Square
• National History Museum* South Kensington
• RAF Museum* Cosford/London
• Broughty Castle Museum* Dundee
• Science Museum* London
• City Art Centre* Edinburgh
• Inverness Museum & Art Gallery* Inverness
• National Museum of Scotland* Edinburgh
• Riverside Museum* Glasgow
• Great North Museum* Newcastle
• Monkwearmouth Station Museum* Sunderland
• Big Pit National Coal Museum* Blaenavon
• National Museum Cardiff* Cardiff
• Colchester National History Museum* Colchester
• The Sedgewick Museum of Earth Sciences* Cambridge
• Bristol Museum & Art Gallery* Bristol
• Red House Museum and Gardens* Christchurch, Dorset
• Victoria Art Gallery* Bath
• Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery* Birmingham
• Coventry Transport Museum* Coventry
• The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery* Stoke-On-Trent
• Derby Museum & Art Gallery* Derby
• Northampton Museum & Art Gallery* Northampton
• Bradford Industrial Museum* Bradford
• Ferens Art Gallery* Hull
• Hands On History Museum* Hull
• Leeds City Museum* Leeds
• National Coal Mining Museum* Overton, West Yorkshire
• National Railway Museum York* York
• Bolton Museum, Art Gallery & Aquarium* Bolton
• Merseyside Maritime Museum* Liverpool
• Museum of Science and Industry* Castlefield, Manchester
• National Football Museum* Manchester
• Tate Liverpool* Liverpool
• World Museum Liverpool* Liverpool
• Oxford University Museum of Natural History* Oxford
• Pitt Rivers Museum* Oxford
• Portsmouth National History Museum* Portsmouth

Festivals:

• Bognor Rox 2016* Bognor Regis, Sat 30th July- Sunday 31st
• Eastbourne Lamma's Festival* Eastbourne, Sat 30th July- Sunday 31st
• Herne Bay Festival* Kent, Saturday 20th-Sunday 28th August
• Ryde Carnival* Isle of Wight, Weds 26th August- Sat 5th Sept
• Faversham Hop Festival* Faversham, 3rd-4th Sept
• Brixton Splash* Brixton, Sunday 7th August
• Notting Hill Carnival* Notting Hill, Sunday 28th- Monday 29th August
• Liverpool International Music Festival's Summer Jam* Liverpool, Fri 22nd- Sun 24th July
• Feel Good Festival* Rochdale, Fri 19th- Sat 20th August
• Big Cheese Festival* Caerphilly, Fri 29th July- Sat 30th
• Monmouth Music Festival* Monmouth, Fri 22nd- Sat 30th July
• Clarence Park Music Festival* Wakefield, Sat 30th- Sun 31st July
• Freedom Festival* Hull, Fri 2nd- Sun 4th Sept
• Red Sails Festival* Portstewart, Sun 24th- Sat 30th July
• Edinburgh Blues & Jazz Festival* Edinburgh, Fri 15th July- Sun 24th
• Edinburgh Fringe Festival* Edinburgh, Fri 5th Aug- Mon 29th
• Folk On The Quay* Poole Quay, Sat 25th- Sun 26th June
• Stompin On The Quomps* Christchurch, Dorset, Sat 6th August
• Bristol Harbour Festival* Bristol, Fri 15th July- Sun 17th
• Birmingham & Solihull Jazz and Blues Festival* Birmingham, Fri 15th- Sun 24th July
• Upton Blues Festival* Worcester, Fri 15th- Sun 17th July
• Nottingham Riverside Festival* Nottingham, Fri 5th- Sun 7th August
• Leicester Caribbean Carnival* Leicester, Sat 6th August
• Bristol International Balloon Festival* Bristol, 11th- 14th August

Airshows:

• Hastings Pirate Day* Hastings Sea Front, Sunday 16th July
• The War and Peace Revival* Folkestone Racecourse, July 19th- 23rd. Kids go free.
• Peterhead Scottish Week* July 21st
• Sunderland International Airshow* Seaburn and Roker Sea Front, July 22nd- 24th
• Bray Airshow* Bray, July 23rd- 24th
• Old Buckenham Air Show* Old Buckenham, July 30th- 31st. Under 12's are free.
• Swanage Regatta and Carnival* Swanage, July 30th- 6th August
• Cowes Week* Isle of Wight, 6th- 13th August
• Blackpool Airshow* Blackpool, 7th-8th August
• Eastbourne Airshow* Eastbourne, 11th-14th August
• Herne Bay Airshow* Herne Bay, 14th August
• Bournemouth Air Festival* Bournemouth, 18th- 21st August
• Clacton Airshow* Clacton Seafront, 25th- 26th August
• Rhyl Airshow* Rhyl, 27th- 28th August
• Scottish International Airshow* Ayr, 2nd- 3rd September
• Northern Ireland International Airshow* Portrush, 3rd- 4th September

There are plenty of free or cheap workshops for youngsters to attend during the Summer holidays. You may need to book places on some of them so we have provided the link to book for them too. Here are a few that we found:

• Halfords Kids Bike Workshops*
• Apple Summer Camp*
• Tesco Eat Happy Cooking Courses*
• Tennis For Free* 16th-17th July
• The National Gallery Workshops*
• Tennis For Free Throughout The UK*
• Our Parks* Fitness classes in local parks for all ages
• Little Seedlings Holiday Club at Dobbies*
• FA Skills Holiday Football Coaching*
• Childrens Nature Activities from RSPB* Powys, throughout Summer Holidays, £3 per child for 3 hours, includes activities such as bug hunting and pond dipping
• Destination Space* Liverpool, learning all about Space
• Punkit! Music and Performance workshops for 11-16 year olds, Glasgow

Free Children's Farms:

• Stonebridge City Farm* Nottingham
• Doniford Farm* West Somerset
• Vauxhall City Farm* London
• Freightliners Farm* North London
• Hackney City Farm* Greater London
• Kentish Town City Farm* Kentish Town
• Stepney City Farm* Greater London
• Mudchute Park and Farm* Isle of Dogs
• Wythenshawe Park Farm* Manchester
• Only Foals and Horses Sanctuary* Lancashire
• Tam O'Shanter Urban Farm* Wirral
• Old Holly Farm* Lancashire
• Northycote Farm and Country Park* Wolverhampton
• Hartcliffe Farm* Bristol
• Warren Farm Holiday Centre* Burnham-On-Sea
• River Bourne Community Farm* Salisbury

There's plenty of events during the Summer holidays that are run by the National Trust. Have you heard of the National Trust 50 Things To Do Before You're 11 3/4* challenge? It is a great way to encourage children to get outside and learn through nature. From simple things such as climb a tree, or fly a kite to bigger challenges like build a raft or rock climbing.You can find the list of activities here*. There are plenty of activities to try and the best part is they are all FREE!

There are also plenty of free 50 things to do before you're 11 3/4 events running at various National Trust locations. Find one local to you here*. They include story telling, messy crafts, pond dipping, mini beast hunts and water sports, plus lots more!

Let's not kid ourselves the good old British Summer weather can let us down every now and again. And so for those rainy days it is handy to have something for little one's to do at home. The Summer Reading Challenge* takes place every year during the Summer holidays. All you have to do is head over to your local library and choose six books to read over the Summer. When you have read them all, you have completed the challenge! You can collect rewards along the way and the website has competitions and games to play along the way.

We would love to hear from you, what things do you like to do in the Summer holidays with your little ones? Are there any free days out that we have missed? Do let us know over on our Facebook page or in the comments below!

Whatever you get up to during the Summer holidays, we hope you have a fantastic time and make memories to treasure!