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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My Boys love historical days out and the darker the better they loved visiting the Tower of London with it's dark history and the more tales the Beefeaters told the more my boys enjoyed and remembered it.

My kids are a bit too young for visiting castles but I hope to take them once they get older.

I remember visiting castles with my parents and had a great time.

It should be a mix of fun and learning, the fun will keep the kids entertained when their attention span goes a bit!

We took dd2 to Buckland Abbey in Devon, home of Sir Francis Drake. DD1 WAS away and Dd2 was missing her. She had been before but couldn't remember it. The staff and volunteers were so friendly and encouraging and really enhanced her visit. They have beautiful grounds and lots to look at in the house including a lot of Drake memorabilia and a film about his life. There are dressing up clothes, nine man's Morris to play and a fair bit of hands-on stuff.

The first time we went the historical clothing society which meets there was holding a big dressing up session in one of the outhouses and all 4 of us ended up dressed up in fantastic hand-made Elizabethan costume!

The cafe sells enormous slices of cake and dh was happy because they also sell hot sausage rolls!

A few years ago now we went to Wrest park where there were a huge array of recreationist from different eras - was the best day out!

My family thoroughly enjoy a trip to Warkworth Castle in Northumberland because it is complete enough to get a real sense of life medieval times, but ruined enough to be atmospheric. It's also got a moat to roll down the sides of and you can finish of the day on the river or the beach.

We have had many days out at historical sites, all good.
The 'castle' phase lasted a long time. Our DS, then aged about 5, was especially gripped by the explantion of the Battle of Hastings at Battle Abbey, and the 'pretend retreat' trick. H loved imagining it all happening on the battlefield in front of us - and has actually talked about it in relation to the 'Birnham Wood' trick in Macbeth now he is doing GCSE.

Other highlights have been Eltham Palace - imagining the lifestyle of the Courtald Family, and the lemur.

Re-enactments have been good - we visited Arundel Castle when a full scale re-enactment was taking place, including canon fire demonstrations. This was all very gripping because re-enactors tend to go for things in a very gritty way, and you can see aspects of life that you hadn't necessarily thought about.

Milestones museum is both great for some history education but fun and interactive too. I like it when the places run related craft activities as well as that engages my younger children.

When the children were younger they loved the historical places which had re-enactments and it gives them an interest in history and the world we live in.

We took DD to Audley End earlier in the week and will probably go to Wrest Park at some point too. We are also looking into going to Knebworth, as I hear that is good too.

DD likes history so loves Audley End; we are EH members so go a few times a year. She particularly likes the hands-on exhibits in the Nursery and the Coal Gallery, and enjoys dressing up in the stable block. This time she had a go at Geophysing ? Sp and learned about the foundations her machine detected. I have just asked her what she thought about it she said she found it was fun. I think what she seems to enjoy is a mix of things to look at and this to try out (and learn from).

As a parent I appreciate that she can run off steam too. We take a picnic and she can climb trees, feed the ducks and enjoy the play area, so it's a good balance of learning, trying new things and having fun in the fresh air.

If the purpose of this thread is to find out whether the activities in the East and London should be rolled out, I would vote yes.

DD age 3 likes the costumes at Eltham Palace and following the children's activity trails. She has enjoyed the medieval jousting, jesters, falconry displays and music at special events there too. After we took her to WWII weekend at Dover castle, she started humming swing tunes. We went to Audley End for the Victorian summer fair and she was mesmerised by the fire eaters and the Wild West show. We have been making the most of our English Heritage membership by visiting so many historic houses and gardens. Ightham Mote, Osborne House, Chartwell and more. There is always something for everyone to enjoy.

My kids will be interested in many things if it's for not too long, so we've graduated from just using the gardens and cafes at NT places to wandering round the buildings,couple minutes in most rooms, but then sometimes something will catch their imagination and we have a long chat about it and the staff tell us more.

Urquhart Castle was very well done - you get a 5 minute video first (and they even asked if we'd like subtitles on it!) showing the Jacobites etc fighting over it and finally blowing it up with Explosives (like in Minecraft!) and that really got the kids interested in all the parts of the ruins. Ds sometimes will get into a trail but usually little and often is the best approach. Blist's Hill was a great day out for the extended family but ds is left-handed and very sensitive (now know he has ASD) and the school reenactment was very upsetting for him. He liked lots of the rest of it though - doctor, printer and chemist especially.

Heraldry and looking for animals in paintings help keep them interested.

We took our children (8 and 3 1/2) to Lincoln for a weekend break at the end of the May half term and had a fantastic time. We went to Lincoln Castle and spent the whole day there. We did the castle wall walk, which was exciting and informative about the hangings, sieges, prisoners etc and very high above the city - safe with great views. When we were there the poppy display from The Tower of London was on its tour round the country, so that was a bonus. We then went into the jail, which retold prisoners' stories with holograms and voices; there were also lots of activities that children could join in, like dressing up as a Victorian prisoner. There were also actors re-enacting being sentenced and thrown into the cells; which was all very up close, which the children found both fascinating and a bit scary! A great time was had by all, finished off with ice cream and playing in the grounds inside the castle walls.

Hadrian's Wall, for us. We even have a spot where we have photos of both children together, taken over several years so they "grow". We love the open spaces, the information and the proximity to the river. We also really love Dunstanburgh Castle.

However, we really like places with lots to do and we are suckers for a good tea room.

ouryve I loved Beamish as a child! York Minster and the railway museum.

I'm glad I'm not the only one with DC who actively resist organised craft activities!

My DC are 6 and 7 and enjoy 'immersive' historical experiences that they can explore at their own pace. For example, at Grime's Graves (a favourite of ours) the lovely exhibits and interactive displays are suffered under extreme duress, but they love going into the mine and imagining what it would have been like for Neolithic miners. They also fondly remember a long and very animated conversation with a member of staff about the importance of wood in the Iron Age and the similarities and differences between Minecraft and the Neolithic period Other things that have made a big impression are going 'behind the scenes' at a local and very historic theatre, going inside historical aircraft at places like Duxford and inside tanks etc at Muckleburgh and another Norfolk tank museum (name escapes me).

When visiting stately homes and the like, one thing I have noticed with my own DC is that they tend to be more interested in the servants' quarters and gardener's cottages etc than the grand spaces inhabited by the nobility. Possibly because those spaces are more relatable to their lives? Or possibly just because they are less-seen?

We often visit castles and stately homes as the kids absolutely love them, we always have to buy a guide book so that they can swot up on the history of the place, and they like to imagine what it would have been like in its heyday. When they were younger they used to enjoy the dressing up that was on offer at some places we visited, other places had old fashioned toys for them to play with, which they love!

We're Historic Scotland members and as such can visit English Heritage properties free of charge too.

The best experience we ever had was at Edinburgh Castle. They have some incredibly knowledgeable people working there and we came across a warden giving a talk on medieval weaponry in the Great Hall. Could have been dry and boring but he turned it into great fun for all of the adults and kids watching, involving the kids by getting them to hold things and explained everything in very simple to understand language. Kids loved it.

Nothing compares to Hampton Court. Walking through the courtyard, getting lost in the maze and picnicking by the Long Pond.

we love going round the roman tour of chester

We love historical days out, especially where there are reenactments!, our three boys think its fantastic and love to dress up.

DD (3) loved watching a jousting performance, especially when a 'unicorn' was brought out at the end!

I remember going to a Victorian museum as a child and they did classroom experiences, I was terrified of how strict the teachers were, it really brought it to life for me

Historical days out are great and my children have always absolutely loved them. We were lucky enough to have lived near a major Roman remains historical site with a wonderful museum which used to put on lovely days for children entered around fun with a Roman theme. Whilst the fun element took precedence amongst the children they always wanted, entirely of their own accord, to delve deeper into the historical significance. So, I firmly believe, that the natural enquiring mind of a child will act as their own learning board to dig deeper and find out facts. It's fabulous!

Bonnie Scotland is the place for me
Where there are landmarks as far as the eye can see
We have famous castles, forts, monuments, beautiful scenery too
Displaying history, architecture, and nature, to name but a few
But, when visiting England, I must confess
There is one place I love the best
Etal Castle and the Flodden Battlefield trail
And it's even better when you go by rail
There's a little steam engine to take you there
You can travel from Ford to Etal without a care
But remember to visit Heatherslaw Mill before you head
As you can't have a picnic at Etal without fresh bread
The scenery is stunning, you'll enjoy the view
It's a fun day out, to be enjoyed by you!

Our family (including boys aged 9, 6 and 1) love visiting historical sites and we are members of English Heritage and Historical Royal Palaces which offer fantastic value for money.

Our favourite places are Osborne House, Carisbrooke Castle, Battle, Down House, Hampton Court, Warwick Castle and the Tower of London.

It's great when historical attractions put on events for children during school holidays. The best was at Battle when the children were able to practise sword fighting, battle cries, be on a jury and other things. They also had some fun events when we visited Kenilworth Castle too. Hampton Court had a temporary tent showing a 360 degree film last year which we enjoyed.

It's great when there's arts and crafts, dressing up, artefacts that can be touched and child-friendly exhibits. They help bring history to life and encourage children to engage.

Picnic areas are essential and, if there's room, a play area is much appreciated!