25 ways to entertain the family this half term – for less than £10
The forthcoming February half-term, which falls roughly in the middle of the month (dates vary), is notoriously tricky for parents to navigate. My congratulations to anyone who has a holiday booked, as it is too cold and too close to Christmas for most of us to manage it.
Yet, as inevitable as a downpour at forest school is the morning after you’ve cleaned their wellies, our children will need entertaining. Luckily, fun events for families are being planned up and down the country. Even better, many of them are either totally free or should cost £10 or less per ticket. So now is the time to book one and feel a little more like you’re winning in 2025.
Explore by type of activity:
Nature
Butterflies, Warwickshire
Brighten up February by admiring the flutter of tiny spotted and streaked wings at the UK’s largest tropical butterfly gardens. The Stratford Butterfly Farm maintains a rainforest-like climate, with colourful plants, fish and trickling ponds inside its glasshouses. On a sunny day especially, you can see butterflies from all over the world in flight, as well as minibeasts and insects, like leaf-cutting ants. Watch out for the free-roaming green iguanas too.
Daily, adults £9.95 (child £8.60), butterflyfarm.co.uk
Visit an urban ‘sky park’, Manchester
There’s a plant that smells like chocolate growing in the Castlefield Viaduct this half-term, along with leaves that feel as soft as bunny ears when stroked. Little ones are being invited to use all their senses while exploring the plants that transformed this free-to-access industrial space, which has become a magical walkway and brought nature back into the city. The sensory trail will encourage children to think about how animals use their senses, too – from bees to sparrow hawks. There’s also a crafting area for creatives to enjoy.
Feb 14 to 23, free, nationaltrust.org.uk. Find more in our Manchester travel guide.
Staring at the sun, Bath
You usually shouldn’t look directly at the sun but Helios, a seven-metre-wide art installation designed by Luke Jerram, is beautifully hung inside a ballroom at Bath’s Assembly Rooms so that you can. Its surface has been created using data provided by Nasa photographers – and it’s a faithful representation that features solar spots and flares, including the one that caused the Northern Lights to appear above the UK last year. There’s a soundscape too, made from Nasa’s recordings, and kids will no doubt relish hearing the countdown ahead of a rocket launch.
Daily until Feb 23, adults £5 (child £2.50), nationaltrust.org.uk. Find more in our Bath travel guide.
Planetopia, Edinburgh
What would you pledge to make the planet a better place? As part of Planetopia, an interactive event taking place during half-term at the National Museum of Scotland, families will be invited to get creative and consider what they could do to benefit the environment. Free to visit, the museum also houses multiple galleries containing permanent collections, including statues from ancient Egypt, Roman artefacts, items belonging to Mary, Queen of Scots and historic tartan garments.
Feb 8 to 15, free, nms.ac.uk. Find more in our Edinburgh travel guide.
Fearless Flynn trail, Derbyshire
Children’s author Sue Wilkins has helped create a trail at Calke Abbey that’s inspired by one of her characters, a mouse called Flynn. Little ones can explore the Pleasure Grounds of this country house, spotting Flynn’s friends and tackling challenges along the way. Once the trail is complete, keep hands busy in the Stableyards, where arts and crafts will be on offer, including badge-making. Afterwards, stroll through the faded walled gardens and pay a visit to the ‘Old Man of Calke’ – a 1,200-year-old oak tree.
Feb 15 to March 9, adults £7.50 (child £3.75), nationaltrust.org.uk
Educational
Attend a bird rave, Manchester
Celebrate our feathered friends at the Manchester Museum, where a family-friendly ‘bird rave’ is taking place on Feb 15. Participants will be able to create their own colourful plumage and enjoy a dance workshop before being treated to an interactive performance by Bird Rave artists. RSPB volunteers will also be on hand to run some extra bird-themed activities. Manchester Museum reopened after a £15 million transformation in 2023; Exhibits from Egypt and Sudan include eight mummies, while the dinosaur gallery houses the skeletons of Stan the T-Rex and April the Tenontosaurus.
From Feb 15 to 23, closed Mon, free, museum.manchester.ac.uk
Find fossils, Lyme Regis, Dorset
There are stacks of fossils to admire at the Dinosaurland museum in Lyme Regis – a former church where, rather fittingly, the renowned fossil hunter Mary Anning was baptised. Explore a large collection of ichthyosaurs, ammonites, dinosaur eggs, crystals and dinosaur dung, before heading to Monmouth beach to search the ‘ammonite pavement’ for fossil finds of your own.
Daily from Feb 15, adult £7.50 (child £5.50), dinosaurland.co.uk
Viking camp, York
Marauders can be found on York’s streets for the annual Jorvik Viking Festival. Expect lots to see for free across the city, including ‘Vikings’ at their encampment on Parliament Street. Activities include woodworking, Norse warrior face-painting and mock child combat at the Eye of York (£5). A Viking march takes place through the streets to Coppergate on Feb 22, at 1.30pm.
Feb 17 to 23, free with some ticketed activities, jorvikvikingfestival.co.uk. Find more in our York travel guide.
Explore a Roman fort, Kent
Home to some of the finest Roman ruins left in Britain, Richborough Roman Fort offers children the chance to play at being a Roman sentry, surveying their land from its reconstructed Claudian Gateway – a replica of the original that stood in the same spot. There’s a kid’s trail based on time travel to try, too, plus a buried Roman amphitheatre to explore a five-minute stroll away.
Various dates, adults from £7.70 (child £4), english-heritage.org.uk
Drones away, Shropshire
Bright young minds get airborne at the RAF Museum Midlands, in Cosford, where a range of challenges have been devised to keep children busy over half-term. These could involve launching rockets or building Lego parachutists. Regular exhibits tell the story of the RAF and the museum has a fine collection of aircraft, including Spitfires and Valiants, too.
Space-themed shows of various lengths will be presented in the planetarium, from £5 a ticket.
Feb 15 to 23, free, rafmuseum.org/midlands
Ring quest, Suffolk
Lord of the Rings fans will enjoy this family challenge set within the recreated Anglo-Saxon village at West Stow. This year’s themed half-term quest involves saving Middle Earth, while also keeping an eye out for the Hobbit Hole and encountering giant spiders at Mirkwood. There’s a country park here that’s perfect for letting off steam afterwards, too – just watch out for the orcs.
Feb 15 to 23, adults £7 (child £4), weststow.org. Find more in our Suffolk travel guide.
Enter the Microworld, Coventry
Interactive and visually stimulating, Microworld is an art space in the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum that sees children’s gestures recorded by sensors and turned into an exciting ecosystem of digital creatures. The experience is said to help children develop their experimentation skills, as well as problem-solving, collaboration and storytelling. Meanwhile, the museum’s permanent galleries delve into the city’s industrial and wartime history, plus the legend of Lady Godiva.
Until Feb 23; £3, booking advised, theherbert.org
Shipwrecks and fishermen, Great Yarmouth
Smoked fish may not be every child’s dream dinner, but water babies will love steering a steam drifter and learning more about shipwrecks at the Time and Tide museum. The venue explains the town’s history, going back as far as the Ice Age, and also houses the UK’s best-preserved Victorian herring curing works.
Daily, adults £7.80 (child £6.60), museums.norfolk.gov.uk/time-tide
Medieval England, Northumberland
What child wouldn’t want to go to sword school? Those visiting the 14th-century Warkworth Castle can try their hand at being a medieval knight for the day, with archery contests, a ‘Top of the Chops’ show and grand melee forming part of this English Heritage Half Term History Makers event. Afterwards, stretch your legs and follow an interactive sculpture trail around the castle.
Feb 22 to March 2, adults £8.50 (child £4.50), english-heritage.org.uk
Yorkshire games festival, Bradford
Bradford is UK City of Culture this year, and its National Science and Media Museum has an innovative programme lined up to celebrate, including the Yorkshire Games Festival. A sure-fire hit with console fans, the event offers up new board and video games to test, and visitors will also be able to enjoy the revamped museum’s new gallery spaces, added in January as part of a £6 million project.
Feb 10 to 23, free, scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk
Culture
Imagine Children’s Festival, London
Half of the events at this superb arts festival on the Southbank are free, making it an unmissable stop for families. Enjoy one of the street-art masterclasses taking place in the undercroft beneath Queen Elizabeth Hall or pick up some Afro dance moves by watching HomeBros. There’s a disco party, a comedy show, and a giant chalkboard for doodling on, plus a series of free sound and movement sessions to round off each day.
Feb 18-23, some free, book in advance, southbankcentre.co.uk
Find more in our London travel guide.
Pirates and Vikings, Southampton
Tudor House & Garden charts 800 years of Southampton’s history, but the timbered venue is taking on a swashbuckling theme for half-term. Cue a pirate-themed series of games and crafts on Feb 17, the chance to make a Viking longboat from clay on Feb 18, and a Medieval Myths & Mysteries walking trail on Feb 20.
Various dates, from £8, tudorhouseandgarden.com
Ancient detectives, Oxford
Some of the most interesting objects on display at the Ashmolean Museum can now be explored via an app designed specifically for young visitors. The museum’s digital guide for families offers stories and colouring-in opportunities, which should help to keep children engaged as they work their way around its collection of art and archaeology.
Daily, free, ashmolean.org
The Robot Zoo, London
Step into the mechanical world of chameleons, grasshoppers and bats at the Horniman Museum & Gardens in south-east London. Aimed at younger children, The Robot Zoo uses clever gadgetry to reveal how some animals eat, hunt and hide, while showing the super-sized creatures in action. Kids can also try their hand at jet-propelled squid racing and firing a chameleon’s ‘tongue-gun’.
Daily, adults £9.75 (child £6.50), horniman.ac.uk
Adventure
Peak appreciation, Cumbria
Shake off the cobwebs and hit one of the dozens of walks on offer in the Langdale Pikes. A circular route around Blea Tarn, with views of Little and Great Langdale, is a ten-minute drive from the Stickle Barn tavern, in Ambleside, and a good choice for little legs. Afterwards, head to the tavern for a Lanty Slee spirit or hot drink for the perfect post-walk treat.
Free, nationaltrust.org.uk, lantyslee.com/langdale. Find more in our Lake District travel guide.
Pedalling the Peregrine Path, Monmouthshire
Keen cyclists might want to check out Sustrans’ suggestions for traffic-free, family bike rides. The National Cycle Network route beginning in the market town of Monmouth is a gentle pedal alongside the River Wye, past old-fashioned pubs and the ruins of Goodrich Castle. It should take roughly 40 minutes to cover 7.5 miles to Symonds Yat – look out for peregrine falcons flying from the top of the gorge.
Free, sustrans.org.uk
Wallace & Gromit walk, Devon (and various locations)
If the kids enjoyed Vengeance Most Fowl, the new film from Aardman’s Wallace & Gromit franchise released over Christmas, they might be excited to visit Haldon Forest – a green oasis set within a 15-minute drive from Exeter and Newton Abbot. Interactive trails featuring Wallace and his trusty companion have been developed for a handful of Forestry England sites; download a digital OS map from Forestry England, before picking up a Wallace & Gromit activity pack on arrival.
Map, free; activity pack, £5; forestryengland.uk/activities/forest-walkies-trails
Indoor tobogganing, Somerset
The Mendip Hills are known for their gorges and caves, but snowsports? It’s been frosty enough lately to go sledging, but it’s easier to take kids to the dry ski slope at the Mendip Activity Centre. While adults watch, children between four and 12 years old can grab toboggan seats that have steering sticks for a half-an-hour session on a wooded slope.
Daily, from £6, mendip.me. Find more in our Somerset travel guide.
Geocaching, Bedfordshire
Put teens’ phones to good use in search of geocache treasures hidden on Dunstable Downs, in the northern Chilterns. The chalk grasslands have sweeping views and are home to ancient sites, including the Five Knolls burial place and some medieval rabbit warrens. An app, such as geocaching.com, will lead you close to one of six locations where the camouflaged geocaches can be spotted. Wet-weather gear, provided by Cotswold Outdoor, and balance bikes will be available to borrow over half-term from the National Trust hub.
Free, nationaltrust.org.uk
Mountain biking, Cornwall
Young speed demons can whizz their mountain bikes down purpose-built cycle trails at the Lanhydrock House, where there’s also a centre for bike servicing and maintenance, should you need it. Whether you’re looking for a gentle cycle or an exhilarating ride, this historic estate offers something for everyone. Bear in mind that its tracks have been designed solely for cyclists, though, so no walkers or dogs allowed.
Free, parking from £1.50, nationaltrust.org.uk. Find more in our Cornwall travel guide.
This piece was first published in February 2023 and has been revised and updated.
