5 great UK family days out for half-term and Autumn
Steam trains, shipwrecks and Peter Pan’s garden.. along with exploring ice tunnels, apple pressing and dolphin spotting are among our ideas to keep kids happy Steam trains, shipwrecks and Peter Pan’s garden
Ride the Flying Scotsman, Dorset
The famous engine will be 100 years old next February, and to kick off celebrations marking its centenary, the locomotive will be steaming up and down the heritage Swanage Railway during half-term.
The public will be able to book tickets to ride behind the Flying Scotsman in a rare Pullman observation car, which operated with the Flying Scotsman in the US during the late 1960s and early 70s, with breakfast, afternoon tea or champagne options. Young train nerds may prefer a chance to stand on the footplate while the locomotive is on static display in Swanage station, on 20 and 21 October (and 27 Oct-6 Nov).
Viewing from £10, return journey from £39, free for under-5s not occupying a seat, swanagerailway.co.uk
Play in Peter Pan’s garden, Dumfries
During his school years, author J M Barrie often played in the garden at Moat Brae, an elegant Dumfries townhouse. Those visits, he later claimed, founded “the genesis of that nefarious work” Peter Pan. Saved from demolition in 2009, the building was bought and restored by the Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust, opening as a visitor attraction and the National Centre for Children’s Literature and Storytelling in 2019. Information is playfully revealed and younger visitors can chase illuminated fairy dust around an attic bedroom, or perform their own plays with costumes, before running amok in a pirate-themed adventure playground.
Adult £8, child £6, family (2 + 3) £20, moatbrae.org
Celebrate the ‘real’ Halloween, Hampshire
Halloween is a highlight of the autumn for most children, but few know it has its roots in Samhain. Celebrated over the same dates, this fire-focused Celtic festival marked the start of the darker half of the year and feasts were arranged to welcome spirits, fairies and deadly souls. Over half-term, Hampshire’s living history museum, Butser Ancient Farm, is running a Samhain-themed children’s trail around its ancient buildings, and free craft activities. On certain dates there’s also the chance to meet a band of Vikings or join a Roman legion.
Adult £10.50, child £6.50, family (2 + 2) £27.50, butserancientfarm.co.uk
Wildlife spotting near Cardigan
This dappled green corner of Wales looks even more spectacular in autumn, when the woodland and waterside trails around it turn bronze, yellow and gold. A mile or so from Cardigan, linked by a riverside footpath, the centre overlooks the Teifi Marshes nature reserve. Rutting red deer, kingfishers and otters are among the autumn wildlife highlights but the centre is also home to an adventure playground and a brilliant little cafe that serves homemade cakes and bowls of warming chickpea and spinach curry.
This half-term, children can also sign up for clay modelling workshops, mini-beast hunts, family nature walks or a Halloween quiz trail around the reserve.
Entrance free, events £3-£4 per child, welshwildlife.org
Visit ‘the grandparent of skyscrapers’, Shrewsbury
Erected in 1797 but reopened just last month following a major restoration, the Grade I-listed main building at Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings was the world’s first multistorey, cast-iron-framed building. It is often dubbed the grandparent of the skyscraper, and its place in industrial history is imaginatively told via an interactive, family-friendly exhibition. There is a programme of free half-term children’s activities and a vegan-friendly cafe on site.
Make a day of it by heading afterwards to Harlescott, 10 minutes’ drive north, for a children’s session (from £15 a head) on the indoor walls at the excellent Climbing Hut.
Adult £7.50, child £5 but free during half-term, family (2 + 3) £23, shrewsburyflaxmillmaltings.org.uk