Search: Family attractions near you
- Save more, spend less
- Getting out of debt advice
By Jasmine Birtles, financial expert from Moneymagpie.com
When it comes to leisure time with the kids, we need to be savvy about how to budget the activities and days out.
We know that for a healthy life balance, a day out needs to be punctuated with activities and interesting things to divert and feed kids’ hunger for adventure. But money’s tight, the kids’ energy levels don’t flag, their enquiring minds don’t rest and they have a constant appetite for new experiences… so let’s get smarter.
Here are some great tips for days out that won’t break the bank:
1. Offers and discounts
Calling all football fans! Get kicking for the World Cup – Tesco is offering free footy training in courses up and down the country. Free Holiday skills sessions, first come first served! Click through the top banner at letsgowiththechildren.co.uk
Knowledge is power. Know where you can get discount vouchers for cheaper entry to places. Look out for kids go free with a paying adult offers (terms and conditions apply). Here are just a few places that have vouchers you can print off, and go. Just google them using search above and you'll find the vouchers.
- Jorvik Viking Centre in York
- Birdworld in Surrey
- Easton Farm Park in Suffolk
- Didcot Railway in Oxon
- Intech Science Centre in Hampshire
- The Hawk Conservancy in Hampshire
- Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Hampshire
There are loads more – check out your county via the Lets Go With The Children website.
2. Competitions
You may get lucky and WIN FREE TICKETS if you enter some of the great prize competitions also on the site.
It’s really easy to enter – someone has to win, it might be you!
- Win a £100 voucher to spend at any Prezzo restaurant
- Win a family ticket to:
- Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey
- Legoland Windsor in Berkshire
- Paultons Park in Hampshire
- Bocketts Farm in Surrey
- Celtic Harmony Camp in Herts.
3. Search by price
Let’s Go With The Children has a huge database of all family leisure opportunities – built up by local mums who know exactly what the kids will enjoy. You can organise the database to find the things that are free entry or low cost. There are hundreds of attractions that are free to go to and there could be many near where you live.
At www.letsgowiththechildren.co.uk use the search box for attractions, choose your county, hit Let’s Go and get all the county results back. You can search by town and post code via the Advanced Search so you can narrow your search down. Once you have your results, you can filter them by price. Great if you want something very specific!
Filter your search results. Where it says sort results by price – choose lowest first! You will get free entrance places first followed by Pay as You Go, where you can keep control over how much you spend.
(The price codes are a maximum price for a family of four.) If you have any problems finding them, contact info@boomerangfamily.co.uk
We’ve chosen some FREE places (there may be car parking charges) to go to that we think are great:
- West Yorkshire, Hebden Bridge, Hardcastle Crags, NT
- Cheshire, Delamere Forest Park
- Durham, Darlington, South Park
- Derbyshire, Wirksworth, Carsington Water
- Warwickshire, Kingsbury, Kingsbury Water Park
- Staffordshire, Rosliston Forestry Centre
- Bucks, Iver Nature Study Centre, Iver
- Berkshire, Thatcham Nature Discovery Centre, Thatcham
- Oxfordshire, Millets Farm Centre, Frilford
- Surrey, Stoke Park Gardens in Guilford
- Kent, Walmer Paddling Pool near Deal
- Sussex Tilgate Park and Nature Centre in Crawley
- Dorset, Moors Valley Country Park
- Hampshire, Hawthorns Urban Wildlife Centre
- Wales, Big Pit
- Gloucestershire, Family Cycle Trail (or the Sculpture Trail) – Forest of Dean
- Bristol, Blaise Castle Estate (has Blaise Castle House Museum in grounds, also FREE)
- Somerset, Rural Life Museum at Glastonbury
4. Take a picnic
Buying food can really ratchet up the price, so take a picnic. Then you are in control of cost and what they eat!
5. The fabulous free countryside
Never underestimate how much fun you can have in the countryside for free. The UK is blessed with a world-unique network of public footpaths across our farmland, and we have amazing National Parks. Start with a brief walk but let the kids know it is an adventure in the making. Explore the area, plan to walk near interesting things, get an Ordnance Survey map to help you.
Get the kids to take part in the planning. Take a friend for them and food and drink. If your kids have a small rucksack, they can carry their own supplies.
Take time to peer down a rabbit hole, watch trout in the rivers, play pooh sticks on the bridges. For lots of ideas on how to bring your walk to life, see these tips on Let’s Go For A Walk (http://www.letsgowiththechildren.co.uk/lets_go_walking.aspx)
Happy rambling!
