Written by Lavania from “The Amazing Adventures of Me“.
We are two weeks into the summer holidays and I’m already on the hunt for days out which don’t cost the earth and keep the kids busy. Arlo is four now and I can no longer take advantage of “kids under three go free” – we’ve visited all of our local parks for play areas and scooter rides which are a great free day out (aside from car parking).
We also have some big trips to look forward to but it’s nice to be able to pack a lunch and head out and about for a little adventure without breaking the bank. Here’s a selection of our favourite things to do which come in at less than a tenner per child!
1. RAF Cosford Shifnal, TF11 8UP
Open 10-5 every day including bank holidays until October.
It’s free to book a visit – select your time slot on the website. Just pay £5 for parking, it’s an additional £5 for the 4D cinema experience. 40 mins drive from central Brum this is an awesome day out and fun for all the family.
2.Bowling and a Burger
Ten Pin Bowling at Star City is offering a summer holiday deal which includes one game of bowling AND a burger with a side of chips for £5 which is an absolute bargain! They also have lanes at Castle Gate Park in Dudley. Open until 11pm at both sites.
Okay tickets are £10.25 but for this you get access to Mini Brum, the science garden and four floors of exhibits which will take you all day to explore. You can’t say fairer than that! This attraction at millennium point is accessible throughout – open seven days a week from 10am – 5pm.
4. Catch a movie
Check your local cinemas for kids showings, some local cinemas have some great offers, our favourite include:
Cineworld – Broad Street – movies for juniors £2.50
Vue–Star City – mini mornings £2.49 (book online)
5. Conkers
This outdoors adventure playground is great for kids with mountains of energy. Kids tickets are £7 and you can spend all day with the enchanted forest play zone, the tree top walk and there’s even an indoor interactive zone for when rain halts play. Open from 10am – 6pm throughout summer. Postcode for Sat Nav is DE12 6GA – about 40 minutes drive from the city centre.
Another outdoorsy activity – this playground in the middle of the forest has a low ropes course, a commando course, zip lines, a dedicated den building area and ply areas for little ones all for £7. You can choose to participate in additional activities on site for a small extra fee. Open from 10am daily – the Sat Nav postcode is: B94 6SE
7. Mini golf
Adventure Mini Golf at Star City is £5 for under 5’s and £8.50 for over’s, or head to Mr Mulligans at Broadway Plaza for a weekday round of twelve holes for £6.50. Tree Top adventure golf in the city centre starts at £4.50 and they have a 2 for 1 offer on at the moment.
8. Fun on the farm
There’s lots of different animal themed attractions in around the Midlands, check out my recent blog here with details of our top ten children’s farms to explore. Forge Mill at Sandwell Valley is a great value mini visit, where you can feed the animals in the yard – adults £3 and kids £2.50 and then of course explore the parks and surrounding lakes all for the cost of a car Park ticket.
9. Bounce
There are a variety of trampoline parks around the city but for a really fun experience then the inflatable zones are the places the kids want to visit. A great indoor alternative to soft play which will keep older and younger siblings satisfied. – check out Inflatanation which is £9.99 or Infla Ninja for a glow in the dark experience at £8.99. Guaranteed to exhaust this kids and provide a couple of hours of high energy fun.
10. Stay Cool at the snow dome
When the weather outside gets unbearably hot then head to the snow dome to cool off. Entry to the snow fun park is £9.50 for kids and adults are from £4.95 and they also do parent and tots sessions for under 4’s which are £12. Postcode for Sat Nav is: B79 7ND
We hope you find your own fabulous adventures, share your experiences with us on social media by tagging “The Amazing Adventures of Me” on Instagram or Facebook and if you have any more suggestions let us know and we can add them to the blog!