Best of…

Summer Days Out

My top days out for kids, both big and small, over the summer months

If I’ve learnt nothing else from 15+ years of nannying, it’s how to survive the Summer Holidays with children of all ages!

Here’s my favourite places to visit with little ones in the summer months, some well-known, plus some little-known gems. Note that this suits my in-person client base around North/East London, Herts and Essex – sorry to those who are further afield! Though if you are further away, please do share your best days out below on our social media.

Best for…animals

I’ve loved Colchester Zoo since I was a child myself and despite the difficult hills when pushing a buggy, you can’t beat it as a walk-round zoo. However, toddlers and older kids love the safari experience at either Longleat or Woburn Safari Park, it always adds an extra element of fun, especially if you are lucky enough to get a monkey on your car! There’s plenty of choice nearby for farm animals, but Willows Farm just trumps the rest for having a good mix of animals, activities and play areas.
For animals AND dinosaurs, then Paradise Wildlife Park is worth a mention. Their HUGE lifelike animatronic dinosaurs are a sight for little (and big) eyes, plus there’s a brilliant playground too so although it’s not the best of the zoos for animal spotting, it makes a great all-round day out.

Davey showing his pet giraffe to the giraffes ‘on safari’ at Woburn

Best for…book worms

With a book lover son, somewhere I always try to visit every year is Discover Children’s Story Centre in Stratford. Each year they feature a new author, from Books – Julia Donaldson (Davey’s favourite so far!) to Judith Kerr (my favourite!). This year they have transformed their exhibition space into The 100 Story Hotel, featuring well-loved characters from the stories by Rob Biddulph – we can’t wait to meet Odd Dog Out! Although indoors, there’s a lovely play area in the garden which is perfect for extending the visit during the summer.

Feeding the tiger who came to tea at Discover Story Centre in Stratford

Inside one of the story worlds at Discover

Best for…little adventurers

I love the wooden playground at Belhus Woods Country Park – lot’s of climbing, swinging and digging for toddlers and older children. There’s also a good gravel path for those just learning to scoot and ride their bikes, and duck pond for feeding too. Great Notley Park is very similar, plus lots more open spaces for ball games, and great hills to run up and roll down!
Valentine’s Park is a 130-acre park situated in East London. It is a wonderful park with so much on offer but is particularly great for those learning to ride a bike, with its large smooth pathways. There are 2 playgrounds with equipment aimed at toddlers and a larger wooden one for older children. During the summer months the boating lake is open for boat hire. As well as a cafe near the playground, there is a beautiful walled garden cafe which is well worth a visit. The park is also famous for Valentines Mansion, a beautifully restored 300 year old country house. There are planned activities (for a small fee) held within the house throughout the year for young children (and adults!).
Lastly, Hylands House is set in the beautiful Hylands Estate and kids of all ages love the playground, flower garden, hills and woods that is has to offer.

Getting muddy during a very typical wet British August at Great Notley Country Park

Best for…fantasy

Audley End Miniature Railway has been an annual favourite for a fantastical day out. The playground and activities are great, but their train ride and walks through the woods are full of animals and creatures that little ones just love. They have amazing Christmas, Easter and Halloween events, but for summertime, their Summer Festival is always a really magical day out.
If you’re willing to travel further afield, you cannot beat BeWilderwood for the ultimate day of climbing, exploring and fantasy. We hadn’t read the books when we first visited which didn’t matter as it’s great as a stand-alone adventure playground. But if you read the various book excerpts around the woods (or as we did on our second visit, read the books beforehand), it really adds to the magic of the whole day. Full of twiggles, boggles and crocklebogs, it really gets their imaginations going and the woods are set out just like the map in the book so it really brings the adventure to life.
Now I can’t stand Peppa Pig, and made it my mission as a parent (after years of listening to it as a nanny!) that he would never watch it! But even I was in awe when I walked in to Peppa Pig World at Paultons Park – it’s just like stepping onto the set (if there were one!) of Peppa Pig and will blow your child’s mind!

Exploring in the fairy woods at Audley End Miniature Railway

Climbing through one of the many rope bridges at BeWilderwood

Best for…foodies

Fruit picking at Cammas Hall is always fun, the fruit is reasonably priced and their playground is free of charge. You can’t take your own picnic as they have their own cafe which is lovely, but there’s nothing to stop you fruit picking and using the playground for an hour without eating.
If you are looking for a good country pub to meet friends whilst letting your little ones play then you can’t go wrong with either The Galvin Green Man or The Brewery Tap in Furneux Pelham.
Another place I love to go if I can’t decide what I’m eating is Camden Market – I love wandering around all the smells and sights, and the ice creams and deserts from Hans & Gretel are out of this world! On the doorstep to Regents Park, it’s the perfect place to suit eating AND playing.

Strawberry picking at Cammas Hall..the difficulty is stopping him eating them all on the way round!

Eating his way through Camden, and still has a nose covered in chocolate by the looks of it!

Best for…older siblings

Knebworth House is also has a great mix of activities and areas to explore, and is great with different age children. There’s a large play area, with slides that are always a huge hit and a memorable part of the the day. Plus the grounds themselves are beautiful, with lots of places to explore, run and climb including a little maze. In the woods they have some great life size dinosaurs which are perfect if your little one is scared of the moving ones at Paradise Wildlife Park! The diggers and vehicles at Diggerland are certainly an amazing sight to keep little ones occupied whilst their siblings play. Plus toddlers over 90cm can join in too! If you’ve got teenagers and little ones the it’s near on impossible to find places to go, but the Lee Valley White Water Rafting Centre may just speak to both the young and playful, as well as the older adventurous teens.

The awesome slides at Knebworth House

In the beautiful gardens outside Knebworth House

Practising his digging skills as Diggerland 

Best for…on a budget

We are so lucky to be surrounded by some amazing country parks that we can access for free apart from a parking fee. Perfect for summer picnics, with many also featuring beloved characters to help entice their little legs along the trail. Our favourites and frequently visited include:
– The Gruffalo Trail at Thorndon Country Park in Brentwood
– The Peter Rabbit Trail
– The Stick Man Trail
– The Winnie the Pooh Trail
– Fairlop Waters
– Hainault Forest (with free animals)
– Wanstead Park

One of many Summer days out with friends (fun fact: the other 4 children belong to the 2 other HushaBoo night nannies, Rachel and Lisa!)

Best for…water babies

If your little one loves nothing more than splashing around, there’s some great places to go when the weather is good to unleash their inner water baby. Maldon Splash Park is a paid for, hourly slot that’s enclosed and so great for those that don’t like big crowds as they limit entry.
Lammas Land in Cambridge is another favourite since we’ve moved further in that direction, though even from the London, the train ride would be worth it and part of the fun. As well as the outdoor lido, there’s a great playground and cafe, plus a (fairly short) walk through the cow and sheep fields takes you into the city centre itself to grab lunch or dinner or just have a wander. In London, you can’t beat the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain for water fun – I lost count of the amount of laps we did the last time we went! Plus set in Hyde Park there’s so much more to do including the Diana Memorial Playground.

This boy loves the water so always his favourite summer time activity – fun at Maldon Splash Park

Best for…all round fun

Victoria Park has always been one of our favourite meet ups when we’ve got various age children, want to keep them entertained all day, and when we’ve had enough of spending money on days out! There’s the boating late, 2 playgrounds including one with a sandpit, the other with huge slides that I still remember as a child, a great splash area and a skate park. Plus there’s a cafe, toilets that are usually pretty clean, and on a Sunday they have a great food market too. Top tip for parking – you can pay for an hours parking on Gore Road if arriving at 11am, then it’s free after midday – there’s always space and the bagel shop on the corner is great if you’ve run out of time to make a picnic!

So much to do at Victoria Park!

And if all these days out still haven’t exhausted out your little one enough for them to still not be sleeping, then it’s time you got in touch!!!