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| Happy families: half-term activities for autumn | Happy families: half-term activities for autumn |
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| For little adventurers | For little adventurers |
| There’s a decrepit charm to the Meare in Thorpeness, Suffolk. A Peter Pan-themed boating lake, it was the brainchild of eccentric Scot Stuart Ogilvie (a friend of JM Barrie). You hire a basic 1913 boat – there are kayaks, family rowing boats, dinghies, canoes, punts and sailing boats – then set off to tour the Smuggler’s Cove, Wendy’s House and the Dragon’s Lair. • Boat hire from £4. Over-12s can captain their own vessel, thorpenessmeare.co.uk | There’s a decrepit charm to the Meare in Thorpeness, Suffolk. A Peter Pan-themed boating lake, it was the brainchild of eccentric Scot Stuart Ogilvie (a friend of JM Barrie). You hire a basic 1913 boat – there are kayaks, family rowing boats, dinghies, canoes, punts and sailing boats – then set off to tour the Smuggler’s Cove, Wendy’s House and the Dragon’s Lair. • Boat hire from £4. Over-12s can captain their own vessel, thorpenessmeare.co.uk |
| Head into Dacres Wood in Forest Hill, south-east London, with the Secret Adventurers’ Club for den-building on 28 October, or a Halloween party on 31 October. Try lantern-making, a scary game of “what’s in the box?” and a spooky trail through the woods. • 2pm-4pm, £7 including snacks and hot chocolate. Suitable for ages five and above, secretadventurersclub.com | Head into Dacres Wood in Forest Hill, south-east London, with the Secret Adventurers’ Club for den-building on 28 October, or a Halloween party on 31 October. Try lantern-making, a scary game of “what’s in the box?” and a spooky trail through the woods. • 2pm-4pm, £7 including snacks and hot chocolate. Suitable for ages five and above, secretadventurersclub.com |
| Keen canoeists can throw on fiendish fancy dress and set sail down the Beaulieu river in the New Forest, at dusk. Listen to ghost stories along the route to Buckler’s Hard museum, then walk back to the forest base.• 29 and 31 October, 6.30pm-8pm. Adult £22, children £17, family ticket £68, newforestactivities.co.uk | Keen canoeists can throw on fiendish fancy dress and set sail down the Beaulieu river in the New Forest, at dusk. Listen to ghost stories along the route to Buckler’s Hard museum, then walk back to the forest base.• 29 and 31 October, 6.30pm-8pm. Adult £22, children £17, family ticket £68, newforestactivities.co.uk |
| At Carlisle Castle’s Medieval Mayhem all next week, apprentice knights can join supervised sword drills and dress up in full armour. The extra brave can search for ghouls by torchlight as they explore corridors and dank dungeons. • 27-31 October. Adult £5.90, child £3.50, english-heritage.org.uk | At Carlisle Castle’s Medieval Mayhem all next week, apprentice knights can join supervised sword drills and dress up in full armour. The extra brave can search for ghouls by torchlight as they explore corridors and dank dungeons. • 27-31 October. Adult £5.90, child £3.50, english-heritage.org.uk |
| For curious minds | For curious minds |
| Persuade the family to ditch their smartphones this weekend and send messages using semaphore or Morse code at Salford’s Media City as part of Manchester Science Festival, which runs from 23 October-2 November all over the city. They can learn about radio communications and call a friend on a retro telephone with dials. And at the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Solar System at Manchester Museum on 28 October, they can also hold a real chunk of the moon, Mars or a 4.5bn-year-old meteorite. Join a meteorite impacting experiment, plan a space mission and see how volcanic eruptions reshape the surface of a planet. • manchestersciencefestival.com | |
| Descend through thousands of years into the only Neolithic flint mine open to visitors in the UK. Grimes Graves, in Norfolk, is 5,000 years old and gives a rare view of the stone age. Visitors can climb down nine metres of ladders into an excavated shaft, for a glimpse of the jet-black flint. • Adult £3.60, child £2.20. Not suitable for under-fives, english-heritage.org.uk | Descend through thousands of years into the only Neolithic flint mine open to visitors in the UK. Grimes Graves, in Norfolk, is 5,000 years old and gives a rare view of the stone age. Visitors can climb down nine metres of ladders into an excavated shaft, for a glimpse of the jet-black flint. • Adult £3.60, child £2.20. Not suitable for under-fives, english-heritage.org.uk |
| While parents trawl the treasure at the brilliant National Roman Legion Museum in Caerleon, near Newport, Wales, youngsters can channel their inner gladiator in full Roman attire. The museum houses the most complete amphitheatre in the UK and the only remains of a Roman legionary barracks anywhere in Europe. A special Halloween event will feature games, crafts and a fancy dress competition. • Museum free, Halloween party £3.50pp, booking essential, museumwales.ac.uk/roman | While parents trawl the treasure at the brilliant National Roman Legion Museum in Caerleon, near Newport, Wales, youngsters can channel their inner gladiator in full Roman attire. The museum houses the most complete amphitheatre in the UK and the only remains of a Roman legionary barracks anywhere in Europe. A special Halloween event will feature games, crafts and a fancy dress competition. • Museum free, Halloween party £3.50pp, booking essential, museumwales.ac.uk/roman |
| For artists and crafters | For artists and crafters |
| The Big Draw on Wednesday and Thursday will see more than 1,000 arty events around the country, including Musicadoodle-Do in Birmingham, at which families will listen to live music from the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, and then create a drawing in response. • Ikon Gallery (29 October), Library of Birmingham (30 October), free, no need to book. | The Big Draw on Wednesday and Thursday will see more than 1,000 arty events around the country, including Musicadoodle-Do in Birmingham, at which families will listen to live music from the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, and then create a drawing in response. • Ikon Gallery (29 October), Library of Birmingham (30 October), free, no need to book. |
| Try out an unusual art form at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead from 27-30 October. As part of the town’s multi-arts Juice Festival, which runs until 2 November, adults and older children can have a go at digital photography, block printing, furniture upcycling and animation at a series of drop-in sessions run by the Baltic’s team of experts. • Free, juicefestival.co.uk | Try out an unusual art form at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead from 27-30 October. As part of the town’s multi-arts Juice Festival, which runs until 2 November, adults and older children can have a go at digital photography, block printing, furniture upcycling and animation at a series of drop-in sessions run by the Baltic’s team of experts. • Free, juicefestival.co.uk |
| Head to the Village Pottery, a coffee shop-cum-studio in Clifton, Bristol, and turn a piece of wet clay into a smooth functioning pot. Creations will be fired in the kiln to be picked up in a couple of weeks. A one-hour lesson, including a session on the wheel plus hand-building for two is £55.• thevillagepottery.co.uk | |
| Professional cartoonist and illustrator Shoo Rayner will be popping in to the Pencil Museum in Keswick, Cumbria, from Tuesday to Thursday for a series of half-term cartoon workshops, sharing tips with youngsters, and encouraging them with their own drawings. Participants can drop in for 10 minutes or stay for a couple of hours. • Free, pencilmuseum.co.uk | Professional cartoonist and illustrator Shoo Rayner will be popping in to the Pencil Museum in Keswick, Cumbria, from Tuesday to Thursday for a series of half-term cartoon workshops, sharing tips with youngsters, and encouraging them with their own drawings. Participants can drop in for 10 minutes or stay for a couple of hours. • Free, pencilmuseum.co.uk |
| For foodie families | For foodie families |
| The mild autumn has yielded a bounty of exciting ingredients ripe for plucking in fields, trees and hedgerows. Nettles (use gloves) are packed with vitamins and make excellent soup. Ed Heusser runs foraging sessions in Wilderness Wood, East Sussex, and will be taking out a group on 31 October. • Suitable for 9-14 years, £10, booking essential, wildernesswood.org | The mild autumn has yielded a bounty of exciting ingredients ripe for plucking in fields, trees and hedgerows. Nettles (use gloves) are packed with vitamins and make excellent soup. Ed Heusser runs foraging sessions in Wilderness Wood, East Sussex, and will be taking out a group on 31 October. • Suitable for 9-14 years, £10, booking essential, wildernesswood.org |
| Perfect your shortbread, or learn to make soda bread or cake pops at Delightful Tea Bake School near Southend in Essex. There are still places available on its School’s Out classes, running all next week, which aim to inspire future Ruby Tandohs by dishing out the basics of baking. • Suitable for 7-13 years and parents. £40 for one child and one adult, £15 per extra child, delightfultea.co.uk | Perfect your shortbread, or learn to make soda bread or cake pops at Delightful Tea Bake School near Southend in Essex. There are still places available on its School’s Out classes, running all next week, which aim to inspire future Ruby Tandohs by dishing out the basics of baking. • Suitable for 7-13 years and parents. £40 for one child and one adult, £15 per extra child, delightfultea.co.uk |
| Winchester City Mill is one of the country’s few urban corn mills. Halloween baking demonstrations could include pumpkin brownies and courgette fritters with monster blood ketchup – using stoneground flour made on site. • Adult £4, child £2.20, nationaltrust.org.uk | Winchester City Mill is one of the country’s few urban corn mills. Halloween baking demonstrations could include pumpkin brownies and courgette fritters with monster blood ketchup – using stoneground flour made on site. • Adult £4, child £2.20, nationaltrust.org.uk |
| For nature-loving kids | For nature-loving kids |
| Autumn leaves are rainbow-coloured at Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire. Throughout half-term, 90-minute guided walks give the stories behind the trees. Or families can take part in the autumn art attack: it’s a trail through the woods where you’ll learn to make a leaf crown, model fungi from clay or paint tree pictures. • Autumn Art Attack 27-31 October, adult £9, child £4. Wheelchairs and mobility scooters are available from the Welcome Building, forestry.gov.uk | Autumn leaves are rainbow-coloured at Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire. Throughout half-term, 90-minute guided walks give the stories behind the trees. Or families can take part in the autumn art attack: it’s a trail through the woods where you’ll learn to make a leaf crown, model fungi from clay or paint tree pictures. • Autumn Art Attack 27-31 October, adult £9, child £4. Wheelchairs and mobility scooters are available from the Welcome Building, forestry.gov.uk |
| Daily half-term activities at the Centre for Alternative Technology, in Machynlleth, Powys, Wales will include bug-hunting, building a bug hotel and storytelling. There are also wind turbines, an eco-house, a water-balanced cliff railway – one of the steepest in the world – and play areas. • Adults £8.50, child £4, visit.cat.org.uk | Daily half-term activities at the Centre for Alternative Technology, in Machynlleth, Powys, Wales will include bug-hunting, building a bug hotel and storytelling. There are also wind turbines, an eco-house, a water-balanced cliff railway – one of the steepest in the world – and play areas. • Adults £8.50, child £4, visit.cat.org.uk |
| Learn to distinguish a common pipistrelle from a soprano pipistrelle at the Go Batty for Bats discovery day, in Hyde Park, London on 29 October. The event will include a bat trail, bat-themed crafts, and other spooky Halloween stuff.• Isis Education Centre at the LookOut, Suitable for all ages, free but donations welcome. supporttheroyalparks.org | Learn to distinguish a common pipistrelle from a soprano pipistrelle at the Go Batty for Bats discovery day, in Hyde Park, London on 29 October. The event will include a bat trail, bat-themed crafts, and other spooky Halloween stuff.• Isis Education Centre at the LookOut, Suitable for all ages, free but donations welcome. supporttheroyalparks.org |
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