We love days out with our children and grandchildren, but we often asked how we can afford to be out and about as often as we can. The good news is that days out don't always have to break the bank, with loads of days out that don't cost a penny with your camper
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Explore your local country park
Your local country park has a play trail, playgrounds, story and nature trails to keep younger children entertained and for the older ones, why not show them the bike trails to race around. Many offer planned activities too such as den building and mini-beast hunts, giving you a free day out close to home that always offers something new to try. Just think, all that fresh air will wear them out so they will get a good night's sleep too!
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Head to the beach
It doesn't matter what age you are, a visit to the beach is always lots of fun, and minus some change for ice creams, it's free too! Take a picnic, bring a football and a frisbee and have fun. We love the beach out of season as it is much quieter and we can stage our own mini Olympics with sand hurdles, the long jump and the water bucket relay. The kids favourite is always burying dad in the sand though. If your local beach is more stone than sand, skimming stones and rockpooling are the order of the day.
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Visit a museum
Many museums have free entry and make perfect days out for bad weather. Seek out the little, independent museums for surprising and unusual days out. Local toy, train, and history museums and so on are often run by amateur enthusiasts who are only too happy to take you through their “treasures” and tell their stories. Keep an eye out for exhibitions - some of these are free too!
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Go Geocaching
This is an outdoor activity in which participants use their mobile phone and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", at specific locations marked by coordinates all over the world. It is great for teaching kids how to read a map and improves their observation skills too.
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Take the kids crabbing
There is an initial outlay of around £5 for the kit which consists of a bucket, a net and a crab line, but once you have the equipment, crabbing is hours of fun and you can use it again and again. It always surprises me how many we catch. Some people recommend using bacon as bait, but our crabs seem to like cat food.
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Go on a bike or scooter ride
Many parks have nice large pathways, perfect for zooming along on a bike or scooter - mix it up by renting a bicycle for two or a reclining bike, pack a picnic in your camper ready to come back too.
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Family festivals, fairs and fetes
In addition to the big national festivals, many towns and villages run various festivals, fairs and fetes which showcase local crafts, food and talent. Sample some new foods, watch traditional activities such as Morris Dancing and Punch and Judy shows and enjoy the atmosphere as you wander around. One of our favourites is Pub and Club Regatta | Bewdley Rowing Club, Bewdley
