Summer holiday fun with the kids.

With almost five weeks of the summer holiday left – in England, at least – we thought it might be helpful to suggest some ideas of cheap and cheerful ways to enjoy the great outdoors with our kids. As a mostly stay at home mum who is generally happier outside, and who hasn’t always had a vast disposable income, these types of activities have made up the majority of our time at home. This year is no different, I am mainly aiming to do free or cheap-as-chips stuff, interspersed with the odd paid-for activity. 

Obviously, it would be disingenuous of me not to kick off with paddle boarding, although I realise this is only cheap or free if you have the kit and an accessible bit of open water, or membership of a privately owned location. However, in these instances, it is worth making the most of. We tend to save our paddle boarding adventures for the weekend, primarily because Andy would be a real grumpy pants if we went whilst he was slaving away at his laptop!

On a similar note though, and definitely, more of a budget option, is a bit of wild swimming. If you’re interested in wild swimming, but don’t know where to start, we recommend stalking a few local wild, outdoor or open swimming groups on Facebook, and finding one that works for you – and then going with that group or getting advice from them. I certainly don’t recommend just rocking up at a river and jumping in – as tempting as it might be on a hot day. Although the dangers are sometimes overplayed, cold water shock, obstructions, and water quality issues are real and valid concerns, and lives are lost every year. But without a shadow of a doubt, our boys love a bit of wild swimming now that we know what and where is safe, and how to do our own risk assessments.

I am a firm believer that everything is better with a picnic and so our free time often involves a picnic. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, we generally just have a rolls and crisps lunch, with a bit of salad and fruit thrown in for good measure, but it’s always better for being eaten outside. You don’t have to go to an Instagram-perfect location either. The local park is fine, and means you don’t have to rush the kids away for lunch! In fact, one of the best things about a picnic is that it means you can stay longer enjoying yourselves, or not have to rush to get out in the morning so you can be home in time for lunch. 

Having said it doesn’t need to be a fancy affair, it’s nice to mix it up sometimes to make it a bit special. For us this might mean a picnic tea; on very hot school days you’ll often find us packing up our tea and finding some water to enjoy it by. We also enjoy a BBQ – normally nothing fancy if we’re out and about, some sausages (don’t forget to include one or two for your doggy friend!), finger rolls and ketchup, with a spicy bean burger for veggie coeliac me. If you’re going to do this though, please do it responsibly, always raised off the ground, ensure it is fully out before leaving, take everything with you and please please no disposable barbies. We have a small portable gas Cadac and a small charcoal one, both with collapsible legs. 

Another good, fun option that just needs a bit of pre-planning is a breakfast picnic. Some of my favourite memories of lockdown mark 1 are a couple of hot would-have-been school days when we got up early, paddled down the Thames stopping for a bank-side picnic and meandered slowly back stopping for swims. In fact I think once we stayed for a picnic lunch too as we were enjoying ourselves so much! We keep it simple, and child-pleasing with pain au chocolat, croissants and strawberries, plus hot drinks. 

If it all sounds too complicated, an insulated flask can be your friend, allowing hot chocolate, soup or even cooked hot dog sausages to spice up your picnic. 

So that’s the food sorted, but where to go? You can’t go wrong with a trip to your local woodlands. Beautiful and with loads to do – although with a previous role as a forest school helper I’m probably biased! My boys can be entertained for hours in a wood – bug hunting, exploring, creating nature art on the forest floor, tree-climbing and balancing and den building, plus of course, the endless uses for a stick. A fun activity is to build a den and test how waterproof you’ve made it by pouring water on to the roof with a willing victim inside!! We’ve also spent hours many times building houses for various cuddly toys too, as simple or elaborate as you fancy. Sometimes the houses include swimming pools, playgrounds, beds and baths, and other times it’s literally just a shelter.

Another popular trip that can be low key and easy is a local stream, especially if there’s one you can walk down for a while (sandals or water shoes recommended, and make sure you’re aware of, and polite to anglers, and don’t do this in areas with sensitive ecology!). We are lucky enough to have a perfect stream with an open field next to it and a bridge over it. Just a paddle and play in the water is fun, but we took it to another level a few times and took some Playmobil people and boats to play with in the water which went down a storm. The first time we just took a couple of people, the next time we had boats as well. All sorts of imaginative games ensued and an hour or two easily passed. You need to be careful and make sure you know which Playmobil you’ve got with you, and look out for anything floating downstream though!

I know playgrounds can get very tedious for us adults, but a simple visit to a different playground can be a real hit. It offers the novelty of different play equipment and the fun of a journey. Local Facebook groups and council websites can be a good source of information for this, or even just looking at Google maps. It’s a good idea to try and find ones that offer something new. Think about the journey too – can you easily get there by bike or public transport? Or if you drive there, is there something else fun to do nearby?

Talking of bikes, family bike rides can be a great way to get outdoors and have fun. In fact it was going for bike rides that saved us when we were so limited during the first lockdowns. Our boys were at the age where we could start going a bit further and it led to us discovering some lovely new places just down the road. Family bike rides don’t work for us quite so well now we’ve got a dog, he’s not reliable enough yet to be able to be off the lead alongside us in many places! I realise that if you’ve not got bikes, then this might not seem like a cheap option, but it’s worth dusting off any that are hiding in a shed or garage, and eBay or Facebook marketplace can be a great source of secondhand bargains – sometimes they’re even given away in garage sales, just needing a bit of oil, TLC and spanner work! It’s worth planning a route first that you think everyone can manage and that doesn’t end up with you all cycling down a dual-carriageway, and, please, helmets for everyone.

Next up is the humble kite. It doesn’t have to be a fancy expensive one. Those pocket kites you can get are usually brilliant, or you can even get crafty and make your own – there’s plenty of ideas on the internet. All you need is a flat space that doesn’t get too busy and is exposed enough to catch a breeze, and you’re good to go!

The next two ideas are somewhat similar, and not anything that we’ve particularly done, but I know they’re great ideas and people love them. The first is a scavenger hunt. These can be specific (a white feather) or more subjective (something that makes you smile) and can be tailored for the age and personalities of participants. If you’re feeling inspired, you can design your own, or there are thousands you can copy or download online. 

Hit the button below for riverside scavenger hunt we generated for a kids competition back in 2020. Although the competition has finished, you can still use the scavenger hunt to see how many points you get.

The second is geocaching. I can’t claim to know a lot about it, as we’ve not done it as a family, although Toby did it on scout camp and loved it. It’s basically a type of treasure hunt where you find hidden caches based on information online. It seems a great way to get out and explore your local area – and anything that helps the kids be out and about is fine by me!

I always keep an eye out for free children’s activities during school holidays. Just last week my boys took part in an amazing free samba workshop in a local park, which was so good the 8 year old did it again 2 hours later, and a free children’s activities session at our local care farm – which included feeding the animals and general stroking of pigs and cuddling chickens, an explore through the woods where there’s loads of sculptures, and sensory things to find, a snack and a craft activity. This week we are attending a free play day in another local park which promises all kinds of fun. We often try to meet up with friends at these events as well, and generally bump into someone we know!

Local Facebook groups are a great way to find out about free events as mentioned above, and also for great ideas of hidden local gems. We’ve discovered some great local – and further afield – places to go from Facebook groups. 

Finally, for days when getting out and about seems too much, a bit of camping out at home always goes down well, whether it’s just sleepovers in the lounge or camping outside – in a tent, on the trampoline, or however you can do it! Couple it with a late night hot choc or snack, possibly some star gazing and you’re on to a winner! As long as you don’t expect the best night sleep you’ve ever had!

So there were have it, some ideas to help you get out and about cheaply over the summer and beyond. We do most of these types of activities year round, in fact we love a winter picnic, plus you get to enjoy all your favourite spots without as many people around! Please feel free to contribute your own ideas – let’s see if we can all help each other!