15 best UK days out with kids for February half term 2024
Home + Family days out + 15 best UK days out with kids for February half term 2024
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Last updated 18th March 2024
February half term 2024 is shaping up to be one of the most fun holidays of the year – though it’s early days. Take a look at our pick of the best family days out in the UK this month.
Billy Goat’s Gruff at the Unicorn Theatre, London Bridge
Chew on a musical Billy Goat’s Gruff at the Unicorn Theatre
Nurture your younger kids’ thespian leanings with The Three Billy Goat’s Gruff, a joyful musical by the legendary Stiles & Drew, returning for its second run at the Unicorn Theatre in London Bridge.
Join Baby, Middle and Big as they seek pasture with the aid of Bo-Frilly, and expect funky tunes and captivating performances along the way. Your kids will be so entertained they may crown you parenting GOAT – so in this case, the grass is definitely greener.
If really enormous dinosaurs are an exciting prospect for your kids, then Dinosaur Breakout at Drayton Manor Resort is a safe bet this half term. The dinos have escaped, and the rangers need help to get them back into safety. Featuring the big boys of the Jurassic era and their more cuddly-looking junior counterparts, this prehistoric expedition is all about the stomp, chomp and play.
Entrance fee includes access to the 15-acre zoo and Thomas Land. Some areas will be closed during Dinosaur Breakout: confirm availability in advance.
Where: Drayton Manor Resort, Tamworth, West Midlands
Jorvik Viking Festival 2024 is bigger and badder than ever
Vikings, despite their morally dubious ways, are the pillaging rock stars of UK history, and York is Viking Central. From whether they really had horns on their helmets to how they cooked their dinner, get the skinny on the fearless ones at the annual Jorvik Viking Festival.
Featuring living history encampments, talks, tours, family events, evening entertainment and dramatic combat performances, most events are bookable and very popular, so you’d better be quick!
Discover Pensacola and find your own, personal Way to Beach
Play Together Works on display at CUTE Somerset House
Meet CUTE at Somerset House for February half term 2024
A major new exhibition exploring the irresistible force of cuteness in contemporary culture, CUTE at Somerset House asks how adorable motifs have gained such traction in our world, and fills the space with lots and lots of them.
If you’re looking for a delightful sensory overload which also stimulates the intellect, you’ll find it here amongst the pink unicorns, doe-eyed animals, emojis and celebrations marking the 50th Anniversary of Hello Kitty.
CUTE also features new artworks by commissioned artists, along with a video games arcade for all ages.
Artist-backed Smiley emoticon sculptures for North Tyneside art trail
SmileyWorld Art Trail gets all the emotions out to play
What combines art, an outdoor scavenger hunt, our emotions, and a loveable cultural icon? It’s the SmileyWorld Art Trail which features 15 giant ‘Smiley’ sculptures dedicated to different emotions, placed in strategic locations around south-east Northumberland.
Don’t forget to look at the back of the sculptures, that’s where you’ll find the artist’s interpretation of each particular emotion.
Although the trail is free to follow, donations in aid of St. Oswald’s Hospice are welcome and can be made with a QR code.
Where: North Tyneside
When: now until 2 April 2024
Price: free, a voluntary donation is appreciated
The Cocoabean Company, Kirkcudbright
The Cocoabean Company captivates little chocolatiers
Take your little beans to the Wonka-esque chocolate-making workshop of their dreams (sans actual chocolate river) at The Cocoabean Company. Children of three and upwards can participate in the workshops, taste their creations and then work off the sugar rush at one of the extensive indoor and outdoor play areas on-site which feature castle maze and giant dinosaur as well as super-long slides.
If you’re lucky kids might share their masterpieces with you. If not, there’s a café selling the full Cocoabean Company range of decadent treats, and plenty of outdoor terrace space should the sun be out.
Where: The Cocoabean Company, Ashland, Kirkcudbright, Scotland
When: all February 2024
Price: £21.50, includes three chocolatey creations to take home
Lunar New Year gets a Liverpool glow up for February half term 2024
This year’s Lunar New Year hails the Year of the Dragon, and in Liverpool that’s reason enough to party for days during February.
Expect exciting dragon, lion, and unicorn parades in Chinatown; free family workshops; fairground rides and food and craft stalls; live music and theatre performances, and even a dragon floating through the waters at Royal Albert Dock.
The expanded schedule of events this February recognises not only the huge popularity of the annual event, but also the 25-year strong twinning of Liverpool and Shanghai. Families in the area don’t want to miss out.
Imagine Children’s Festival is back for February half term 2024
Creative kids are happy kids, and there’s no better place to empower their creativity than at the Imagine Children’s Festival.
This festival for families and celebrating the imagination is aimed at kids from 0-11 years, with brilliant theatre, comedy, music, literature, poetry, dance and flat-out family fun on offer.
Considering it runs for just the length of February half term 2024, it packs in a lot, from a play based on There’s a Monster in Your Show by popstar turned best-selling kids’ author, Tom Fletcher to talks by Michael Rosen, and Children’s Poet Laureate, Joseph Coelho. And to break up the sitting and listening, there are disco dance parties, as well as adventure trails around South Bank.
Greenwood Family Park gets a head start for February half-term
Opening its gates just in time for February half term 2024, Greenwood Family Park sits close to Snowdonia National Park in North Wales, and is a one stop shop for family entertainment.
Alongside the cute animal petting area, soft play and 1500-ft bouncy pillow, the rides are inventive and in tune with the landscape. So you can look forward to the likes of the Enchanted River Ride, Treetop Towers, the Dragon Maze, the Barefoot Trail, and Solar Splash keeping your crew entertained for hours, and leaving them happily exhausted.
Where: Greenwood Family Park, Y Felinheli, North Wales
Make February half term 2024 historic at Kenilworth Castle
Dragon slayers welcome – no experience necessary. If attending actual knight school sounds like the kind of thing your kids will go nuts for, Kenilworth Castle is the only place to be this half term.
Using interactive stories to illustrate the skills of these heroes of history, young attendees will master knightly etiquette, get handy with a (non-deadly) blade at sword school, and graduate to knighthood upon completion of their training.
Best of all, if you’re English Heritage members, it’s completely free. If not, you have the whole of Kenilworth Castle and its beautiful Elizabethan gardens thrown in with the price of your tickets.
Where: Kenilworth Castle and Elizabethan Garden, Kenilworth, Warwickshire
Canary Wharf Ice Rink open for February half term 2024
Ice Skating at Canary Wharf is still on
Ice skating is not just for Christmas. In fact, Ice Rink Canary Wharf has extended its own festive season until after February half term 2024.
Cute penguin skate aids are available to hire for kids aged four and over, so the fam can skate together without too many wobbles. And you don’t need to worry about the weather, because the rink is covered.
Sessions last 45 minutes, leaving plenty of time for hot chocolate or even a London afternoon tea with your kids.
Landmark Forest Adventure Park is a magical adrenaline ride
Another family adventure park with a jam-packed list of attractions, Landmark Forest Adventure Park is located just off the A9, with easy access from Aviemore and Inverness. Voted Scotland’s leading theme park, it’s an amazing place to visit year round.
Start with a warm up in the tropical hothouse, get bewitched by illusions in the Bamboozeleum, then scale the climbing wall to enter the magical land of Wonderwood.
Dinosaur Kingdom, with its 22 life sized models, is not the only place to get up close and prehistoric. February half term 2024 has a whole Dino Days theme, so expect further activities in other park areas relating to our scaly (or feathered) planet ancestors. Costumes are encouraged for young dino fans, although they may scare off the rare red squirrels which you may be fortunate enough to spot around the park.
Where: Landmark Forest Adventure Park, Carrbridge, Scotland
When: Dino Days 15 to 25 February 2024
Price: child, from £8; adult, from £12; Under 3s free
Orchids at Kew Gardens has a Madagascan theme for 2024
The annual Orchids at Kew exhibition, an explosion of vibrant flora to brighten the bleakest of winter months, is back for another intoxicating year, this time celebrating the beauty and incredible biodiversity of Madagascar.
Find out what a giraffe weevil is, view installations of extinct species, spot ring tailed lemurs scampering in the trees above, and learn about the Malagasy orchids which grow at Kew.
Then continue your journey through the gardens where the Madagascan theme is expanded. When the kids get tired of walking, you can take a break in the Children’s Garden playground, handily near the Family Kitchen should coffee and pizza sustenance be required.
What not to do at home for February half term 2024
Have you ever wondered if you can make a bazooka from a vacuum cleaner, or if you could turn your toaster into a hot air balloon? Perhaps not, but you can give it a whirl at the Don’t Do This at Home show, happening at Techniquest Science Museum in Cardiff.
Designed for children aged five and over, the live science show is full of thrilling demonstrations using simple household equipment, with shocks and laughs and mess guaranteed.
The presenters adapt to the audience in front of them, so prepare to be engaged (and learn what not to put down the toilet). Just remember, don’t try this at home.
Celebrate your Mini Builder at LEGOLAND Discovery Centre
Head to the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre in Birmingham this half-term for a special series of events celebrating the newly crowned UK Mini Master Model Builder. The special activities include a LEGO scavenger hunt, creating a metropolis build, learning from skilled playmakers, and colour-themed build challenges, alongside the Ultimate Indoor LEGO Playground including 4D cinema, Miniland, rides, build stations, and soft play.
Where: LEGOLAND Discovery Centre, Birmingham
When: Saturday 10 February – Sunday 25 February 2024
Price: from £22.50, includes LEGOLAND Discovery Centre admission
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Home + Family days out + 15 best UK days out with kids for February half term 2024
