Sunday 19 April 2015

A few ideas for free and cheap days out.

I started putting together a list of ideas for free or cheap days out a while ago. I had the usual on my list, picnic, go to the beach, bbq, go to the park.  All good ideas no doubt but not really very adventurous and more aimed at kids.  I have been thinking outside the box of things to do at the weekends. These are my ramblings so far, something for everyone here, with a slant on family fun.

You can see from my other recent post that I'm a great fan of the attraction season ticket.  I find that over the year they offer great value and can bring some joy to your little ones faces on those tighter months! Read my post on attraction season tickets by clicking HERE

On the subject of kids, once they start on the clubs it can cost a bomb.  We put a (flexible) limit in place whereby we say that the clubs can add up to a maximum cost per month.  After school clubs are usually a bargain and are helpful to mums and dads rushing home from work.  On Saturdays find your local football club.  Kids love football,  it's fun, teaches teamwork and discipline. Most clubs (well any ones you'd want to go to) accept kids of all levels and they dont have to be involved in competitive games if you don't want to.  We go to one in the nearby town and it's 90 minutes of fun for him and a nice sit in the sun for me.  Find football teams 

Whilst on the subject of footie there's a lot of fun to be had for all watching the next generation play.  We have been to loads of matches watching the local under 18's and under 21's.  The quality of the play is fantastic, comparible to a division 1 or 2 team and the games are cheap or even free to watch.  Perfect for a cheap night out for you or for all the family.  Click link to find out where to watch the under 21's premier league 

I'm on a bit of a (minor) fitness fad at the moment.  I have absolutely no interest in going to the gym so I find the best way for me is a good walk.  I like to go tramping for miles around the countryside or along the beach but this can be fun too.  After meeting a local geo cashing group I got more interest in woodland walks and have found some great ones on the woodland trust website.  I've popped a photo of this weekends walk around the local wood trail good for walkers, dogs and cycles.  That kept us all happy! Find local woodland.


Visit a local farm shop.  We are lucky to live in the countryside and often pop by the local farm shop to get a few bits and bobs.  The local farm shop or hut are nowhere near the cost that you pay at a farmers market and offer fresh produce.   I hop off course a little onto my love of farm shop but my point is that whilst there the farmers or smallholders never mind you having a look at the animals that are about.  It's always a good plan when the babies are born, who doesn't like getting a look at the little lambs. Arhhhhh.

Finally,  Get out and about and Travel for a free day out. Plan in advance and get cheap train tickets to London, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham.  We head to London on the train at least once a year and head to the free attractions.  We tend to take in a couple of museums or galleries and have one fun for kids so an art gallery first (boring for kids, in their opinion!)  then the natural history museum or science museum second.  Pack up a mini picnic in a carrier bag and eat on the train then bin it all so you don't have to carry it about with you.  If you can't be bothered with the travel, most smaller museums have a free open day and just wait until they are on.  We usually manage to get to 1 or 2 of these a year too.  

That's about it for now, please comment with your ideas for free or cheap days out as we are always looking for extra things to do.

J S and N

No comments:

Post a Comment