If you’re looking for free things to do with family over the summer holidays, you’ve got a lot to choose from across the UK. From free attractions and festivals to fun family activities to do at home, here are a few ingredients for a fun budget-friendly family together:
Free attractions
For footie fanatics, there are no better budget-friendly days out than the Manchester museum celebrating the beautiful game. From classic exhibits featuring the world’s first international football shirt and the oldest surviving FA Cup trophy, the National Football Museum has a range of free galleries and interactive exhibits to test your knowledge and footie skills.
Uppergate Farm, Yorkshire (Approx 25 miles from National Football Museum)
For a dose of Welsh heritage, the Big Pit National Coal Museum is a fascinating way to explore part of Cymru history. The underground tour has a fee but the surface exhibition and visitor centre provides a fascinating insight into the people that worked the mines and the communities that surround them.
Lisa's Cottages, Brecon Beacons (Approx 35 miles from Big Pit National Coal Museum)
Surround yourself with 300 years of rail history, the National Railway Museum in York is one of the best budget-friendly family days out in the UK. There are some iconic trains to marvel at - the world steam speed record-setter, Mallard, and the last steam engine built in Britain, Evening Star. There’s also interactive engineering exhibits, theatre exhibits and more.
Top & Left: Clock Farm House, Yorkshire (Approx 6 miles from National Railway Museum)
Free events and festivals
Fun, free festivals can be found in every corner of the UK. Starting in the capital with Europe’s largest street party, Notting Hill Carnival is a fabulous celebration of Caribbean culture and history in London with colour and music everywhere.
Top & Right: The Great Barn, Essex (Approx 37 miles from Notting Hill)
For music-lovers, Bristol’s Harbourside Festival is a must-visit. The city comes to life with music stages of various sizes set up in sunny spots and beautiful venues across the centre. Bristol also has the Balloon Fiesta in August with hot air balloons of all shapes and sizes taking to the air.
Top & Left: Lilycombe Farm, Somerset (Approx 16 miles from Bristol Harbourside)
Cardiff’s award-winning free festival of Tafwyl is a celebration of all things Cymru. A lively mix of homegrown music, theatre and comedy, right in the city centre.
Top & Right: Ty Mawr, Powys (Approx 45 miles from Cardiff)
And for something truly Scottish, head to the Nairn Highland Games - an annual medley of track and field events that has been in the local calendar for over 150 years.
Top & Left: Gask House, Scotland (Approx 20 miles from Nairn)
For foodie fun, Yorkshire’s culinary capital of Malton is an extravaganza of artisan food, live music and cooking demos at Malton Food Lovers Festival. And for a charming festival down south, Winchester Hat Fair is an annual arts festival of comedy, theatre, dance and music from the ‘hatters’ (aka street performers).
Top & Right: Eastgate Farm Cottages, Yorkshire (Approx 20 miles from Malton)
Head out into the great outdoors
Nature holds all the best things to do with family. If your kids get excited about spotting minibeasts and birdlife, grab your binoculars and magnifying glasses for some wildlife spotting. A family walk in your local area can throw up lots of opportunities for fun, a scavenger hunt to collect all the colours of the rainbow, or a hunt for different textures and sounds can keep younger kids entertained.
Top & Left: Chisel Barn, Dorset
For slightly older kids, den building in the woods is a wholesome, hands-on activity that the whole family can enjoy. Whether it’s a shelter from the elements or a secret bird-watching hide, it’s a great challenge to take on. Just like making giant sandcastles on the beach if your family is more about golden sands and blues seas. You don’t even have to go far from home, get involved at a local community garden. Get your kids interested in growing plants and bring your skills back to your own garden and windowledge boxes.
Top & Left: Sara's Cottage, Cornwall
Explore the city
One of the best ways to get a new perspective on your own city - or a brand new one - is with a self-guided tour. While the classic heritage trails provide a fascinating insight into local history, sometimes a literary twist to add to the fun and excitement.
Top: Betley Court Farm Holiday Cottages, Cheshire (Approx 11 miles from Trentham Estate)
The Find the Flock trail at the stunning Trentham Gardens is a brilliant free adventure trail of Aardman’s beloved Shaun the Sheep. Embark on an exciting and creative treasure hunt to find the Shaun sculptures. In Aardman’s home city of Bristol this summer, the Gromit Unleashed trail is a brilliant city-wide trail of Gromit, Wallace and Feathers McGraw statues.
Top: Home Farm, Somerset (Approx 20 miles from Bristol)
If you have Harry Potter fans in the family, Edinburgh has a self-guided walking tour of locations that inspired the famous series. From the inspiration behind Diagon Alley to the cafe that JK Rowling used to write in, uncover it all on The Potter Trail.
Top & Right: The Old Millhouse, Scotland (Approx 7 Miles from Edinburgh)
If your little ones (and big ones) are more about Middle-Earth, the Tokien Trail near Birmingham covers some landscapes that inspired The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings.
Top & Left: Hop Pickers Rural Retreats, Worcestershire (Approx 38 miles from Tolkien Trail, Birmingham)
At home and indoors
And finally, if you don’t fancy going out in the rain or need a day to rest up before the next big adventure, there’s plenty to do indoors, in the garden or onsite.
The Summer Reading Challenge kicks off around the beginning of July, children can join the fun online and visit their local library to avoid screen time over the summer holidays. If it’s a hot day, enjoy making ice lollies with fun flavours to help beat the heat. If you’re in the kitchen, enjoy some cooking and baking together. Experiment with textures and tastes which may even help fussy toddlers try new foods.
Top: Nethway Cottages | Left: Luckett Farm | Right: Quays Lodge
And for crafty fun with a purpose, make your own jigsaw puzzles. Find a nice picture in an old magazine or newspaper and enjoy cutting them up with child-friendly scissors, scramble up and put back together again.
Explore our holiday cottages with games rooms, providing endless family entertainment for the duration of your holiday. Perhaps you can set up a tournament and see who the ultimate winner for table tennis or the pool table will be?
Things to do with the family - quick tips
There are so many places to go and things to do in the summer break that don’t break the bank.
- Pack snacks and water - the number one rule of days out with kids, younger or older. Don’t rely on buying snacks to keep everyone fed and hydrated.
- Bring sun cream and sun hats - keep safe on those hot summer days with sun hats and sun cream. Make sure you go for SPF 50 for little ones.
- Consider layers - UK weather can be very changeable, it’s why we talk about it so much. Bringing layers is a good idea so that everyone stays comfortable when the warm afternoon sun turns into a chilly evening.
- Keep a few toys on hand - sometimes kids just need a little downtime from a bustling city or festival atmosphere. Keep a few familiar toys on hand, such as toy cars, colouring pencils or cuddlies to keep them entertained.
The best family holidays begin at Premier Cottages
This summer, make it the best family holiday yet. At Premier Cottages, we have homes with soft play barns, trampolines, swings, slides, adventure playgrounds, swimming pools, kids clubs, craft activities and acres of space to run around in the great outdoors. And that’s before you’ve gone out to explore some of the free things to do with the family. Across the country, there’s a family-friendly home waiting just for you at Premier Cottages.