Winter days out with children

One of the best things about a UK winter (winter roughly lasts from December to February or sometimes March) is that we have very little rainfall. This means that even though it may be cold and you’ll have to wrap the kids up, you will only occasionally have to deal with heavy rainfall. Spring has much more rain and although it’s warmer, rain and kids don’t generally go together. (However, après-rain, wellie-boots and puddles do!) Here are some hints for things you can do with your kids in the winter:

1) Go Botanical…
As long as you dress your kids up warm, a day out in the botanical gardens is a great way to introduce plants, flowers and trees to your kids. It is also a fantastic way to let your kids roam free and run about without having to think about roads! There are botanical gardens in most cities and most of them are pretty geared up for kids. Check online to see if there are any kids activities planned for this winter.

Kew Gardens, Kew, London
Kew Gardens is set up for children and they have a ‘creeper and climbers’ area – an indoor botanical play area which all kids love. They also have an outdoor play area, kid friendly cafes and shop and obviously the gardens themselves. Check out their website to see which activities they are offering for kids: http://www.kew.org/

Royal botanical gardens, Edinburgh
Check out the Edinburgh snowdrop festival in February – www.rbge.org.uk

Sheffield Botanical Gardens
Take your children to see the statue of pan at the Sheffield Botanical Gardens – www.sbg.uk

Oxford Botanical Gardens
Use the big botanical backpack to keep your children amused whilst walking around the gardens – perfect for measuring, looking, finding and playing.
www.botanic-garden.ox.ac

Bicton Park Botanical Gardens, Devon
Perfect for children, Bicton Park has indoor and outdoor play areas as well as the park itself to roam free in. There is also a train, slides and an all-weather football pitch. http://www.bictongardens.co.uk/

Ness Botanical Gardens, Liverpool
Take your children on the Snowdrop walks in January and February. http://www.bictongardens.co.uk/

Belfast Botanical Gardens
Check on www.belfastcity.gov.uk/parks to see what might be on for your kids.

2) Go back in time….
Museums are fun whatever the weather and you’ll be amazed at how much even a toddler will enjoy wondering around a museum! Obviously the more kid-friendly the museum is the better – here are some suggestions:

The Natural History Museum, London.
Filled with dinosaurs, wildlife, interactive games for children and everything your kids will need to know about Earth and Space, nature and life…
Check out the website to see which special events are on: www.nhm.ac.uk/kids-only/
Entry to The Natural history Museum is free!

Eureka, The National Children’s Museum, Halifax, West Yorkshire
This museum has offers just about everything for any age child! Children can get interactive, but mostly it’s about learning through play so there are huge play areas that children can roam about in. There is also a special area for under fives: Desert discovery and the Sound Garden where young children can play and learn. Look on the website to see which activities might be running when you plan to visit. www.eureka.org.uk

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery for Kids
This museum is especially for children, where they can learn about The Roman Empire, World War 2, Ancient Egypt and much more! http://www.schoolsliaison.org.uk/kids/

W5, Belfast
All kids love this multi award-winning interactive discovery area. W5 has a mini Tesco’s that children can shop in and heaps of different play areas as well as an area for younger children and babies. Check out the website to see which exhibition might be on when you visit. http://www.w5online.co.uk

The Science Museum, London
The Science Museum has plenty of activities for children of all ages but for under fives it has The Garden, which is an interactive gallery created for younger visitors and also the hands-on pattern pod. http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitmuseum/agegroups/under_5s.aspx
It’s good to remember that entry to the Science museum is free!

3) Go and play…

And when the weather gets too cold, why not try…

Creepy Crawlies adventure playsite, natural play park and animal zone! North Yorkshire
Need we say more! http://www.creepy-crawlies.co.uk/

Kidz play in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, is a jungle theme indoor play centre with snake sides, ball pits and tube slides. There is a soft play area for toddlers. http://www.kidz-play.co.uk

The Fun Centre - http://www.thefuncentre.co.uk
14,000 square foot of fun! Find the Fun Centre in Caernarfon, North Wales

Zoom adventure play - http://www.zap.ie/. Greystones, County Wicklow, Ireland.
Zoom adventure play has tunnels, slides, soft play and an area for babies and toddlers. Most importantly, it has plenty of areas for grown-ups to relax!

If you have your own favourite days out with the kids, why not share it on our specially created group – great days out wit your kids.

Traveling with your kids
At times, traveling with a toddler can be slightly nerve-wracking, not least because now the little angels have a new weapon: legs that walk! The need to keep a constant eye on runaway tots, as well as their intrinsic ability to find a door/drawer to slam on tiny hands or matches to put in their mouths, means you will not sit still.
Read our feature on traveling with toddlers for help before you attempt a long journey!