The Best Places to Take the Kids This Summer
The summer holidays are here – and, unfortunately, there’s very little you can do about it! Exciting as it is for your children to get their weeks of sunny freedom, summer holidays are more often than not a headache for us parents. Not only do we need to figure out childcare arrangements for the weeks we’re inevitable working, but we also have to come up with fun, engaging and educational ways to entertain the kids we are all off together…
This is, of course, a joy of a problem to have, and we wouldn’t change any of it for the world. Still, it can be a stress to figure all this out on top of the stresses of everyday life. With this in mind, the following list could serve as a life-simplifying shortlist of easy, fun and fantastic places to take your children this summer.
- LEGOLAND Windsor Resort
Starting with the easy options, we have here LEGOLAND Windsor – the Lego-themed amusement park with that combines conventional thrills with the creativity of everyone’s favourite block-based construction materials. The Windsor resort has everything, from small-scale model monuments to huge rollercoaster installations. There’s so much here that you won’t get everything done in one day; this could easily be a weekend adventure!
- Alton Towers
Speaking of weekend adventures, Alton Towers is the quintessential amusement park for such a summer experience. It is also far from the ‘conventional thrills’ of other amusement parks, having staked its claim as one of the best in the world. There are rides for everyone, from the kid-friendly CBeebies Land area to the adult-spooking white-knuckle rollercoasters Oblivion Reborn and Wicker Man.
- Natural History Museum, London
If amusement parks aren’t your speed – and if you’re looking for something a little more intellectually nourishing to boot – you might be looking for something like the Natural History Museum. This capital-city attraction is one of the most fascinating museums in the country, being in possession of historic dinosaur fossils as well as interactive exhibits examining the flora and fauna or out past and present. Being in London, there’s plenty of opportunities to break out and grab a coffee between guided tours or programmed activities too.
- Edinburgh Zoo
If living things are more to your children’s liking than dead things from the past, then you might consider instead Edinburgh Zoo – one of the best zoos in Europe, and home to an exceedingly wide variety of animals. It’s particularly well-known for its penguins, but there’s so much more to enjoy here, including its giant pandas!
- The Lake District
Finally, we come not to an attraction, but to a region – more specifically, a national park the size of one and a half Londons: the Lake District. This huge tract of edificial glacier-lake land is a stunning backdrop for rural escapades, whether your first camping trip with your children or a more refined bed-and-breakfast experience. You might even happen across a summer festival or village event to pique your collective interests.
