Share your thoughts on historical days out and events with your children - £300 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

[JustineBMumsnet]

It can be difficult to keep kids’ boredom at bay during the school holidays. English Heritage sites in London and the East are putting on events throughout the summer to help keep children entertained and they’d like to hear your thoughts surrounding historical days out and events you’ve attended with your children.

Here’s what English Heritage have to say: “English Heritage have a host of sites across London and the East that are perfect to keep your little ones entertained throughout the summer holidays. With a new themed activity each week at each property, your little adventurers will be thoroughly entertained (and may secretly learn a thing or two along the way!) during those long hot (here’s hoping!) holidays.

From London to Suffolk to Derbyshire and everything in between, English Heritage have castles, manor houses and sites with acres of beautiful gardens that are sure to keep even the most active of children busy! Not only are the sites fantastic, but each has a varied event programme for children throughout the school holidays. From becoming a home front hero to learning the ropes as a budding knight; from being inspired by Darwin’s science experiments to taking to the stage 1920s style and from going on a bug safari to playing games like a Victorian – your little time travellers will get hands on with history with English Heritage this summer.”

So, have you been on a really great historical adventure or attended an event which really brought history to life for your children? Do you think events you take your children on should be educational, or purely fun? Maybe you think that they should always be both? Whatever your thoughts or stories surrounding events and days out for your children, share them with English Heritage below.

All those who leave a comment below will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher from a store of their choice.

Thanks, and good luck!

MNHQ

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I love Hampton Court.. the gardens are stunning and the little maze is loads of fun for children (as it is a bit short and you can't really get lost). It is the perfect place nearby London to have a great day out!

My husband and I love history. I like the ancient cultures whilst my husband is very interested in the second world war. We take our children to the local museum and to museums and historical buildings when we go on holiday. Once a year we spend a few days in London and choose a different museum each time, this year we went to the Churchill museum and Sherlock Homes' house. The children really enjoyed themselves and I learnt a lot about Churchill and WWII.

We used to use our English Heritage family membership to provide lots of days out when the kids were little. We used the internet to find out a little bit about the history of the place before we went, so we knew which things we each wanted to look for when we got there.

We would use what we had learned on our day trip, along with photos and souvenirs to provide a theme for scrapbooks when we got home. It gave us something to do on rainy days and was a fun way to get them learning new things in an informal way.

Dover Castle is magical and Hampton Court is fabulous with gardens made to picnic in. I think a English Heritage Card is a must as you can get up to 6 children in free. How good is that in summer holidays. We are going to the English Heritage weekend at end of august and can`t wait.

Pendennis Castle in Falmouth, Cornwall has some great events through the year, though I tend to stick to the summer ones after taking the kids to a Pirate event at Halloween time. It was cold and windy as Pendennis is right on the coast. Summer is great though. The kids love the annual Jousting event with Knights and horses kitted out in full medieval armour along with jesters, jugglers and a hog roast.

We really enjoy historical days out. Hampton Court's costumed events really bring history to life. Tudor history always sparks children's imaginations.

We love going to the Roman baths at Caerleon, the boys find it really interesting too and always ask different questions each time we go

I think historical days out are a great thing to do with children, especially in the summer holidays. It's a good way to get the kids out and about, as well as learning and appreciating the past as well as the present!

i still remember my mum dragging me around Hampton Court, Hever Castle, Hatfield House and the tower of London when i was a child - around 35-40 years ago. that's really cemented a sense of nationhood and history in me. When my children wree younger, we lived abroad, so i dont have the same memories and they're all late teens now, so i think it would be a bit f a job to seperate them from their hand-held devices for any length of time. I'm not sure they would enjoy the same things i did as a child.

took my son to cardiff castle last week, his excitement when he realised the centre castle was just like the model he made at school was lovely to see!

Alnwick castle is a wonderful day out for adults and kids
there is the gardens with fountains and the poison area which seems to fascinate the children as well as the area where Harry Potter was filmed
there is an area where you can dress up and play at knights and a massive treehouse to play in and last but not least a gorgeous cafe

Alnwick Castle is amazing. I think because there's often an age gap between children (six years in my case), what's educational for my older child is incomprehensible for my younger one (who's 2). Anything that brings things to life in an interactive way is therefore perfect!

We have an event called Loxwood Joust in West Sussex. It's amazing - 2 weekends of jousting and medieval mayhem. They have battles, Knights, armour, falconry, all sorts. And a large part is dedicated to education- with talks on medieval cooking, dress, punishment, music and more. My 5 year old absolutely loved it last year and I can see us going year after year. Anything that's fun and educational is always a winner I think because it engages them on multiple levels.

We visit Sutton Hoo a lot, as my DD(4) enjoys the exhibition there as well as the den building and outdoor areas. We always look for events and enjoy ones where there are craft opportunities.
We also like Framlingham Castle, Ipswich Museum and Christchurch Mansion for historical trips!

We recently attended the history festival in chalke valley, and I have to say, the people who were in costume really helped bring history alive for my son (5). At his age, he can't really read about history, and so seeing things brought to life, like medieval jousting, kept his short attention span! I prefer days out with the family to be both fun and educational. Win win for the whole family!

Hever Castle is brilliant for taking the children for a fab day out. Educational and fun!

I love historical days out, I live in the north of Scotland and i am lucky to surrounded by some lovely stately homes and castles. The family loves going to visit historical sites as even if we're strapped for cash we can visit the lovely country parks that many of them have. We try and do as much research as we can and go on tours too.

I recently went to Banchory Castle it was a fantastic experience!

Always good to educate yourself and your children. We are lucky as we have Dover castle up the road from us. We have visited a few times now, as she gets older she is taking more interest .

YES!!

We have just had 'A Historic Day Out' with 16, 13 and 10yos, and 16yo said he had a brilliant day and wants to come with us if we visit this place again!

Blists Hill

Had a great visit to Dover Castle with the kids and some of their friends last week. Fascinating to see how people lived and survived in the past- the children were shocked at the size of the beds and that whole families had to share a room together!!

We are very fond of a historical
Day out as a family. Our favourite places successfully combine historical interest, education and fun so that all the family are happy! My DC are aged 8 and 9 and like to declare that they are "bored" every five seconds so it's a challenge sometimes!

We recently visited Battle Abbey and the 1066 battleground which was a great day out - definitely no time to be bored there! We have also visited Dover Castle, Tilbury Fort and Lullingstone Roman Villa in the past and all really enjoyed these also - the added bonus being that whilst the DC are having fun they are being educated by stealth

we took our kids to a roman day at our local museum it was very well done & very informative,

we visit shugborough every christmas, its amazing what they do to the place & make it intresting and fun for children to learn more about it's history

Don't forget us in the North! Loads of Roman remains here, our favourite English Heritage site is Housesteads, my children were amazed at how advanced the Romans were, they even had central heating! We're really looking forward to Hadrians Wall live this year.

Hampton Court is a fantastic place to take the family.