It seems no sooner have the kids gone back to school after the February half-term week, but Easter is almost upon us. But, there’s no need to go too far to keep your family happy during the Easter holidays. Whether you want to take part in a traditional Easter egg hunt, make a bonnet, or find the Easter bunny, there’s plenty going on in the UK to make sure you don’t hear those cries of “Mum, I’m bored” while school is out. Here are just a few of the best events taking place across the country:
Hunting for the Easter bunny
While a day looking at the flowers and plants at London’s Kew Gardens might not ordinarily be enough to entice children, there’s plenty going on this Easter to encourage them to take a tour. You have to find tokens from around the gardens before looking for the Easter bunny, who will give you a delicious Easter egg.
The gardens are also celebrating the tale of everyone’s favourite chocolatier Willy Wonka, so you can take part in themed activities and listen to stories before creating your own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-inspired chocolate bar.
While rail travel is notoriously expensive, if you don’t live close to London, booking your journey now should mean you can snap up cheaper tickets.
More details: http://www.kew.org/
Childhood as it’s meant to be
While children now don’t experience the same sort of freedom and outdoor play as generations gone by, the National Trust is aiming to get children they describe as “cotton wool kids” outdoors by creating a list of 50 things they should do before the age of 11 3/4. And, at Gibside, in the North East, you can tick off lots of these activities in one visit. During the Easter holidays, you can build dens, cook on campfires and try your hand at pond dipping or building a home for bees – more than enough to satisfy any little explorers.
Gibside also sits close to the North East’s other attractions like Newcastle or Durham city centres and the breathtaking Northumberland coast if you wanted to extend your trip.
More details: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/gibside/
A day at the races
Horse racing may not traditionally be seen as a child-friendly sport. But lots of race courses have gone out of their way to attract more families, putting on special events to make sure a day at the races is enjoyable for all ages.
Great Yarmouth Racecourse’s first meet of the season is a special family fun day on Easter Monday. Children under 18 get free admission to meets and, as well as the racing of course, there will be plenty of entertainment for little ones including competitions, donkey rides, inflatable and a playground.
It’s just 15 minutes’ away from the Parkdean’s Cherry Tree caravan park, with its kids’ clubs and indoor pool, so you could make a weekend, or even a week of it, and stay in Norfolk to explore some of the area’s other attractions like the Africa Alive safari park or Pleasurewood Hills theme park.
More details: http://www.greatyarmouth-racecourse.co.uk/
Meeting the Meerkats
Did you know Meerkats love to eat eggs? Neither did we, but according to Edinburgh zoo, it’s one of their favourite foods. And, the zoo has themed its Easter activities around the cute creatures, who have become the star of that infamous TV ad. From 17th to 21st April, you’ll be able to collect a meerkat explorer map before finding hidden eggs that have been hidden around the park. With each new location, you’ll be faced with a question and will also learn more about meerkats. Once you’ve discovered all the eggs, you can collect a chocolate treat.
You could combine a visit to the zoo with a trip to explore Edinburgh castle, although if you go at lunchtime, you might be almost deafened by the 1 o clock gun, which still sounds every day.
More details: http://www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/whatson/
The final frontier
There’s no need to book a flight on Richard Branson’s inaugural space trip, or even to head to the Kennedy Space Center in Orlando to satisfy budding astronauts. This Easter, the National Space Centre in Leicester has a series of events planned to show what life is really like in space. The centre’s mission commanders will be showing you how astronauts keep clean in space, including giving the answers to those all important questions – how do you go to the toilet in space? What happens to germs in space? And, why does the skin on the bottom or your feet peel off in space?
For lovers of all things gross – and that surely means most children – there are also Grossology workshops where kids can make “snot in a pot,” which is thankfully just green slime.
More details: http://www.spacecentre.co.uk/
Wherever you are this Easter, you’re sure to find plenty of activities to keep your little ones entertained and to spend some quality time together as a family. If you looking for further inspiration take a look at this ten ways to keep your children entertained over Easter (featuring a couple of my tips).
Disclosure: This is a featured post
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