Inside in Canterbury

Most free places to visit are outside which is great but what if the weather is a bit grim but you still need to get out?! Here's a few suggestions for Canterbury, they don't take long by themselves but you can put them together or combine with a shopping trip or some outside play...

The Beany House of Knowledge and Art - Entry to the Beany is Free, it is located on Canterbury High Street and incorporates the Library, Museum, Art Gallery and Cafe. There are permanent displays of art and historical artefacts with activity points in each room for children. Look out for the sets of draws with an activity in each one, including making teddy into a egpytian mummy and building a stain glass window.

We also enjoy the little dress up points and playing with the toy farm in the green room. You need to stop at the activities or the kids will whizz around in 30 minutes.
Temporary exhibitions change on a regular basis so keep an eye out for those that might appeal to your children. Last months 'Star Wars Toys' was popular and my littliest liked seeing all drawings of the Clangers, Ivor the Engine etc which are up for the Firmin&Postgate exhibition at the moment. You can colour in and make a little character from Nogin the Nog out of card.

The Beany runs various events throughout the year including drop in craft activity workshops and pre-bookable workshops some for a small charge. There are monthly 'Jumping Beany' payable sessions for under 5s as well as the usual free story time and baby rythme offered by most libraries. Check the website for current exhibitions and events The Beany
Best for: Toddlers, Primary, Teens. (depending on event)
Time: 1hr+

Wyevale Garden Centre - Just outside of Canterbury at Chartham, if you purchase a cuppa in the café the kids get free entry to the soft play/ball pit room. There are time restrictions but they get long enough to run off some steam. The Garden Centre also runs little workshops in the School Holidays, including making a 'mini garden', 'decorating a gnome'! There is a small charge and they need to be booked in advance. Click Here for Website
Best For: Under 10s.
Time: 1hrs+

Pets at Home - The pet store located on Sturry Road with free parking offers childrens Pet Care Workshops at Weekends and during School Holidays. These are Free but you have to book your place in advance as spaces are limited. They are aimed at 5-11 year olds but all ages are welcome, an adult needs to accompany the children and it lasts an hour. Choose from Reptile, Small Furry, Rabbits, Guinea Pigs and Aquatic. Click Here for Website
Best For: 5-11yrs
Time: 1hr

For the following Museums, if you sign-up for a 'MytownMycity' card or the Mobile App as a 'local' they are usually on offer as 'Free Entry' (Offers are subject to change). I don't live in Canterbury but I do work and shop there, just go to the website. MytownMycity-Canterbury

(Alternatively the museum entry fees are £8 per adult with up to 2 Children Free or £12 for both museums. Or buy an annual canterbury museum family membership for £30 and get entry all year plus other extras)

The Roman Museum - This is a great little Museum just off the high street. The original building on the site was demolished and the archaeological dig discovered some amazing finds including the Roman Mosaic Flooring which led to the creation of this Museum underneath the new building. There are lots of different things to see but more importantly for the children, things to touch and try. The boys particularly enjoy dressing up as a Roman Soilder and making mosaics!
   
It doesn't take long to walk around but if you stop at all the activities you can make it last. There is a lift down to the museum, a buggy park and toilets with baby change. The Roman Museum
Best For: Toddlers, Primary, Teens. (depending on event)
Time: 1hr+

The Canterbury Heritage Museum - The permanent exhibitions range from Romans to Steam Trains to Bag Puss so something for everyone. This is bigger than the Roman Museum but again stop for all the children's activities to make the most of it. We particularly like writing our names in Runes and watching an episode of Bag Puss!

There are Activity Trail sheets available for 7-11yr olds. The Museum puts on additional events/activities through the year so it is worth checking the website Heritage Museum
Best for: Toddlers, Primary, Teens. (depending on event)
Time: 2hrs

Easter Egg Hunts, Treasure Trails & Scavenger Hunts!

With Easter fast approaching Easter Egg Hunts are on the agenda but treasure hunts or scavenger hunts can be a great distraction all year round. So you may be a treasure hunt mastermind and there are a million blogs online about treasure hunts but plenty of us have inspiration failure so read on for ideas for...DIY versions, Cheap Kits or Free Downloads and list of some Easter Trail events on in Kent this Easter!

DIY 
The most value for money option is the homemade variety; For the littlies there are:

The 'Find and Collect' - you need a good couple of handfuls of small items which you can hide randomly in the garden or house. Use toy money, jewellery or duplo blocks as the treasure,  I could use Lego in my house and skip the having to scatter it step! To make the activity last longer have a central pot (Large bowl or Jar etc) which they have to return to each time they find a piece of treasure. When they have found every bit or filled the tub, they win a prize!

The 'Picture Scavenger' -  You can either draw or cut out pictures of objects which you put on a card. The aim of the game is to collect one of everything. You could do this for at home or for somewhere you go regularly like the park, woods or beach. The first to collect every item or the one with most when up is the 'winner' .

For the older children:

The 'Letter Hunt' -  Hide pictures of eggs with letters on a trail around the garden, give each child a sheet with the same number of spaces as letters to be found. Then at the end unjumble the letters to make the secret word!

The 'Clue Treasure Hunt'- This will involve a bit of planning. I use scrap paper torn up or post - it notes do the job. Examples of clues:
'It's very cold in here next to the milk'
'Fr_d_e'
'It's chilly here but not freezing'
If you want to make it extra hard try things like mirror writing or writing backwards. The bonus with older children as they'll then be desperate to write their own treasure hunt for t he younger ones, so more time for you!

The 'Scavenger Hunt' - The same as the picture one but write a longer list of what they need to find/collect or spot. Again the most finds or spots is the 'winner'!

Kits and Free Downloads 

If you like the idea of DIY but it all sounds like hardwork; There are plenty of 'Find and Collect' Easter egg hunt kits in the shops. Try the bargain stores, you can get one in Pound land for a pound of course! Click Here or from supermarkets, Asda's is £1.50 Click Here!

There are also lots of pre-made Scavenger Hunt or Spotting sheets available free to download on-line. I particularly like the ones from the Woodland Trust which cater for the different seasons and age groups. Click Here!

Events

Of course we all like to get out and about, so here are a few treasure hunts (at 'free entry' locations) coming up soon but please feel free to comment on the blog or facebook of any you know about too...

Whitstable Castle - Mon 28th March 12-3pm Easter Egg Hunt £2.50; 4th-8th April Seashore Trail - Free

Westgate Parks Easter Trail - Canterbury -Sun 27th March 10am-3pm - Free from Toddlers Cove. (First 300 Children)

Whitefriars Shopping Centre, Canterbury - Easter Egg Trail Fri 25th Mar- 3rd Apr (Except 27th) - Free.

Shorne Wood Country Park, Gravesend - Easter Bunny Hunt on 27th March and Easter Activity Trail throughout school holidays, with a treat at the end, charge applies. 

Betteshanger Country Park, Deal - Easter Hunt Friday 25th March, £3 per child. Spring trail through the Easter holidays £1.50 each, find all the letters and win a prize.

Bartons Point Coastal Park, Sheerness - Easter Hunt 27th March,  complete the trail and exchange for an egg at the café when you buy a cuppa.

Joydens Wood, Bexley - 27th March, Free Easter Trail with a prize at the end but book in advance online with the Woodland Trust.

Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve - 27th March. Wildlife Easter Trail and other activities. £4, book online.

Margate Main Sands - 29th March - Scavenger and Great Egg Case Hunt, 45min hunt + 45min  crafts, £1 Adults £1 kids £1 Pre-book Click Here!

Viking Bay - 30th March - Scavenger and Great Egg Case Hunt - same as above.

Ramsgate Main Sands - 31st March - Scavenger and Great Egg Case Hunt - same as above.

Bedgebury Pinetum - 4th-8th April - Stick Man trail and craft drop-in - Follow the stick man trail collect sticks and cones then with extra craft bits make your own stick man and Collect an egg! £2 each.

Shorne Wood Country Park

Shorne Wood Country Park is just off the A2 Junction for Cobham/Shorne yet with nearly 300 Acres it feels like your a million miles away. Even the most hardcore child needs a nap in the car on the way home!

We normally start off with a walk, there are a variety of different routes to choose, from the eco visitor centre. We usually combine a few options to suit whoever we have in tow. If you want a short, very accessible walk take the circular Orange Route which takes in the sensory garden, the centre of the park and the dog pond... as the name suggests a pond your dog can swim in! Good for Pushchairs and little legs. There are also 'Tramper' mobility scooters for hire. Country Park Route Map

If you've got school age children (or your a hardcore baby wearer) and enjoy a good stomp the red route is great with a few hidden gems like the fairy ring and a mountain of steps up to the knole but it's worth it for the view! This is also a good place to stop for a drink, snack and a rest! You can still get to see the view if you've got a good alterrain pushchair (and can get heavier toddlers to walk up the steep bits!) by picking your own route with a bit of purple, blue, red and orange.You can also do the Blue Route on bikes, particularly good for teens!

If your kids need more encouragement to walk around the woods, you can buy a themed kids trail activity sheet to complete along the way. There is a permenant Orienteering course, information is available online or buy a map. There are also some geocaching points, if you don't know what it is, check out the website Geocaching.

Walk done or if it's really not your thing, take your picnic and head for the adventure playground. There is plenty of space for picnic blankets and a run around. Then the little ones can head over to the enclosed adventure playground, swings, slides, tunnels etc there are a few benches inside so you can sit and supervise so no one escapes out of either access gate. The big ones aren't left out here either with a large adventure playground up on the slope including slides, scrabble nets and swings. The section at the top is surrounded by trees so you might want to keep an eye on where the not so big kids are!

If you need hot drinks or its too chilly for a picnic the visitor centre has a large café and during spring/summer the outside kiosk makes fresh pizzas and sells ice creams!

The main toilets are at the visitor centre including disabled and baby change facilities. There is also a toilet block nearer to the playground/car park which is open in school holidays and summer weekends.

The Car Park only £2 for all day in the week or £3 at weekends.

Visit the website Shorne Woods for further information on other activities available.

Best For: Everyone
Recommend: Picnic; Wellies when Wet.
Time: 3-6hrs

Whitstable Castle

We all love a trip to the bubble and our favourite stop is Whitstable Castle. There is a great little adventure playground complete with a pirate ship with rigging to climb and a slide for a quick escape! The kids love the roundabout and finding the piles of gold coins. It originally had running water too but I haven't seen this work for a few years now but the kids still play in the channels and enjoy winding the water pump handles. There are benches in the play area and only one gate to get in and out so less escapees.

When the weather is warm we take a picnic and put blankets down on the lawns in front of the castle. We take the scooters too so the kids can have a scoot around the paths although we have to be a bit more wary now since the 7yr olds are more likely to mow down little old ladies. If it's a bit chilly or you can't be bothered with a picnic, the castle has The Orangery Tea Rooms which also does take-out hot drinks which can come in handy. Although if the picnic fairy has failed us we normally take a very short walk to The Beach Cafe in Beach Walk, we love a bucket of chips with our sarnies!

After lunch we head for the beach which is practically opposite the castle. Walk through Tower Hill Tea Gardens and you pop out at the top of the slope/steps down on to the beach. Whitstable is a stoney beach but there are patches of shingle/sand which we use for some art attack stylee drawings. Followed by stone stacking and the more common stone skimming or chucking in the sea. You can take a stroll along the path by the beach towards Tankerton which is a good surface for scooters. In the summer we may just be persuaded to fork out for ice creams before home time, there is normally an ice cream van parked up in Beach Walk or pop back to the tea gardens.

There are various events held at Whitstable Castle throughout the year. During February half-term this year they had the Fairy Scavenger Hunt throughout the grounds and the next event is an Easter Egg Hunt. There is usually a fun day during the summer holidays which includes free activities, entertainment, facepainting etc. As well as the obligatory Christmas Fayre for a bit of gift shopping and Santa's grotto which you can visit for a small charge. Visit the website www.whitstablecastle.co.uk or follow on Facebook for current event information.

You can park at the castle for 3 hours maximum which is free and normally just long enough provided it's only a quick trip to the beach. There is parking just as you drive in the side gate on Tower Hill but there are also more spaces further in if these are full. You can also park on Tower Hill road for free and down towards Tankerton but finding a space can be tricky at popular times. Alternatively there are a few 4 hour pay & display spaces in Beach Walk or the Castle is only a 5 minute walk from the central car park 'The Tank'.

There are public toilets in the castle grounds near the play park as well as facilities in the café and the castle itself. There are also public toilets right by the beach.

Best for: Toddlers; Under 12s;
Recommend: Scooters, Picnic & Rug,
Time: 3hrs or 4-5hrs (with scoot along the beach)

Oare Gunpowder Works

I have been taking my boys to Oare Gunpowder Works in Faversham since they were tiny, definitely a good place to go when you just need to get out the house for some fresh air for an hour or so. 

Its a great little country park with a buggy/wheel chair friendly path, fab for little legs as it's not too far to walk around and there are a few picnic benches for a pit stop. The park has plenty of trees, ponds, various walk ways on different levels, and what is more fun for a toddler than stomping across the wooden bridges in wellies 'trip, trap' and all that. The kids always manage to find plenty of sticks for some imagining and enjoy running around. The various plaques around the site give information on the gunpowder works ruins, which my eldest has started to show more interest in. It's situated alongside the fishing lake where you may spot the Swans, a few ducks and watch out for dragonflies. You can also take the dog along too as long as they're on the lead.

The car park is free and the visitor centre is normally open on the weekends from April. It is worth noting that the toilet facilities aren't open in the week but you are only a few minutes drive from Sainsburys or pop to the community centre if you need a coffee to warm up too.

Medway Countryside Partnership runs bookable workshops such as pond dipping in the school holidays for a donation as well as other events so it is worth keeping an eye on their website too  http://www.medwayvalley.org/ The next event is an Easter Egg hunt being organised on Friday 24th March, booking information and cost is on the website.

Further Information : www.gunpowderworks.co.uk

Best for : Pushchairs; Little Legs; All Ages; Wheelchair Users;

Recommend : Wellies (if it's rained recently)

Time : 1-2hrs 

Hello

Hello, as you will probably guess I'm new to blogging. Last year I started a list on the local facebook chat group of free places to go with the kids during the summer holidays in Kent. I probably had about 20 places to start with, it was quite popular and people started to come up with suggestions of their own. By free I was mainly thinking of places without an entrance fee so 'free-ish' as you might have to pay to park or there might be extra activities you can pay to do but ultimately you can have a great time and spend very little. Anyway, I thought why not turn it into a blog and see if it has a wider appeal. I've only found out about some of these places through other parents so you may not know these places exist. I'm also hoping to add information on some free annual events and some rainy day at home activity ideas. Everything I blog is just what I know and my opinion, I don't profess to be tourist information but I hope to give you some places and ideas to try from a parents point of view. I work a part-time job, help to run a family business and look after my boys so it may take me a while to get in the swing of things. Feel free to make some suggestions of places I should visit along the way.