Although it has been 67 years since Dr. Seuss wrote The cat in the hatwarnings about the consequences of leaving bored children indoors on a rainy day still apply.
If you don’t want Thing 1 and Thing 2 to break loose in your house, it’s a smart plan to factor in a few “rainy days out” during the summer holidays.
But rising prices could mean spending hundreds of pounds on entrance fees, lunch and transport – especially if you don’t qualify for a ‘family ticket’.
For example, Warner Bros Studio Tour London (actually located 20 miles outside the capital, near Watford) charges £107 for adults and £86 for children for the Making of Harry Potter experience (or £172 for a ‘family ticket’, which covers two adults and two children).
Meanwhile, Legoland Windsor charges £68 per person for ‘walk-in’ tickets, which can also be booked in advance online for £39 to £47 in July and August.
Last summer, Carnegie UK, a community welfare charity set up to improve wellbeing in the UK, conducted a survey of over 2,000 people affected by the cost of living crisis, which found that children were spending more time indoors during the summer holidays.
Nearly half of parents said they had reduced their social activities outside the home, and 67% had scaled back activities such as going to the cinema or dining out.
Chief Executive Sarah Davidson wants Prime Minister Keir Starmer to make summer holidays easier for working families on low incomes.
“We know they can be incredibly difficult to navigate, especially for people on low incomes,” she says. “We need to strive for a society where everyone has a decent standard of living, including leisure and socializing.”
But not all family-friendly attractions in the UK charge exorbitant prices. Some wonderful places are free to visit, while others cost just a few pounds.
Below you will find a list of the best free and cheap rainy day trips across the country.
London
Free: Tate Modern on the South Bank invites visitors to lay undulating brushstrokes across a vast painting in the Turbine Hall to create a collaborative work of epic proportions. During your visit, see paintings, sculptures and large-scale installations by contemporary and modern artists including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Yayoi Kusama and Barbara Hepworth.
Less than £20 for a family of four: Climb aboard a life-size reconstruction of the Golden Hinde, the first English ship to circumnavigate the world, moored on the River Thames near London Bridge. Discover how the crew of the Golden Hinde, led by Sir Francis Drake, weathered skirmishes, storms and scurvy, and discover what life was like for a sailor on a 16th-century galleon. Pirate-themed events are held throughout the summer holidays. Adults and children aged three and over pay £6 each, while a family of four ticket costs just £18.
Wales
Free: The National Roman Legion Museum is housed in a ruined fort at Caerleon, near Newport, the furthest outpost of the Roman Empire. Exhibitions and artefacts show how the legions lived, fought, worshipped and died: children can try on replica armour, experience a Roman garden and see Britain’s most complete amphitheatre.
£20 for a family of four: Travel 90 metres underground with a guide and see what life was like for the thousands of men who worked the coalfields in the Welsh mining industry at the Big Pit National Coal Museum near Pontypool, South Wales. The underground tour costs £5 per person if you arrive on the day and are prepared to wait, but £8 per person if you buy in advance for a specific time slot. Thankfully, entry to the museum is free while you wait, where you can learn about dramatic mining rescues, the impact of unions and nationalisation, and how life changed for Welsh miners from 1850 to 2000.
Scotland
Free: The Highland Folk Museum in Newtonmore uses actors and restored buildings to bring Highland history to life. Since it’s set on a mile-long, 80-acre site, you might need an umbrella if it rains. However, there are 35 historic buildings to shelter in as you learn how life changed for Highlanders from the 1700s to the 1950s.
Less than £30 for a family of four: The award-winning Devil’s Porridge Museum in Eastriggs tells the story of the 12,000 women who worked at HM Factory Gretna, the largest munitions factory in the world during the First World War, and the huge impact it had on the local economy. Admission £9 adults; five-16s £8, family ticket (two adults and up to three children) £25.
Northern Ireland
Free: Headhunters Barber Shop and Railway Museum in Enniskillen is the only museum in the world where you can step back in time while waiting for a haircut. You enter the shop through a reconstructed railway station booking office and learn about the golden age of steam travel on site. The museum has many small Irish railway artefacts and memorabilia on display, including uniforms, signalling instruments, signs, lamps, crockery, timetables, tickets and photographs. The barbers – brothers Nigel and Gordon Johnston – also promise to tell stories about “the good old days of steam travel” while they cut your hair.
Less than £20: Carrickfergus Castle is an 800-year-old Norman castle on the north shore of Belfast Lough in County Antrim. It is one of the best-preserved medieval buildings in Ireland and claims to be the only “preserved” castle of its time open to the public, housing historical exhibitions and a wide range of canons. Adults £6, children over four £4, a family ticket (for up to five people as long as there are at least three children) £18. Guided tours are available daily at no extra cost and tickets must be purchased on arrival (not online).
East England
Free: The Zoological Museum in the centre of Cambridge is home to thousands of specimens spanning the animal kingdom, from elephants, giant ground sloths and giraffes to the skeletons of a dodo and a 21-metre-long fin whale. Some were discovered by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, while others were bought from palaeontologist Mary Anning.
Less than £20 for a family of four: The Stained Glass Museum is housed in the majestic national landmark of Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire. It charts the development of stained glass as an art form since the 13th century, with a stunning chronological display of historic glass from the museum’s extensive collections, the V&A and the Royal Collection. There’s also a new hands-on learning area where kids can dress up as a knight, dragon and queen from a stained glass window, or design their own shield. Adults, £6; under 16s go free with a paying adult.
Northern England
Free: At Liverpool’s World Museum, you can explore millions of years of world history – and the impact of human behaviour on the planet. Visit the Ancient Egypt Gallery, home to one of the finest collections of ancient Egypt and Nubia in Europe, or the Aquarium to see hermit crabs, starfish and brightly coloured wrasses from the city’s Irish Sea coast, along with clownfish, rays, stingrays and jellyfish. You can also pop your head into viewing bubbles to see terrapins in the water.
Less than £30 for a family of four: Play video games from the last 50 years and try out over 100 consoles for £8 each (child or adult) or £28 for a family of four at Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum. Entry to the museum itself, which is on the site of the world’s oldest surviving passenger railway station and explores the scientific ideas that changed the world, is free. It’s also free to visit the major new exhibition on the race for a Covid-19 vaccine.
Midlands and South
Free: RAF Museum Midlands in Shropshire charts the history of the RAF through a large collection of famous aircraft, including the world’s oldest Spitfire, V-bombers, the only surviving Defiant helicopter and the Chinook “Bravo November”. Learn about the Battle of Britain, the Cold War and the Falklands Conflict, then try on different uniforms and hats and pose for a photo.
Less than £20 for a family of four: Discover an 18th-century lighthouse, Smeaton’s Tower, in Plymouth. The 22-metre-high lighthouse dates back to 1759 and offers stunning views of Plymouth Sound and the city from the lantern room. Adults £5, five-15s £2.50. A “family and friends” ticket, for up to two adults and three children, costs £12, with each additional child just £1.