The summer holidays are about to hit us in the face with full force and with six and a half weeks of children at a loose end, some of us in the Daily Info office have been preparing! By no means an exhaustive list, nor necessarily tried-and-tested, we thought we would share a small selection of family-friendly activities, events and local destinations that we’ve come across for this summer. If your family is new to Oxford, or perhaps visiting for a spell, we hope you might also find something interesting or useful in what follows.
Outdoor
With the weather forecast for Oxfordshire looking pleasant and dry for the start of the holidays, this would be a great time for some outdoor activities. As highlighted in our mid-July Editor’s Picks, Millet’s Farm near Abingdon have their Maize Maze open again this summer. The entry fee gives you access all day long and you are able to wander in and out courtesy of the wristband you are tagged with on purchase of the entry ticket. An exciting new attraction this year at Millet’s is the Slip n Slide, opening on Sat 25th Jul and running until Sun 23rd Aug (closed Mondays/Fridays). Weekend tickets are already selling fast at time of writing, but there is better availability for mid-week slots. A ticket grants you an hour’s access to the giant water slides. Whichever activity you go for, don’t forget there’s plenty more to explore at Millet’s Farm that is free and doesn’t require booking (e.g. Animal Walkway, play area, Phoebe Woods nature trail); they also have a farm shop, garden centre and a selection of small retailers, as well as several options for food and drink.
Low-key outdoor
For some logistics-light water fun you can nip out to at a moment’s notice, Oxford’s free-to-access splash parks are a good option. We have two: one at Hinksey Park, off the Abingdon Road on the southern side of the city, and another at Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park on the northern edge just beyond the bypass (there is a handy footbridge over the bypass complete with cycle lane). Close by to Hinksey Park but with no water involved, (unless it’s raining), there is the South Oxford Adventure Playground - look out for the no-adults-allowed sessions for older children on Tuesdays and Wednesdays!. And, of course, also at Hinksey, there is the much-loved outdoor pool, but this does require booking.
Free pool swimming
Oxford City Council also runs a scheme all year round to make free swimming sessions available to under-17s at set times for each of the city’s pools. Hinksey Outdoor Pool pauses their free slots during the holidays, but the free slots at Barton, Ferry and Leys remain available. For more information and details on how to gain access to these sessions, please see the OCC website.
Something quieter
Of course, even if some of our children seem to want to run around screaming 24/7, many really don’t. As something for the whole family to enjoy together, Waddesdon Manor are offering selected outdoor theatre performances that are included in the general admission ticket. They are also running a summer programme called Summer of Play, full of free events. Between Wed 22nd Jul and Mon 31st Aug, children get free grounds admission at Waddesdon, making all of this an even more attractive prospect, if you don’t mind driving out all the way to the next county for it… (Although, do check out the alternative transport options and the Waddesdon Greenway on their website). If theatre is what you’re looking for, there’s also the Puppet Barge mooring at Abingdon Abbey Meadows (and therefore easily accessible by public transport or bike). This summer they are performing Captain Sandy & The Sea Monster (suitable for ages 4-10), a new play written by Maddie Dai, on various dates until Sun 9th Aug. Of note are the Relaxed Performance on Sat 18th Jul at 11.00am and the BSL Interpreted Performance on Sat 25th Jul at 2.00pm.
Taking it easy
On the low-key days, there’s always the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in town and the Science Oxford Centre in Headington. Both have summer holiday programmes running. OUMNH are unveiling a new touchable minerals display in time for the start of the holidays this weekend. Staying at home, too, is no bad thing. To add a bit of encouragement, The Reading Agency are collaborating with local public libraries to organise this year’s Summer Reading Challenge and Read to the Beat book collection. Kids can sign up and earn digital rewards on their website, which also hosts plenty of information on the scheme for the grown-ups to peruse.
Tourist
We in the Daily Info office have yet to try out this last suggestion, but in an emergency, why not play the Oxford tourist for the day and see the city as a visitor would? Perhaps not the most wallet-friendly option, but a trip on one of City Sightseeing's bus tours might uncover things you’ve never noticed around town (or have forgotten the existence of) in the usual chaos of family life! As a taster, you might perhaps pay a visit to the three restored muses currently on display (and free to access) at the Weston Library until Fri 4th Sep, before they are returned to the top of the Clarendon Building opposite.
‘Great British Summer Savings’ government scheme
It is worth noting that, for the whole of the month of August, children (up to age 15) travel free on local buses. This is part of the UK-wide 'Great British Summer Savings' government scheme this summer to help reduce holiday period expenditure for families. In addition to this, many admission tickets for shows, exhibitions and attractions are eligible for a temporary VAT cut between 25th Jun and 1st Sep, enabling venues to decrease child ticket prices and, in some cases, family ticket prices, or offer special summer family deals. Do also look out for the numerous children-eat-free deals usually offered by the larger establishments during holiday time: Beefeater, Asda cafe and Dunelm Pausa cafe to name but a few.
Camps
If you are looking for multi-day ‘camps’, there are numerous options in the Oxford area based on various themes. Bigger organisations like Active, Ultimate Activity and Super Camps have a wider offering, while local establishments will run special holiday camps in their area of expertise. Amongst these are drama workshops by Creation Theatre, sailing with Oxford Sail Training at Farmoor Reservoir, a week of arts and crafts in Headington with Deepwell Arts and, of course, the ever popular football camps run by Oxford United FC and Oxford City FC (Ignite Sports UK). Oxford Utd’s camps this year are again sponsored by Kellogg’s (of cereal fame) and at the time of writing they are running a promotion offering free places that may be claimed online by buying a pack of Kellogg’s cereal and scanning the relevant code included. However, we were unable to establish whether there are still any places available at this point, so be warned and don’t rush out too fast to buy a pack! Perhaps searching on the packs in your cupboards might be a wise first move…
One more camp to highlight is Name It Summer Youth Project HAF camp due to be held at East Oxford’s Barracks Lane Community Garden. Run over six weeks on Thursdays and Fridays, it is for ages 5-16. It is free for HAF-eligible children and teenagers to attend. Each week has a different theme, with Week 4 (Wed 12th - Fri 14th Aug) the Oxford Youth Festival camping residential.
And finally…
Our What’s On pages are always available to browse (or frantically search!) through. Pick a date and/or category on the left-hand side and away you go. Good luck, all.
Image credits: Millets Farm, Waddesdon Manor, Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Creation Theatre.