School Holidays can be tricky to navigate and find ways to entertain the kids and keep them from getting bored! Since I started this blog and started discovering places around Milton Keynes, I’ve found I’ve now got a pretty decent list of ideas for ways to entertain the kids.
I’ve put together some of my ideas and created a guide for 40 ideas for days out to help you out during the school holidays. I’ll be adding more ideas and days out throughout the school holidays – so keep your eyes peeled!
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Farms
Thrift Farm
Thrift Farm is a small farm on the outskirts of Milton Keynes with animals like pigs, horses, goats, and llamas. There are also several small animals like rabbits and guinea pigs here. You can buy bags of animal feed for £1, and the animals are really friendly – my kids have a great time feeding them all here! There’s also a lovely big play area, cars to ride, and a big tractor to climb! Thrift Farm is quite small, but you can easily spend a good few hours here, and there’s a cafe serving hot and cold food, drinks, and snacks.
Where to find it: Buckingham Road, Whaddon, Milton Keynes, MK17 0EQ
Curly Tails Pig Sanctuary
Curly Tails is such a lovely place to visit. They rehome and rescue pigs, and give them somewhere to live and be cared for. There are over 30 different pigs at the sanctuary, most of which can be hand-fed and petted over the fences. Curly Tails are only open a few days a year, usually during the school holidays, so take a look at their website for when they are open!
Where to find it: Newton Longville, Milton Keynes, MK17 0BH
Read my review of Curly Tails Pig Sanctuary
Herrings Green Activity Farm
Herrings Green Activity Farm is a great far located in Bedfordshire, which is also home to over 200 different birds of prey including owls, hawks, falcons, and eagles! As well as birds of prey, Herrings Green has rare breeds of goats, sheep, alpacas, donkeys, ponies, and more! There are loads of daily displays, and play areas around the farm – and you can even meet some of the birds of prey!
Where to find it: Cotton End Road, Wilstead, Bedfordshire, MK45 3DTHr
Mead Open Farm
Mead Open Farm is located in Leighton Buzzard and is one of the larger farms around Milton Keynes. It’s home to goats, sheep, cows, pigs, and other farm animals. There are also loads of play areas here, indoors and outdoors – great to entertain your kids and wear them out! There are lots of displays going on here as well and a chance to meet the animals, and they frequently do special events during the school holidays.
Where to find it: Stanbridge Rd, Leighton Buzzard LU7 9JH
Other Places to visit:
- Rookery Open Farm – a farm in Stoke Bruene with lots of animals to feed, indoor soft play, and a huge outside play area.
- Green Dragon Eco Farm – more than your average farm, with other wild breeds and birds of prey too! Lots of displays daily, play areas, and indoor soft play.
- The Bucks Goat Centre – a farm in Aylesbury with lots of goats, llamas, pigs, and other breeds!
Zoos and Animals
Crocodiles Of The World
Crocodiles of the World is one of my favourite days out I’ve been to, and it’s a great place to visit for animal lovers! It’s the UK’s only crocodile zoo, and home to over 19 different species of crocodile. There are also other mammals, reptiles, and birds here, and options to do keeper experiences! Crocodiles of the World is just over an hour away from Milton Keynes, but makes for a great place to visit in the school holidays! We visited in 2021 and at the time they were just bringing back their talks and feeding times for you to watch, and we spent a good 3-4 hours here.
Where to find it: Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, OX18 3NX
Read my review of crocodiles of the world
Woburn Safari Park
Woburn Safari Park is a great local safari park, where you can drive around to see the animals on the road safari as well as walk around the foot safari area, as well as visit the indoor and outdoor play areas. Woburn Safari Park is home to endangered and exotic animals such as lions, black bears, elephants, and red pandas. The road safari can take around 60-90 minutes to go around on a busy day, but you can go around more than once, and the foot safari you can take at your own leisure – when we’ve visited previously we’ve spent the majority of the day here.
Where to find it: Crawley Rd, Woburn, Ridgmont, Bedford MK43 0TU
Cotswolds Wildlife Park
Cotswolds Wildlife Park is just over an hour away from us in Milton Keynes, so makes for a great day out for us in the school holidays. There are around 260 different species of animals, and the wildlife park is set over 160 acres of parklands and gardens and is honestly the most beautiful wildlife park I’ve ever visited. Cotswolds Wildlife Park has lots of events and feeding times that take place throughout your visit, and there are lots of opportunities to get up close to the animals.
Where to find it: Bradwell Grove, Burford OX18 4JP
Birdland Park and Gardens
Birdland Park and Gardens is a wildlife park located in Gloustershire, around an hour and a half away from Milton Keynes. Birdland is the home to over 500 different birds including flamingos, pelicans, and penguins, and over 50 aviaries featuring parrots, owls, falcons, hornbills, and more. There’s also an area called Jurassic Journey, where you can hunt for dinosaurs and fossils! When we visited in 2021 we spent around 5 hours here, and you could see displays and watch some of the birds being fed.
Where to find it: Rissington Rd, Bourton-on-the-Water, Cheltenham GL54 2AY
Museums
The National History Museum at Tring
The National History Museum in Tring is about 40 minutes away from Milton Keynes and has the largest collection of stuffed animals, over 4000 in fact. It’s quite a strange museum but it’s a firm favourite for my kids and an added bonus that it’s completely free as well! There are lots to see, and last time we visited there were different trails that kids could take part in as well.
Where to find it: Akeman Street, Tring, Hertfordshire HP23 6AP
Read my review of the National History Museum at Tring
The Story Museum
Another great place to visit in the school holidays is The Story Museum, located in Oxford it’s another day out that’s just over an hour away. This is quite honestly the coolest place I think I’ve ever visited – I’m not sure who had more fun, the kids, or me. The museum is all about books, and the world of stories – and there’s even the opportunity to get lost inside some of your favourites!
Where to find it: 42 Pembroke Street, Oxford, OX1 1BP
Read My review of The Story Museum
Buckinghamshire Railway Centre
Not far out of Milton Keynes is Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, which is a fantastic day out for kids! We visited last year for one of their special events that they hold throughout the year, otherwise Buckinghamshire Railway Centre is open to visit during April and October for the steaming season. There are various steam engines for you to visit, ride, and a miniature railway you can ride too!
Where to find it: Quainton Road Station, Station Rd, Quainton, Aylesbury HP22 4BY
Country Parks
Emberton Country Park
Emberton Country Park is the only country park in Milton Keynes and is a 200-acre park, home to various lakes, play areas, green spaces, trails, and even camping facilities. Emberton is open all year, and is free to enter – you just need to pay to bring in a car (£5 during April – October, and £2 from November – March). There are some lovely park areas in Emberton that my 2-year-old has loved, lots of trails to explore, and plenty of green space to bring in a picnic!
Where to find it: Olney Rd, Emberton, Olney MK46 5FJ
Sywell Country Park
Sywell Country Park is in East Northamptonshire, around 35.40 minutes away from us in Milton Keynes. It’s completely free to visit, you just need to pay for parking, which was around £3 last time we visited. Sywell Country Park is next to a large reservoir and has a large play area with a sand pit and climbing frame, a sand and water play area, a butterfly garden, and an animal trail.
Where to find it: Washbrook Ln, Ecton, Northampton NN6 0QX
Forests, Woods and Gardens
Howe Park Wood
Howe Park Wood is a small woodland area in Milton Keynes and is home to lots of wildlife and over 200 plant species. What I love about Howe Park Wood is how different it looks in different seasons. There are lots of walks around Howe Park Wood, some longer some shorter, and a cafe, and a play area.
Where to find it: Tattenhoe Ln, Tattenhoe MK4 3GG
Read my review of Howe Park Wood
Salcey Forest
Salcey Forest is a former medieval hunting forest between Northampton and Newport Pagnell, and makes for a lovely day out. We did the Superworm trail when we last visitied, which is a great trail for children to follow and explore, but there are other longer walks around the forest too.
Where to find it: Wootton Road, Northampton NN7 2HX
Read my review of Salcey Forest
Ousebank Gardens
Ousebank gardens is a lovely place to visit and walk around in Newport Pagnell. The walk itself through the gardens is beautiful, and there’s a small river where you can go crayfish fishing, and a small play park.
Where to find it: 7 Ousebank St, Newport Pagnell MK16 8AP
Lakes
Willen Lake
Willen Lake is one of the most popular areas of Milton Keynes come the school holidays! nonetheless, it’s a great space to visit if you don’t mind the chance of crowds. Last year Willen Lake gained a new park and cafe, there’s the observation wheel, the splash park, water sports, and of course it’s a great place to walk around!
Where to find it: V10 Brickhill St, Milton Keynes MK15 0DS
Caldecotte Lake
Caldecotte Lake is probably one of my favourites to walk around, and it’s a great place for a long walk. Next to the lake, you can find a pub, a park, and the Caldecotte Minature Railway – so there are lots to do here to make a day of it!
Where to find it: Bletcham Way, Caldecotte, Milton Keynes MK7 8HP
Lodge Lake
Lodge Lake is a lovely small lake for a short walk around or a walk with toddlers! It’s a beautiful place to visit, and I love coming at different times of the year as there’s such beautiful scenery around.
Where to find it: Loughton Lodge, Great Holm, MK8 9LG
Parks and Play areas
North Crawley Trim Trail
North Crawley Trim Trail opened last year and is located down the bottom of the cricket field in North Crawley. There’s so much to climb on, and so much space to run around! We’ve visited here numerous times with my nieces and nephews ranging from 2 – 14 and everyone loves it.
Where to find it: North Crawley, Newport Pagnell, MK16 9LH
Read my review of North Crawley Trim Trail
Bancroft Twisted Adventure Park
A fantastic park to visit in Milton Keynes is Bancroft Twisted Adventure Park, which has a huge wooden climbing frame with bridges, a tunnel, slide, and various other things to climb on! The park also has a smaller area for toddlers, as well as a roundabout and a seesaw.
Where to find it: Bancroft, MK13 0QB
Read my review of Bancroft Twisted Adventure Park
Stanton Low Park
I think that Stanton Low Park is one of the best parks in Milton Keynes. It’s absolutely huge, with play equipment, a pump track for bikes, a zip wire, leads to loads of local walks, and has a free car park. You could easily spend hours here!
Where to find it: Oakridge park, MK14 6FF
Other places to visit:
- Loughton Pirate Park – a pirate-themed park with a large wooden boat and a sandpit.
- Linford Manor Park – a small park perfect for under 5’s located in Linford Manor.
- Wind In The Willows Park – a lovely themed park great for under 5’s with wooden play equipment.
Activities
Social Pottery
AD – PR INVITE. I was originally invited to Social Pottery for a local influencer event, but am under no obligation to write about this. I just thought it was a great place to visit!
Social Pottery is a pottery painting studio offering pottery painting for adults and children. You can select which item you want to paint, with all sorts ranging from mugs to animal figures, vases, bowls, and anything in between. You then have a 90-minute slot to paint, and then can pick it up 10 days later once it’s been glazed! My 2-year-old Ivy and I visited recently and she absolutely loved painting and a chance to be creative.
Social Pottery also has a range of events on this summer for kids and adults, which you can find more on here.
Where to find it: 71 High Street, Woburn Sands, MK17 8QY
The Pixel Bunker
The Pixel Bunker is one of the coolest days out I’ve ever taken my stepson on! The Pixel Bunker is an arcade with classic arcade machines such as Donkey Kong, Pacman, Tekken, and Street Fighter. All the machines are free to play, you just pay a one-off entry cost of £13.50 for adults and £9.50 for children. Your entry allows you to have 3 hours of game time, and there’s also the National Film & Sci-Fi Museum you could visit afterward.
Where to find it: National Film & Sci-fi Museum, 34 Secklow Gate W, Milton Keynes MK9 3AT
Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl is a great favourite for a day out with our son, who doesn’t love bowling? It can be pretty competitive in our house! Games start at £6.35 for under 16’s, £7.35 for adults, and £26.03 for families. There are often special offers, so that’s worth keeping an eye out for!
Where to find it: Xscape Mk, 602 Marlborough Gate, MK9 3XS
Geek Retreat
Geek Retreat is a recent place we visited with our 11 year old and loved! It’s essentially a gaming cafe, which holds regular events, and sells ‘geek’ memorabilia. When we visited we spent hours playing board games, and Reuben loved having a go on the gaming consoles! You don’t need to pay to use anything, but Geek Retreat operates on a ‘fair use’ policy, meaning you need to buy something to eat or drink every hour.
Where to find it: Xscape Mk, 602 Marlborough Gate, MK9 3XS
Gravity
I love visiting Gravity with my daughter, it’s the perfect day out for her to jump and burn off some energy! There are loads of trampolines to spring around on, a giant ball pit, a climbing frame, and lots of other activities and games to take part with!
Where to find it: Xscape Mk, 602 Marlborough Gate, MK9 3XS
Soft Play
Riverside Hub
If you’re going to do soft play properly, Riverside Hub is the place to do it! It has absolutely everything from sensory rooms, to a role play village, laser tag, climbing frames etc! I love taking my two here as there’s something for both their ages.
Where to find it: Riverside Retail Park, 7 Carousel Way, Northampton NN3 9HG
Safari MK
Safar MK is another of our favourite soft play places to visit. There’s a smaller area for younger children, a large climbing frame, slides, and role-play rooms.
Where to find it: 3 Carters Ln, Kiln Farm, Milton Keynes MK11 3ET
Belle’s Playbarn
If your kids love themed soft play, Belle’s Playbarn is a lovely one with a farmyard-themed play area. It’s a small soft play that works great for those under 5, There’s also a cafe next to the soft play, so you can grab a cuppa while your little ones go play.
Where to find it: The Bell Plantation, Watling St, Towcester NN12 6GX
Read my review of Belle’s Playbarn
other places to visit:
- Little Munchkins Play Barn – based in Bedfordshire, it’s a great soft play barn for under 5’s with a cafe.
- Little Liscombe Farmyard Soft Play – located in Leighton Buzzard, this farmyard-themed soft play is always a hit with my daughter. Suitable for under 5’s and has a cafe.
Seasonal Days Out
Caldecotte Miniature Railway
Caldecotte miniature railway is a mini steam engine track that’s located opposite Caldecotte lake. While it’s not a whole day-out activity, it’s a fun idea to visit and there are always other things around Caldecotte lake that you can do to extend your visit.
Please note: Caldecotte miniature railway is only open on Sundays and bank holidays from April until the end of October.
Where to find it: Lakeside Grove, Milton Keynes MK7 8HP
Read my review of Caldecotte Miniature Railway
The Secret Farm
The Secret Farm is located just the other side of Bedford from Milton Keynes and is a pick-your-own farm with lots of different fruits, vegetables, and flowers depending on the time of year. I visited during strawberry picking season and there are lots of things to do for kids, photo opportunities, and refreshments.
Please Note: As this is a seasonal activity, it’s worth checking with The Secret Farm for opening times and what’s available.
Where to find it: Blunham Rd, Moggerhanger, Bedford MK44 3RA
Read my previous review of The Secret Farm
Sunflowers at Patch MK
For the last few years, Patch MK has opened up in August to visit the sunflowers, and an opportunity to pick your own to take home with you! There are usually lots of other activities and things for children to enjoy, as well as a chance to get refreshments and snacks.
Please note: As this is a seasonal activity, it’s worth checking with Patch MK for opening times but they are usually open in August for the sunflowers.
Where to find it: Mount Mill Farm, Milton Keynes MK19 6DG
Read my previous review of Sunflowers at Patch MK
