Top 10 outdoor activities with kids


Four children building a den in a field in Cornwall using tree branches

Our Wild Kids sessions down in the woods are going from strength to strength. In true Bosinver style, rain certainly didn’t stop play on Monday, despite the fact we had one of the wettest days of the summer so far.

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The truth is that most kids don’t care about the weather. As long as they’ve got the right sort of clothing on, they’ll only remember the fun they had. Monday’s mud antics are likely to be a highlight of the holiday for most of the children staying with us this week).

So get your waterproofs and wellies on, and head outdoors for an adventure…

Our top 10 outdoor activities

1. Practise your den-building skills in your local wood. Take a look at the Forestry Commission website to find out where your nearest woodland is.

2. Challenge your kids to spot as many different creepy-crawlies as they can (the classic Michelin I-Spy books are great for this!)

3. Go on a Scavenger Hunt. There are loads of free scavenger hunts you can download online. We like this one from Heartsandtrees as featured on Debi Huang’s Go Explore Nature blog. Her Summer Nature Scavenger Hunt post has lots of inspiration for budding natural treasure seekers.

4. Go pond-dipping. All you need to get started is a net and a couple of old jam jars.

5. Play pooh sticks or make boats out of twigs, leaves and grass and see whose makes it to the finish line first!

6. Have a big family day out – play rounders, cricket or even just tag, followed by a good old-fashioned picnic (lashings of ginger beer optional).

7. Go camping. If you haven’t got time to go away, camping out in the garden is just as much fun without the hassle of packing everything up!

8. Start a nature photography competition. Most kids love taking photos (buy them cheap disposable cameras if you’re worried about yours getting lost or damaged) and get them to take pictures of whatever inspires them outdoors.

9. Plant some seeds and watch them grow. If you don’t have a garden, you can do this just as easily with a window box.

10. Go on a puddle walk. Who doesn’t have fond memories of doing this as a child?

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More ideas

Why not try a National Trust activity day? There’s a variety of fun, family-orientated events outdoors at locations across the country, including bush craft, deer spotting and nest-box building. Go to www.nationaltrust.org.uk and click on ‘events’ to find out what’s happening in your local area.

Or how about a Treasure Trail? There are trails for most areas across the country which will get the whole family involved searching for clues outdoors.

If you’ve got any other ideas for great family activities outdoor, we’d love to hear them.

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Action Nan and the rest of the team are always busy writing posts that we think you’ll like – from top tips on where to take the kids, to what’s likely to be going on in the local area when you stay – we’ve got it all in our blog!