Things to this weekend (7th & 8th June 2014) in North West England

As many of you know I am Lancashire born and bred and my main aim in life is to inspire my young adventurers to see as many different things as possible.  I love to plan lots of fun things to do with my children over the weekend and Lancashire (and the surrounding areas) boast some fantastic and varied places for us to visit and enjoy.  There so much out there, often free events, that need to be made more accessible to the wider public.  So I have decided that I do a round up of the things you may enjoy doing with your children.  These are all the things that I would do with my children but if there are others out there, lets get them added!

Saturday, 7th June 2014

Gruffalo

Unless you have been hiding under a rock you will have heard of the Gruffalo.  2014, marks the 15th anniversary of the release of the book and the forestry commission have a range of ongoing activities, throughout the year, to mark the event.  In 15 selected woods across the country they are putting up Gruffalo statues and have set up trails for families.  Here is a link for you to find out more about the planned activities.  http://www.forestry.gov.uk/gruffalo I think you may still have time to enter your details to be emailed the party pack.Gruffalo Birthday This weekend marks the Gruffalo picnic and a number of local forests are running special Gruffalo themed days.  The three in the north west are:

  • Delemere Forest in Cheshire have a picnic with specified activities (which need to be prebooked) planned on Saturday.  Here is the link to the days events http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-9HRNDC
  • Grizedale Forest in the Lakes, also have a picnic planned with activities running between 12-4 and there is no need to book http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-9HXER4
  • Whinlatter Forest in the Lakes, also have picnic and activities planned between 11-4 and there is no need to book.

These events will be busy so arrive early.  I think they will be a fantastic family day out.  You get to explore the outdoors with your children and bring the magic of one the best children’s stories to live!

Gulliver’s World, Warrington

It is on my list to visit and from family and friends who have been all the feedback I’ve had is this theme park is great especially those with younger children.  This weekend they have a reduced entry of £9 per person, compared to the usual £18.  Here is the link https://www.gulliversfun.co.uk/warrington/events/ben-and-holly-visit.htm They have Ben & Holly from Ben & Holly’s Magical Kingdom visiting the park at the weekend sogullivers world would be a fab treat for any fans of this show.  In addition, it is the teddy bear’s picnic this weekend, so any child who brings along a teddy gets £1 voucher to spend on the park.  Here is the link for the teddy bear activities that they have planned.  https://www.gulliversfun.co.uk/warrington/events/teddy-bears-weekend-7-jun-to-8-jun-2014.htm

World Ocean Day

The World museum in Liverpool are celebrating World Ocean Day with a number of activities over the weekend of 7/8th June.  They have rock pool animals, face painting and a show called “magic under the sea”.  All the activities are free as is entrance to the museum!  Here is the link to this museum and also the other museums in Liverpool.  Sounds like a fantastic day out for little explorers. http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/wml/events/displayevent.aspx?EventID=19112

Free Family Swim

In Blackburn with Darwen, holders of a Beez card are able to attend free family swim times throughout the weekend.  The sessions operate across the various leisure pools in the authority and are held at various points during the weekend.  This is great in wet weather and always good to get youngsters interested in sports.  http://refreshbwd.com/leisure-centre/daisyfield-pools/pool-timetable.html

Sunday, 8th June 2014

Picnic In the Bowland Forest

The Forest of Bowland have organised a family orientated picnic to mark the 50th anniversary of the Forest.  The picnic is due to bebowland forest held at Gisburn Forest between 12-2:30pm.  There are a number of activities planned for youngsters and it is free to attend, though charges may apply for some activities.  Just remember to bring a picnic (but they also have food available on site).  Here is the link for further information.  http://www.forestofbowland.com/events

Xplorer

Xplorer is a family friendly navigation challenge and provides a good, educational fun experience to the youngsters.   These events looks great for families with younger children who may be too small to take part in the usual orienteering and organised treasure hunts   Events are held throughout the country and this weekend there is an event on at Thomson Park, Burnley between 1-3.  Here is the link for further details.  http://www.xplorer.org.uk/ I haven’t attended one of these sessions yet, so may give this one a try.  I am sure it will be great.

Open Farm

open farm 2014Sunday 8th June 2014, also marks 2014’s annual Open Farm Day.  I saw this last year and really wanted to attend but unfortunately the date clashed with a family wedding.  On Open Farm day, hundreds of farms throughout the country open up their gates to the general public.  It sounds like great fun and each farm shows its own history/story.  The Open Farm Day in 2013 was a fantastic success.  There are a number of farms in the North West who are taking part.  All you need to do is put in your postcode and all your local farms will be listed.  http://www.farmsunday.org/ofs12b/about

I hope the above has given you some ideas of things to do with your children.  Enjoy, inspire and have a magical weekend together.

Nisbah

I am a traveller, mother and blogger. We love to go on adventures (big and small, near and far) and strive to show our children how amazing and beautiful the world is! I caught the travel bug many moons ago and despite having three little adventurers, I still suffer from "itchy" feet. We love the great outdoors and one another. Come and join the fun :)

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