Fun Adventures on a Budget

Our boom buddies have shared their favorite budget-friendly outings for fun days out with the kids!

For The Adamson Family, it's National Trust properties... For a joint membership (under 5s are free!) it works out at £13.40 a month for unlimited visits. So far this year (before we have even done any of the Christmas events, of which we are planning to do at least 5 different events) , we would have spent over £500! By being members, we've saved over £300 and had so many great days out!

They often have seasonal events too, so you can go back to the same places again and again, but with each visit feeling different!

The Collins Crew like going  to Carsington waters for bike rides. When we go on a Sunday they have their craft fair which is so lovely! We also like to go for a walk around Wollaton hall to feed the ducks and see the Deer.

The Emery/Ratcliffe family love Moira furnace, particularly in the summer, there's a park, canal walks, a cafe, a little sandpit and a lovely boat ride which is only £3 per person and you can feed the ducks from the boat.

The Collis/Murray Family often go to Rosliston Forestry Centre. It’s big enough for a little walk, they have a wooden animal sculpture trail, plenty of things to climb and explore and lots of woodland. There’s also a good playground, a cafe and a small soft play. It’s £4 to park all day and the soft play is £2.50.

The Carrington-Coope Family love a family walk around our local village, and a pit stop at a local cafe. Anywhere we can go and take the dog too, is an added bonus. Some of our favourites are Shipley park, Tissington trail, Codnor park,

The Rudd Family utilise their local library, there are always lots of crafts to do and books to choose! 

The Hardy Family love to visit The Museum of Making and Derby Museum & Art Gallery

The Linford Family, often go and watch the local football matches, & daddy (Sam) also is a goalkeeper for a local team, and plays alongside  Jason (from the Barratt family). Going to watch them plays ensures we get fresh air, and Bobby dog gets a walk out too (and usually a some crisps in the pub afterwards 🫣) A lot of the matches are usually free or a couple of pounds to enter, & a lot of the grounds now have refreshments on as an extra perk, but we usually take some snacks & drinks with us to save some pennies. 

The Watson-Pick’s love Geocaching as a family. It's a free app to download and use and it can take you to places you've never explored before! Just download the app, put in your postcode and just look at how many caches are hidden around you that you didn't even know were there. Our top tip... find a loop of caches, start at number 1 and enjoy! We usually take a picnic, find an on street parking space and it makes a totally free outdoors day.

The P family like to enjoy a day out at Rufford Abbey Country Park in Nottinghamshire. It's super budget friendly as you only pay for parking (currently £7). They have a woodland, formal gardens and a lake to walk round. There are cafes/shops near the car park and around the lake. They put on a range of fun seasonal activities and trails throughout the year and also have a large adventure play area suitable for kids of all ages. It's a great day out for the whole family any time of year.

The Korneluk’s love kingsmill reservoir and feeding the ducks, then up to Sutton lawn park for a play! Florence also loves getting her puddle suit and wellies on and jumping in muddy puddles!

The museum at Mansfield is free too, then a walk up to Carr bank park which are both lovely.

The Yallop family love going to Infinite Wellbeing, the staff are amazing and it has become a real safe space for our boys. The role play area is wonderful and it’s only £3 per family. They have a lovely cafe and they have a number of activities and groups that run weekly. Each month they also do a family cinema event and in December they are doing 4 Christmas special family cinema events.

The Shawvers also love a day out at Rushcliffe country park in Nottinghamshire with it’s fab play area for all ages, outdoor gym, skate park, sensory woodland area. It’s a great day out, especially in summer! They also love a visit to the rail centre next door that do train rides for £1 each! 

The Barratt family love to visit Lanes Garden Centre & Open Farm in Risley (Derby). It’s a small farm that is free to enter. Bird feed is £1 a cup and animal food buckets are £3.50 each. It is a lovely place to get out for a few hours, Rose loves being able to feed the bigger animals like the cows! They have a small cafe for cakes and refreshments if you want to make your visit a bit longer. There is also a small shop that have small, affordable toys and fruit/veg/eggs available to buy.

The Tiddlekicks family love a day out at Tots skate at the national ice centre Notts! £5 to skate and free for under 5’s (£5 each for juniors). Ice skate hire and skate aids included!

When they have been previously we have gotten s balloon & sticker too! & The staff are lovely as well as giving tips!

A family favourite for a cheap day out for the Marriott/Fallon family is a trip to Lanes Farm in Breaston, where you can buy a bucket of food for just £3.50 and the entry is completely free.

We also love a stroll around Elvaston Castle Country Park. You only need to pay for parking which is £3.40 for up to two hours or £6 for the day. It is such a lovely place for little ones to explore. Just remember to take your own hot drink in a flask to save a few pennies