The 40 kid-friendly & free activities that you can do on EVERY day of the school holidays this summer – starting today!
Never is the demand for snacks, activities and attention greater than in the UK summer break, and many parents find themselves juggling jobs and kids, while keeping their cool in the heat.
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Coming up with new things to do every day can sometimes be as exhausting as the actual task of entertaining the family for the summer stretch.
Luckily, there is so much going on over the holidays, you can take your pick of fun days out to enjoy as a family - with many on the list below less than a tenner for the whole family, or completely free.
To help give you some inspiration on how to keep the clan busy, here are 40 cheap and cheerful things to do with kids from toddler-age to teens in summer 2025.
Fun things to do outdoors with kids
1. Something really fun to do in summer is take a picnic and some foldaway chairs and watch a movie on an outdoor big screen. There are open-air cinemas popping up all over the UK this year, and some of them are completely free.
Screen on the Green in Newcastle, which is in Old Eldon Square, will be showing two or three films a day from 21 July to 31st August, as well as some key sporting events. ne1summerinthecity.co.uk
If you're closer to Manchester, Screen on the Square in Deansgate has a similar vibe and will be showing old favourites like Back to the Future and Cool Runnings as well as kids films like Frozen and Sing. Open until 14 th September. renaker.com/screenonthesquare
2. A cheap beach day is always a summer holiday go-to, but if you want to ensure no one gets bored relaxing on the sand, pick a beach where you can go fossil hunting. Kids love searching for little mementoes from history, and it's educational too.
The best places in the UK to go fossil hunting are Lyme Regis and Charmouth on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, Compton Bay on the Isle of Wight, and Whitby in North Yorkshire.
3. If you don't want to travel too far, and live inland, there are still opportunities to get on the water. Look for lakes with natural or man-made beaches in your area, such as Cotswold Country Park, Loch Morlich in Scotland, Rutland Water in the East Midlands and Gaddings Dam in Yorkshire.
Traveller has great money saving hack that also allows you to experience destinations better
4. For those who don't own their own paddleboard or kayak, you can rent one from Decathlon for £35 for the day and test your skills. Boards start from £99 to buy, so this is a great way to see if SUP (stand-up paddle) is for you without shelling out for your own.
5. If you're in London but you fancy a beach day, head to Ruislip Lido. This lesser-known hangout has a huge beach with water sports, a pirate ship adventure playground and a miniature train ride, so it's ideal for families. There are a few cafes and facilities on site, so you can easily go for the whole day. There is also a forest area, with lots of shade if you want to get out of the sun.
6. As part of the National Rail 200 celebrations, marking 200 years of railways in the UK, Churnet Valley Railway are giving children FREE tickets on the Churnet Valley Railway in Staffordshire. On weekends and Wednesdays from until the end of September, you can go for a steam train adventure — and up to four children ride free with every full fare-paying adult. churnetvalleyrailway.co.uk
7. At the Epping Ongar Railway in Essex, kids are only £1 to ride steam trains and diesel engines, and there is a calendar of special events throughout the holidays and beyond, including a visit from Paddington and Real Ale and Cider Festival (with plenty for kids to do too). eorailway.co.uk
8. In Nottingham, the Victoria Embankment paddling pool has reopened for summer until the 1st September 2025. The much-loved sunshine spot has been here since 1938 and has just been given a huge makeover. Open from 10am and 6pm every day. So you can wear the kids out and have a jolly good time watching them
9. Wheelgate Theme Park in Nottinghamshire is a smaller, family-run amusement park which is ideal for children under 12. The rides are smaller than the major theme parks and many can be ridden without adults.
There are three huge playgrounds, a small zoo, a water park and an indoor soft play. Tickets are cheaper when purchased in advance, with entry starting from £10.50 for the day and £6 for toddlers, seniors and children with additional needs. If you have a Gaby's Dollhouse fan in the house, she too will be visiting on August 5th 2025. wheelgatepark.com
10. If you haven't booked a holiday this summer, you can still take the kids on a mini adventure with a cheap stay at a hostel. The Youth Hostel Association has budget accommodation at beauty spots, beaches and major cities across the UK and sometimes for less than £10 per person.
Plus, they often have free events and workshops for kids centred around the area, so you get even more than just a stay at a regular hotel yha.org.uk/breaks/family-breaks
11. The Southport Air show on Southport Seafront near Liverpool is always a family favourite with air displays, entertainment, stalls and music over the weekend of 30-31st August 2025. Go out on a high with free tickets for under-16s seetickets.com
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12. Children's farms are a simple and wholesome day out, and many of the best ones are free. Bath City Farm has children's activities and workshops, such as a posy-making workshop, green wood carving and summer holiday clubs for eight –13 year olds from 18–22 August, 10am–3pm each day. These include animal feeding, farm jobs, games, and quizzes. bathcityfarm.org.uk
13. Go for a ride on an open-top tour bus in London with hop-on-hop-off stops around the city. You can go for a general sightseeing tour, which takes in all the major sights, and there is also a kids-themed one that cuts out all the 'boring' adult bits. Book online for up to 35% off tickets tootbus.com/en
14. Camel Creek in Cornwall is another fun, family theme park that has over 40 rides and an affordable ticket deal if you think you'll go more than once. Entry tickets, from £20, are valid for seven days' entry, meaning you can go back in as many times as you want to. But when you upgrade to the annual pass, you can visit all year for £35. If you want to make a full holiday out of your visit, check out the new glamping pods. camelcreek.co.uk
15. Ever taken out a family canoe? At Canoe Wild in Kent, you can take out an old-school canoe, big enough for the whole family and spot wildlife along the scenic River Stour for only £27.
Plus, if you need a little 'me time', kids 8+ can join the Young Paddlers Club every Wednesday for fun, games, and learning new paddling skills. This is a drop-off session, so grown-ups can relax or even enjoy a peaceful paddle of their own while their kids are safely looked after. canoewild.co.uk
16. If you have kids that love fantasy stories, there is no greater legend than the Loch Ness Monster. If you are based in the north of England or in Scotland, head to the famous loch to hunt for 'sea creatures' on a little build-your-own adventure. Stop in at the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition, visit Urquhart Castle and take on the Loch Ness 360 Trail for free while you are there. lochness360.com
Family festivals and outdoor events
17. Queens Park Arena in Glasgow has a full summer programme for 2025, including movie screenings, concerts and dance and fitness classes. Movie screenings, with favourites like Mean Girls, are perfect for teens, and until 1 st August, you can get two free tickets per person. qpa.inhouse.scot
18. Follow the Adventure Trail at Eldon Square in Newcastle and you could win tickets to see Disney on Ice. Families can pick up a magical map from the booth outside Fenwick and collect stickers from a selection of treasure spots by following clues. Find every letter and take it back to the booth at the end for a sweet treat and the chance to win Disney tickets. It's free to play, but the organisers are suggesting a £2 donation to thesunshinefund.org to support the charity.
19. Nottingham Beach is returning to Old Market Square from Wednesday 16th July - Sunday 31st August. This pop-up festival has sand, rides, music, arcades and games on an 'urban beach' right in the heart of the city centre. Ideal for all ages nottinghambeach.co.uk
20. Take a seat on Bournemouth Beach or anywhere along the seafront and watch the Summer Fireworks light up the sky over Bournemouth Pier. Spend the day at the beach and then grab some fish and chips on the front and enjoy the free show, which takes place at 10pm on Fridays from 1 to 29 August 2025. visitdevon.co.uk
21. If you have an active clan, you can join one of hundreds of Junior Park Runs around the UK this summer. Shorter than the usual Park Run distance, families can run, walk or jog an official 2k route with lots of other children and grown-ups, usually on Saturday or Sunday mornings.
Events include Riverside junior parkrun in Ballymoney, Phear Park junior parkrun in Exmouth and Alyn Waters junior parkrun in Wrexham. parkrun.org.uk
22. Another upbeat activity that is free to join is one of many Park Tennis events hosted by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and Barclays Bank. You need an LTA membership, but it's free to join. Then, just search for an event near you, with extra sessions being added every day. lta.org.uk/play/free-park-tennis
23. If you're not feeling sporty but still want to stay active and help the kids learn a new skill, Dobbies Garden Centres have a summer programme of Little Seedlings Children's workshops for children aged four to 10 years. These are free and teach - not just kids, but adults too - about growing plants, vegetables and other garden friends like insects and birds. There are also some additional, special events like a Prehistoric Plants and Summer Scents smell workshop, which can be booked online in advance. dobbies.com
Kids also eat for £1 at Dobbies Gardening Centre cafes at breakfast and lunchtime, so you can spend a large part of the day hanging out there with lots to do and bargain grub.
24. Forestry England celebrates the story of the Gruffalo with free Gruffalo trails in locations around the UK. Have fun in the forest and gain useful skills with a Gruffalo-themed challenge. Pick up a map for £1.50 and find the twelve Gruffalo markers hidden in the deep, dark wood and answer questions along the way to get a certificate at the end. forestryengland.uk/gruffalo
25. They also offer orienteering sessions for adults and older children, which might be more suitable for the big kids forestryengland.uk
26. If you like Beatrix Potter, the Essex Wildlife Trust has a Peter Rabbit Woodland Trail in Langdon. The hard surface paths make the trail suitable for everyone, including buggies and wheelchairs. Visiting the reserve and car parking is free, the activity map is £1.50 ,and donations to the charity are always welcome. essexwt.org.uk
27. Summer is colourful at RHS Garden Bridgewater, where families can take on The Great Woodland Adventure—a programme of outdoor fun running from 23 July to 31 August. From den building challenges and tree climbing to storytelling adventures and woodland crafts, there's something for every young explorer.
28. The Bridgewater Forest School has thrilling hands-on experiences like fire lighting and tool mastery from £5. The Big Den Build special event is £10 per child and £5 and should be booked in advance.
29. For a more extended experience, children can join The Woodland Tribe camp from 7-9 August for three days of hands-on building to create an epic woodland castle with The Big Den build. Little ones can also join Wild Wings to come face to face with owls and birds of prey, join a 'tree-ific' trail and wildlife-spotting walks and get hands-on with seed planting.
30. The annual Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is a free event where you can marvel at 100 hot-air balloons floating in the sky above the outskirts of the city. This year, from 8-10 August, you can watch the balloons take off twice each day, at around 6am and 6pm. bristolballoonfiesta.co.uk
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31. Lavender fields are not only a social media dream - so, therefore perfect for teenage girls wanting to post pretty pics - butmost have more than just beautiful fields of flowers to admire and pick.
Mayfield Lavender, famed for its organic Banstead lavender farm has a brand-new visitor experience this summer: the Secret Lavender Garden. There will be time sessions in the morning and afternoon for visitors to explore the fragrant lavender, an apple orchard, over 500 fruit trees and local wildlife. There is a tall tree-lined avenue that leads guests to a second hidden lavender field, which boasts amazing countryside views and even the skyline of London is visible. mayfieldlavender.com
32. The Greenwich Fair, a much-loved south London festival, is reopening this year after a few years off where it was unable to run due to lack of budget. However, a crowdfunding effort has brought it back to life over the weekend of 23-24th August 2025. The free event in Greenwich Park has dancing, theatre, acrobatics and family games. festival.org
Things to do indoors this summer
33. Between Friday 25 th July and Thursday 28 th August 2025, Cineworld are offering £1 cinema tickets for kids and adults on selected movies, including Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and A Minecraft Movie. Book online and pack a little movie picnic to have before the film to make a day of it. cineworld.co.uk
34. Pets at Home offer free workshops for kids called My Pet Pals. Here, kids over the age of four can pet some of the animals and learn about how to look after their own pets. At the end, they get a special certificate. On from Saturday 5th July to Sunday 17th August in Scotland and NI, and from Saturday 19th July to Sunday 31st August in England and Wales. petsathome.com
35. In London, you can get a brilliant view of the city from many indoor rooftop observatories completely free. Both Sky Garden and Horizon 22 have almost 360-degree vistas of the capital and cafes with a grand view. Entry doesn't cost anything but tickets do need to be booked in advance, and the time slots do fill up, so check the website in advance.
36. The Liverpool Central Library is free to enter year-round and a great activity for families in the summer. There is lots to explore, but don't miss the beautiful Picton Reading room, which looks like it's straight from the set of Harry Potter. There is an interactive Discovery Room, which is perfect for younger children to explore too. The rooftop terrace has amazing views across St George's Quarter. liverpool.gov.uk
37. At the National Space Centre in Leicester, you can learn about rocket launches, space shuttles, the Earth and environment in a huge display of 'out-of-this-world' immersive displays. Tickets start at £18.95 but you can go back and visit as many times as you like in 12 months, so it works out great value for budding astronauts. spacecentre.co.uk
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38. Kids and adults can take on 'The Monster', an enormous inflatable assault course in Braintree Village, Essex, from 19th July – 31st August. Packed with more than 40 obstacles to conquer, including the 18-metre Mega Slide, chaotic Exterminator and epic House of Hell, The Monster is the largest inflatable course in the UK.
Families and young thrill-seekers aged 6+ can book daytime sessions, but if you are a big kid - go back in the evening where it is open to adults-only. braintree-village.com
39. David Attenborough has launched an immersive film about the evolution and future of humanity and the environment at the Natural History Museum. Entry to the museum itself is completely free, but booking is recommended to avoid long lines. If you want to watch the special film, tickets start from £10 and a designated time should be booked in advance to guarantee a seat. nhm.ac.uk
40. One final way to not lose your 'marbles' this summer is a visit to the House of Marbles Museum between Exeter and Plymouth, Devon. In this unusual and surprisngly interesting museum, you can see marbles and glass being made, with fascinating handmade glass marbles and trinkets on display. Kids, especially, will love the interactive marble runs, including the largest in the UK. houseofm a rbles.com
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The 40 kid-friendly & free activities that you can do on EVERY day of the school holidays this summer – starting today!
THE school holiday season is upon us and we have six weeks to keep everyone in the house happy without going bonkers or broke. Never is the demand for snacks, activities and attention greater than in the UK summer break, and many parents find themselves juggling jobs and kids, while keeping their cool in the heat. 9 9 9 Coming up with new things to do every day can sometimes be as exhausting as the actual task of entertaining the family for the summer stretch. Luckily, there is so much going on over the holidays, you can take your pick of fun days out to enjoy as a family - with many on the list below less than a tenner for the whole family, or completely free. To help give you some inspiration on how to keep the clan busy, here are 40 cheap and cheerful things to do with kids from toddler-age to teens in summer 2025. Fun things to do outdoors with kids 1. Something really fun to do in summer is take a picnic and some foldaway chairs and watch a movie on an outdoor big screen. There are open-air cinemas popping up all over the UK this year, and some of them are completely free. Screen on the Green in Newcastle, which is in Old Eldon Square, will be showing two or three films a day from 21 July to 31st August, as well as some key sporting events. If you're closer to Manchester, Screen on the Square in Deansgate has a similar vibe and will be showing old favourites like Back to the Future and Cool Runnings as well as kids films like Frozen and Sing. Open until 14 th September. 2. A cheap beach day is always a summer holiday go-to, but if you want to ensure no one gets bored relaxing on the sand, pick a beach where you can go fossil hunting. Kids love searching for little mementoes from history, and it's educational too. The best places in the UK to go fossil hunting are Lyme Regis and Charmouth on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, Compton Bay on the Isle of Wight, and Whitby in North Yorkshire. 3. If you don't want to travel too far, and live inland, there are still opportunities to get on the water. Look for lakes with natural or man-made beaches in your area, such as Cotswold Country Park, Loch Morlich in Scotland, Rutland Water in the East Midlands and Gaddings Dam in Yorkshire. Traveller has great money saving hack that also allows you to experience destinations better 4. For those who don't own their own paddleboard or kayak, you can rent one from Decathlon for £35 for the day and test your skills. Boards start from £99 to buy, so this is a great way to see if SUP (stand-up paddle) is for you without shelling out for your own. 5. If you're in London but you fancy a beach day, head to Ruislip Lido. This lesser-known hangout has a huge beach with water sports, a pirate ship adventure playground and a miniature train ride, so it's ideal for families. There are a few cafes and facilities on site, so you can easily go for the whole day. 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So you can wear the kids out and have a jolly good time watching them 9. Wheelgate Theme Park in Nottinghamshire is a smaller, family-run amusement park which is ideal for children under 12. The rides are smaller than the major theme parks and many can be ridden without adults. There are three huge playgrounds, a small zoo, a water park and an indoor soft play. Tickets are cheaper when purchased in advance, with entry starting from £10.50 for the day and £6 for toddlers, seniors and children with additional needs. If you have a Gaby's Dollhouse fan in the house, she too will be visiting on August 5th 2025. 10. If you haven't booked a holiday this summer, you can still take the kids on a mini adventure with a cheap stay at a hostel. The Youth Hostel Association has budget accommodation at beauty spots, beaches and major cities across the UK and sometimes for less than £10 per person. Plus, they often have free events and workshops for kids centred around the area, so you get even more than just a stay at a regular hotel 11. The Southport Air show on Southport Seafront near Liverpool is always a family favourite with air displays, entertainment, stalls and music over the weekend of 30-31st August 2025. Go out on a high with free tickets for under-16s 9 9 12. Children's farms are a simple and wholesome day out, and many of the best ones are free. Bath City Farm has children's activities and workshops, such as a posy-making workshop, green wood carving and summer holiday clubs for eight –13 year olds from 18–22 August, 10am–3pm each day. These include animal feeding, farm jobs, games, and quizzes. 13. Go for a ride on an open-top tour bus in London with hop-on-hop-off stops around the city. You can go for a general sightseeing tour, which takes in all the major sights, and there is also a kids-themed one that cuts out all the 'boring' adult bits. Book online for up to 35% off tickets 14. Camel Creek in Cornwall is another fun, family theme park that has over 40 rides and an affordable ticket deal if you think you'll go more than once. Entry tickets, from £20, are valid for seven days' entry, meaning you can go back in as many times as you want to. But when you upgrade to the annual pass, you can visit all year for £35. If you want to make a full holiday out of your visit, check out the new glamping pods. 15. Ever taken out a family canoe? At Canoe Wild in Kent, you can take out an old-school canoe, big enough for the whole family and spot wildlife along the scenic River Stour for only £27. Plus, if you need a little 'me time', kids 8+ can join the Young Paddlers Club every Wednesday for fun, games, and learning new paddling skills. This is a drop-off session, so grown-ups can relax or even enjoy a peaceful paddle of their own while their kids are safely looked after. 16. If you have kids that love fantasy stories, there is no greater legend than the Loch Ness Monster. If you are based in the north of England or in Scotland, head to the famous loch to hunt for 'sea creatures' on a little build-your-own adventure. Stop in at the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition, visit Urquhart Castle and take on the Loch Ness 360 Trail for free while you are there. Family festivals and outdoor events 17. Queens Park Arena in Glasgow has a full summer programme for 2025, including movie screenings, concerts and dance and fitness classes. Movie screenings, with favourites like Mean Girls, are perfect for teens, and until 1 st August, you can get two free tickets per person. 18. Follow the Adventure Trail at Eldon Square in Newcastle and you could win tickets to see Disney on Ice. Families can pick up a magical map from the booth outside Fenwick and collect stickers from a selection of treasure spots by following clues. Find every letter and take it back to the booth at the end for a sweet treat and the chance to win Disney tickets. It's free to play, but the organisers are suggesting a £2 donation to to support the charity. 19. Nottingham Beach is returning to Old Market Square from Wednesday 16th July - Sunday 31st August. This pop-up festival has sand, rides, music, arcades and games on an 'urban beach' right in the heart of the city centre. Ideal for all ages 20. Take a seat on Bournemouth Beach or anywhere along the seafront and watch the Summer Fireworks light up the sky over Bournemouth Pier. Spend the day at the beach and then grab some fish and chips on the front and enjoy the free show, which takes place at 10pm on Fridays from 1 to 29 August 2025. 21. If you have an active clan, you can join one of hundreds of Junior Park Runs around the UK this summer. Shorter than the usual Park Run distance, families can run, walk or jog an official 2k route with lots of other children and grown-ups, usually on Saturday or Sunday mornings. Events include Riverside junior parkrun in Ballymoney, Phear Park junior parkrun in Exmouth and Alyn Waters junior parkrun in Wrexham. 22. Another upbeat activity that is free to join is one of many Park Tennis events hosted by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and Barclays Bank. You need an LTA membership, but it's free to join. Then, just search for an event near you, with extra sessions being added every day. 23. If you're not feeling sporty but still want to stay active and help the kids learn a new skill, Dobbies Garden Centres have a summer programme of Little Seedlings Children's workshops for children aged four to 10 years. These are free and teach - not just kids, but adults too - about growing plants, vegetables and other garden friends like insects and birds. There are also some additional, special events like a Prehistoric Plants and Summer Scents smell workshop, which can be booked online in advance. Kids also eat for £1 at Dobbies Gardening Centre cafes at breakfast and lunchtime, so you can spend a large part of the day hanging out there with lots to do and bargain grub. 24. Forestry England celebrates the story of the Gruffalo with free Gruffalo trails in locations around the UK. Have fun in the forest and gain useful skills with a Gruffalo-themed challenge. Pick up a map for £1.50 and find the twelve Gruffalo markers hidden in the deep, dark wood and answer questions along the way to get a certificate at the end. 25. They also offer orienteering sessions for adults and older children, which might be more suitable for the big kids 26. If you like Beatrix Potter, the Essex Wildlife Trust has a Peter Rabbit Woodland Trail in Langdon. The hard surface paths make the trail suitable for everyone, including buggies and wheelchairs. Visiting the reserve and car parking is free, the activity map is £1.50 ,and donations to the charity are always welcome. 27. Summer is colourful at RHS Garden Bridgewater, where families can take on The Great Woodland Adventure—a programme of outdoor fun running from 23 July to 31 August. From den building challenges and tree climbing to storytelling adventures and woodland crafts, there's something for every young explorer. 28. The Bridgewater Forest School has thrilling hands-on experiences like fire lighting and tool mastery from £5. The Big Den Build special event is £10 per child and £5 and should be booked in advance. 29. For a more extended experience, children can join The Woodland Tribe camp from 7-9 August for three days of hands-on building to create an epic woodland castle with The Big Den build. Little ones can also join Wild Wings to come face to face with owls and birds of prey, join a 'tree-ific' trail and wildlife-spotting walks and get hands-on with seed planting. 30. The annual Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is a free event where you can marvel at 100 hot-air balloons floating in the sky above the outskirts of the city. This year, from 8-10 August, you can watch the balloons take off twice each day, at around 6am and 6pm. 9 31. Lavender fields are not only a social media dream - so, therefore perfect for teenage girls wanting to post pretty pics - butmost have more than just beautiful fields of flowers to admire and pick. Mayfield Lavender, famed for its organic Banstead lavender farm has a brand-new visitor experience this summer: the Secret Lavender Garden. There will be time sessions in the morning and afternoon for visitors to explore the fragrant lavender, an apple orchard, over 500 fruit trees and local wildlife. There is a tall tree-lined avenue that leads guests to a second hidden lavender field, which boasts amazing countryside views and even the skyline of London is visible. 32. The Greenwich Fair, a much-loved south London festival, is reopening this year after a few years off where it was unable to run due to lack of budget. However, a crowdfunding effort has brought it back to life over the weekend of 23-24th August 2025. The free event in Greenwich Park has dancing, theatre, acrobatics and family games. Things to do indoors this summer 33. Between Friday 25 th July and Thursday 28 th August 2025, Cineworld are offering £1 cinema tickets for kids and adults on selected movies, including Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and A Minecraft Movie. Book online and pack a little movie picnic to have before the film to make a day of it. 34. Pets at Home offer free workshops for kids called My Pet Pals. Here, kids over the age of four can pet some of the animals and learn about how to look after their own pets. At the end, they get a special certificate. On from Saturday 5th July to Sunday 17th August in Scotland and NI, and from Saturday 19th July to Sunday 31st August in England and Wales. 35. In London, you can get a brilliant view of the city from many indoor rooftop observatories completely free. Both Sky Garden and Horizon 22 have almost 360-degree vistas of the capital and cafes with a grand view. Entry doesn't cost anything but tickets do need to be booked in advance, and the time slots do fill up, so check the website in advance. 36. The Liverpool Central Library is free to enter year-round and a great activity for families in the summer. There is lots to explore, but don't miss the beautiful Picton Reading room, which looks like it's straight from the set of Harry Potter. There is an interactive Discovery Room, which is perfect for younger children to explore too. The rooftop terrace has amazing views across St George's Quarter. 37. At the National Space Centre in Leicester, you can learn about rocket launches, space shuttles, the Earth and environment in a huge display of 'out-of-this-world' immersive displays. Tickets start at £18.95 but you can go back and visit as many times as you like in 12 months, so it works out great value for budding astronauts. 9 9 38. Kids and adults can take on 'The Monster', an enormous inflatable assault course in Braintree Village, Essex, from 19th July – 31st August. Packed with more than 40 obstacles to conquer, including the 18-metre Mega Slide, chaotic Exterminator and epic House of Hell, The Monster is the largest inflatable course in the UK. Families and young thrill-seekers aged 6+ can book daytime sessions, but if you are a big kid - go back in the evening where it is open to adults-only. 39. David Attenborough has launched an immersive film about the evolution and future of humanity and the environment at the Natural History Museum. Entry to the museum itself is completely free, but booking is recommended to avoid long lines. If you want to watch the special film, tickets start from £10 and a designated time should be booked in advance to guarantee a seat. 40. One final way to not lose your 'marbles' this summer is a visit to the House of Marbles Museum between Exeter and Plymouth, Devon. In this unusual and surprisngly interesting museum, you can see marbles and glass being made, with fascinating handmade glass marbles and trinkets on display. Kids, especially, will love the interactive marble runs, including the largest in the UK. houseofm a
The Guardian
3 days ago
- The Guardian
Madonna: Veronica Electronica review – Ray of Light rarities range from perfect to perfunctory
It's hard to overstate the impact of Ray of Light, Madonna's seventh album. Released in 1998, it totally reshaped Madonna's career, embracing trip-hop, electronica and Britpop and essentially proving to an unfriendly public that she was one of pop's great auteurs. It spawned one of her biggest singles – the haunting power ballad Frozen – and its title track is still a staple of radio and DJ playlists. In the past few years, many of contemporary and underground pop's most significant names – including Caroline Polachek, Addison Rae, a.s.o., Shygirl and FKA twigs – have referenced Ray of Light, whether directly or indirectly. It's a fool's errand to try to make a case for the best or most significant Madonna album – she has at least five strong contenders – but if there's a consensus pick, it's Ray of Light. Which is why the announcement of Veronica Electronica, a full-length Ray of Light remix album, was met with such hysteria from fans earlier this year. Madonna has spoken at length over the years about both Veronica the character – in true Madonna fashion, Veronica stems from a vaguely contradictory concept in which she is both a girl dancing at a club and, somehow, 'medieval' – and the album, which she intended to release after Ray of Light but ended up shelving. For diehards, the promised record is something of a holy grail – never mind that this long-awaited release only contains two truly new songs, one of which, an old demo titled Gone Gone Gone, has been floating around on the internet for years. Even so, it's hard to deny the simple pleasures that can be derived from hearing some all-time great Madonna remixes cut down to radio length and sequenced like the original Ray of Light. Drowned World/Substitute for Love sounds great taken out of its original glacial trip-hop context and turned into a DayGlo acid rager by BT and Sasha; the emotional ambiguities of the original song are replaced with warm positivity, and you can easily imagine the song soundtracking the final minutes of a raging house party as the sun begins to rise. Other tracks, such as Peter and Victor's remix of Skin – the other new song here – take an opposite tack; they heighten Skin's innate moodiness with a steely, exploratory techno beat punctuated by big, sharp breaks, turning the original track into something tweaky and unsettled. As is often the case with remix records, there are moments on Veronica Electronica that feel perfunctory – namely, the Club 69 remix of Nothing Really Matters. Perhaps any remix of the original song will always be held to a higher standard, given its status as one of the only out-and-out club tracks on Ray of Light, but unlike many of the remixes on the album, it feels as if there's no relationship between the source material and the rework here, aside from Madonna's vocal, which is looped to the point of irritation. It's frustrating when people claim to 'hate remixes', as if you can put a blanket statement on an entire artform, but this kind of remix may make you sympathise with the sentiment. Fabien's Good God mix of The Power of Good-Bye, on the other hand, represents all the potential of a curio project like this: a bizarrely minimal drum'n'bass rework of one of Madonna's best ballads, it finds enormous power in the conflict between Fabien's increasingly frenetic drums and Madonna's serene, sorrowful vocal. It's a surprisingly appropriate lead-in to Gone Gone Gone, a song so brilliantly weird that you really can understand why it was left off the original album. It is, essentially, a wistful breakup ballad set to a squelchy electro beat – a surreal tonal clash that hardly gels with Ray of Light's placid waters, but which gives a surprising amount of insight into Madonna's creative state at the time: here is one of the biggest stars in the world, in her creative prime, throwing anything at the wall to see what sticks. For that peek behind the curtain alone, Veronica Electronica is worth the price of admission.
