Free Days Out in the Countryside with the Kids

It’s so easy to get caught up with expensive days out as a family, that it is lovely to spend time together without huge expense!

We’ve put together Party Houses’s dozen favourite ideas to enjoy with your kids outdoors…

1) Go for a walk, but make it a storey telling experience.

Who lives in that tree?

Why do the rocks lay like that – were they giants footsteps?

2) Choose a random word and get the children (or adults!) to collect items with names starting with the letters contained within the word.  Eg ACORN could = collect

A – Acorn

C – Crab Apple

O – Oak leaf

R – Red flower

N – Nut etc

3) See who can jump the furthest – mark the results with a stick

4) Find a bridge over a stream and play Pooh Sticks

5) Make up a Treasure Hunt – with clues in lots of safe locations

6) Or make a Trail – using twig arrows or white pebbles

7) Collect a variety of leaves to make a leaf collage picture

8) Have a race to find the first spider, or blackberry, etc

9) Let them pretend to be a small insect and crawl close to the ground, noticing all the tiny things that live there too

10) See how many flowers they can recognise and have a prize for the smelliest! (clue in the month of May Wild Garlic is almost always the winner)

11) Make kids ‘binoculars’ out of two loo rolls – so they concentrate on really seeing!

12) And if it snows… snow angels, tobogganing, building snowmen and the inevitable snow ball fight will have them outdoors really quickly!

The Countryside offers a fascinating free playground and places like the Peak District National Park has Right to Roam legislation meaning many places you can enjoy without having to stick rigidly to the footpaths.  Do enjoy yourself but please remember the Countryside Code and take care with local livestock!