From 100,000 sunflowers in Gower and cosmic art in Galloway to a bat safari and messing about in boats, these 20 UK family days out offer enough to keep you and the kids busy until September.
Walk through sunflowers in Gower
At the westernmost tip of the Gower peninsula, Rhossili Bay offers a wide sweep of sand, backed by dunes and waves ideal for bodyboarding and surfing. Wild ponies graze on the southern headland, while walkers time their trip to the Worm's Head promontory to avoid being cut off by the tide. In summer, an added draw is 100,000 sunflowers. A 20-minute walk from the Worm's Head National Trust car park, the flowers peak from late July into August. The site features pick-your-own fields, a trail with wooden animal structures, and giant swings. Entry costs £4 on weekdays and £4.50 on weekends, according to rhossilisunflowers.co.uk.
Fabulous forest play in Dorset
Deep in the woods at Moors Valley country park, Forestry England's play trail includes giant ant nests, snake pits, hawks, and spiders. The mile-long trail winds through trees with tunnels, slides, and crocodile-shaped balancing beams. New this year is Woodland Rhapsody, a musical play structure with gravel-filled rain makers and drums, and the Timber area, which explains a forester's job with pulleys, timber tangles, and a wooden harvester. Entry is free, but car parking charges apply, according to moors-valley.co.uk.
A wine (and wildlife) hike in the Surrey Hills
Wine hikes linking vineyards are often associated with mainland Europe, but the North Downs Way offers an English alternative. Start at Albury Vineyard, reachable by bus from Guildford train station, where a self-guided wildlife walk passes bat and barn owl boxes, bug hotels, beehives, and a pond. It is then a seven-mile walk to Denbies Wine Estate to board the vineyard train, with carriages hooked to a Land Rover. Shorter loops start and end at Denbies, passing artist James Tunnard's wooden seat, Radius. The Albury wildlife walk is free, with a suggested donation of £10 per group to Surrey Wildlife Trust, according to alburyvineyard.com. The Denbies vineyard train tour costs £12.50 for adults and £6.95 for children, according to denbies.co.uk.
Spot dolphins in the Moray Firth
About 200 bottlenose dolphins live in the waters north of Inverness, the most northerly colony in the world. Sightings of them leaping from the water are more frequent in summer. The Scottish Dolphin Centre at Spey Bay offers binoculars to borrow and a hub of marine learning. Housed in a former 18th-century fishing station, it features tours of the old ice house, an interactive dolphin exhibition, and river rambles. Entry is free, with holiday clubs costing £1.50-£3 per child, according to dolphincentre.whales.org.
Celebrate David Hockney in West Yorkshire
David Hockney's oil painting Salts Mill depicted the building's Victorian facade and Yorkshire hillsides. It hangs in the entrance of the former textile mill, now a cultural hub. Upstairs, the exhibition 20 Flowers for 2025 and Some Bigger Pictures runs until January 2027. The space is free, with a shop, Salts Diner, and the Peace Museum also inside. A walk along the canal to Bingley is recommended, according to saltsmill.org.uk.
Visit the Quentin Blake centre in London
Illustrator Quentin Blake opened the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration in June at age 93, in an 18th-century waterworks in Clerkenwell. It celebrates illustration, from comics to graphic murals. Free areas include a library, cafe, and gardens. Paid exhibitions explore Blake's archive and contemporary illustrators. Budding artists can try fabric painting and printmaking on Wednesdays during summer holidays. Exhibition tickets are £15 for adults, £6 for children, with family tickets from £23, according to qbcentre.org.uk.
Count butterflies on the Hampshire Downs
Butterfly Conservation predicts a bumper summer due to a migration of painted lady butterflies from Africa. Its Big Butterfly Count runs until 9 August. Magdalen Hill Down nature reserve near Winchester offers 46 hectares of chalk grassland and wildflower meadows, home to butterflies like the adonis blue and brown argus. Counting is free, according to butterfly-conservation.org.
Monastic life on a Pembrokeshire island
Caldey Island, a 20-minute boat ride from Tenby, is home to Cistercian monks known for chocolate and lavender perfume. Paths wind through woodland and along cliffs to a lighthouse, Priory Beach, and a chocolate kitchen. This summer, a new natural play area and the Monastic Story Hall chart the island's history and wildlife. Adults cost £24.95, children £12.95, with family tickets at £64.95, according to caldeyislandwales.com.
Watch history come to life in County Durham
Each summer, Kynren – An Epic Tale of England features a 1,000-strong cast re-enacting 2,000 years of history on a 7.5-acre stage. The daytime counterpart, Kynren – The Storied Lands, offers five daily shows with re-enactments, birds of prey, and a Victorian imaginarium. Tickets start at £30 for adults and £20 for children, running from 18 July to 12 September, according to kynren.com.
A bat safari by punt in Cambridge
Bat Safari Punting tours on the River Cam take place every Friday and Saturday evening in summer. Guides use bat detectors to listen for pipistrelle and Daubenton's bats along Grantchester Meadows. In late July and early August, mothers and pups may be seen in tandem flight. Family row for two costs £63, for three £73, according to scudamores.com.
Take a dip along the Thames
Sea Lanes Canary Wharf opened a 50-metre six-lane pool in June, floating in Eden Dock. A free summer programme includes open-air cinema and mini golf. For younger children, the free Royal Docks Summer Splash at Royal Victoria Dock has a paddling pool. Pay-per-swim at Sea Lanes costs £10, according to sealanescanarywharf.co.uk. Summer Splash runs 24 July–16 August, according to royaldocks.london.
Waterworld in Staffordshire
Cliff Lakes features open water swimming, boating, wakeboarding, and the UK's largest aqua park with floating assault courses. New this summer is the X Tower, a 12-metre-tall inflatable with six slides. A dedicated kids park and Aqua Chimp high ropes course are also available. Tickets cost £25 per person for over-6s, including parking and equipment, according to clifflakes.co.uk.
Henry Moore in London and Hertfordshire
Henry Moore's studio and gardens at Hoglands in Hertfordshire have been preserved, with his works among lawns and woodlands. This year, the Sheep Field Barn reopened as a gallery with hands-on spaces. At Kew Gardens, 30 of his sculptures are on display in Henry Moore: Monumental Nature until 31 January 2027. Studio tickets cost £23 for adults, £11 for children; Kew tickets are £24 for adults, £2 for children, according to henry-moore.org and kew.org.
See osprey fledglings in Mid Wales
Ospreys disappeared from the UK in 1916 but have been recovering. At the Dyfi Osprey Project near Machynlleth, pair Telyn and Idris are raising three chicks that hatched in late May. The centre's YouTube channel has over 20,000 subscribers. Visitors can watch from an observatory tower less than 200 metres from the nest. Adults cost £8, children £4, according to dyfiospreyproject.com.
Biking in Robin Hood country
Sherwood Pines in Nottinghamshire has 1,336 hectares of trails for all abilities, including dirt jumps, single track, and the four-mile Maid Marion family loop. The new Pedal and Play trail has three loops for freeriders, including one for adaptive bike users. King John's Castle offers a wobbly bridge and climbing tree. Entry is free, with parking charges, according to forestryengland.uk/sherwood-pines.
A tidal swimming pool tour on the Fife coast
Tidal pools at St Monans, Pittenweem, and Cellardyke have been revamped by community projects. Start at St Monans, then Pittenweem with mini golf, and finish at Cellardyke with wood-fired pizza. The Fife Coastal Path links these fishing villages. Entry is free, according to cellardyketidalpool.com and thewestbraes.co.uk.
Cosmic land art in Dumfries and Galloway
Charles Jencks' Crawick Multiverse features a 400-metre path lined with standing stones, splitting the site into spiralling mounds representing the Milky Way and Andromeda, and jagged formations symbolising star birth. The 22-hectare site was an abandoned opencast mine. Adults cost £8.50, children £5, according to crawickmultiverse.co.uk.
Surf on a Blue Flag beach in North Shields
Tynemouth Longsands is a Blue Flag beach and surf hub, 50 minutes from Newcastle by metro. Longsands Surf School and Tynemouth Surf Co offer board hire and lessons. Kids' lessons start from £15 for 1.5 hours at Tynemouth Surf Co, and from £22.50 for two hours at Longsands Surf School, according to the respective schools.
Springwatch in County Fermanagh
BBC's Springwatch broadcast from the National Trust's Crom Estate on Upper Lough Erne. The 810-hectare estate features ancient woodlands, wetlands, and meadows. Visitors can borrow a tracker pack to find red squirrels, pine martens, and otters. Guided canoeing is available for over-12s, or hire a rowing boat. Adults cost £9.50, children £4.75, according to nationaltrust.org.uk.
Thrills and red squirrels in the Cairngorms
Landmark Forest Adventure Park near Carrbridge offers a high-ropes course, bouncy aerial net challenge, treetop trails, water raft ride, and a 10-metre climbing wall. Spot red squirrels among Scots pines and climb the 105-step forest tower. Adults from £31, children from £29, according to landmarkpark.co.uk.
