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

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

My eldest daughter and I are both really into our history so we absolutely love things like this! I took her to the Dewa Roman Experience in Chester a few months ago and she got so much out of that and found it really interesting. We also attended a Magna Carta festival in Cumbria last September and that was fantastic - it really brought that era to life and you almost felt like you had traveled back in time for the day :)

Bodiam castle is great - with a real moat and all sorts of activity for kids like archery.

Going to historical places is something very close to my own heart. I remember fond memories of going to visit castles with my parents when I was young. My daughter is a bit young to fully appreciate historical sites, but nevertheless she loves interactive sessions and events in such places e.g. When there are people dressed up in traditional clothing etc.

I find castles are great places to take children. They are fascinating places for adults and children alike.

Best days out: ejoyment and culture. Best way to teach children to love their country and learn about it!

Two of my children were going to be the printer's apprentice at Blist's Hill

My children have never been especially interested in history, so we've tried to get a lot of stuff in there by osmosis. Take them to enough historic sites and something will ring a bell with what they've read or were told at school, or something will pique their interest and you'll find you have a good day out.

My kids just hate these sort of days, even though us adults love them. Whatever activities are laid on, they still think they are boring.

I live within easy travelling distance of both Chatsworth House in Derbyshire & Warwick Castle. Both are really interesting & beautiful places to visit & Chatsworth has lots of different events at various times throughout the year which are interesting to attend

I think there are great things for kids now that there weren't when my son was young. The last time I went to a historical property there was a room where kids could go to be dressed up in period costumes and could then spend the day indoors and out wearing these outfits, what a great idea! There are generally more things around to try and get them involved and interested, and its great!

Thanks to Horrible Histories, my kids love history and really enjoy historical places.
They especially love Tower of London and we often go to visit a castle when we re holidaying in the UK. Wales has some fab ones.
The Horrible Histories theatre performance was really enjoyed by my dcs too.

Long time Historic Scotland members. Twice a year Linlithgow Palace put on a jousting event which is an absolutely brilliant day out with little ones.

We home educate our three youngest kids, and yes, education should always have an element of enjoyment about it, this way, it keeps learning fun an leaves them hungry for more!
My younger son asked if we could go to the Tower of London, as we had let them all pic a subject that they could do work on. We thought it would be a great day out for all of us, and despite the weather almost melting me lol, it was fantastic!
We made a picnic, went on the train, We saw Traitors' Gate, the White Tower, and the Royal Chapel of St Peter Ad Vincula....the kids loved every minute of it, as we could go at our own pace, no rushing about, and so much to take in.
You could eat almost anywhere, the The New Armouries Restaurant was brilliant, not too expensive for what you got, and we even made it to one of the re-enactments...(Although I missed most of it as I was looking for a loo for DD!) lol. but all in all, the kids had a great time, learned loads, and we are planning to go to the Cutty Sark Clipper Ship next, where even the kids can try on the clothes and learn some nautical history! :-)

me and my sons love history and we are lucky enough to have some fab history near us in runcorn cheshire we have a castle and norton priory which is a fab place to visit for all ages they outside plays a wonderful wood where you can go fairy hunting and the kids get to dress up as there is a dressing up box its affordable and the children really learn something i hope to visit more historical places with them in the future xxx

My family love historical days out wether it's in the uk or Europe it's always a great day out my kids love the re-enactments and any type of castles with events on we have been all over the country and Europe and always found something like this entertains the kids well all of us ,really I like That my children are interested in history

For many years we took out an annual pass with CADW (the Welsh equivalent of English Heritage). The children enjoyed visiting castles and learning about the history (especially social history), and the events that were laid on were always of interest, from falconry to jousting.

We took our three DC to Frederiksborg Castle in Denmark. It was an exceptionally hot day and so we headed for the cellars to cool off.

They had a family event on where children could try on whole suits of armour from different periods and in different sizes from toddler to teen.

They also had lovely lace embroidered dresses and formal boys wear that could be tried on. Around the walls were recreations of very grand landscapes/ cityscapes with hidden where's wally type characters.

Tables were laid out with colouring in and quill pens. Old script and alphabets were around to try your hand at.

Looking is lovely but there's nothing quite like the odd bit of touch and do, to really engage children and make them feel a part of things.

I find historical events hit and miss but it's always good to get out and about.

My son has enjoyed lots of historical days out. His favourites have been the tower of London, The Egyptians display at Manchester Museum & Calke Abbey in Derbyshire

Whenever we visit historical or cultural attractions, we always make sure that our 4 DC get as much as they can out of the experience. The age range can make it hard though.

One WWII attraction had we visited recently interactive age appropriate hand held audio guides, which were brilliant! Another time we visited a folk museum, which had a Victorian classroom set up and the DC dressed up in period clothes and took part in a lesson. Anything which can bring history to life makes it easier to understand and therefore more interesting, especially to young children. Getting hands-on makes the day more memorable and variety of mental and physical tasks keep it fun.

I think events should be educational in a fun way for children. When I was a child, historical trips involved trudging around an old building and the highlight of the day was a warm, soggy packed lunch! How things have changed. My children prefer the outdoor heritage sites such as Hadrian's Wall and Stonehenge.

For our family it definitely has to be Hampton Court. DD had a really fun day out and was really engaged by the whole visit which was lovely to see and also a bit surprising as normally she has a short attention span. She still talks about our visit today (we went about a year ago) which is lovely to hear. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone in the area, its a fabulous family day out.

We've been to Warwick Castle when there were Horrible Histories events going on that the kids enjoyed, they also enjoyed the firing of the Trebuchet. My son also had knight training with a sword and tried archery, both of which he enjoyed.

We've just spent a week in Wales with my girls aged 7 and 5. We visited a number of castles and historical sites. The 7 year old liked treasure hunts especially ones where you get a prize at the end. The little one liked things that stimulated role play like the castle bakery (cue a game of cake shops) and the prison (cue damsel in distress) They both liked hands on activities like trying out archery or making foundry moulds out of sand at an industrial museum. Dressing up in period costume is always fun too. My girls learned from the experiences ( we know all about the portcullis' and murder gates and how the king held Harlech castle for so long) but also had a lot of fun. The worst thing for them was not being able to touch things or climb certain staircases.

We are members of the national trust which is quite reasonable considering it opens up your options for the whole year regardless of the weather.

The children thrive off this as for them it is like a catalogue they can choose from online - beaches, historical houses, walks and nature trails

The children favourite so far has been the Vyne in Basingstoke where they were able to go inside the Victorian house and learn heaps about that time in history.

When the learning is visual children enjoy themselves so much and it makes them aware that their was a time before Ipads and TVS

Historical events that are fun can help a child remember facts.

We went to the Tower of London and my son remembered so much infomation, he told me all the facts he learned on the train back home