1. The Great Outdoors
This includes parks, beaches, woods, village greens and the streets! Also consider marinas and quaysides for yacht spotting. And how about a bit of windmill spotting? (Jill windmill at Clayton is open – jack is closed temporarily). Entrance is free.
The best way to get children to be engaged with this sort of outing is to plan a quiz, or expedition, or ‘collect 10 different leaves/shells’ type game. With a little bit of imagination you can turn any visit into a game for children.
For instance, I visited the local wet fish shop with my kids to count the different fish and then went home and drew them.
There are also many leisure parks, country parks and play grounds – like Brooklands in Worthing (check on the web for your local one).
Piers: Brighton, Worthing and Bognor all have piers to stroll along.
2. Museums, Castles and Art Galleries
Worthing, Brighton, Portsmouth, Bognor, Midhurst, Chertsey and Horsham all have free museums. There’s also speciality museums like Novium in Chichester – that has a lot of Roman exhibits and displays. Most museums will have a ‘treasure map’ style activity for children.
Also consider churches, cathedrals – and graveyards (try headstone rubbing – if allowed)!
Castles (not all are free), but Southsea castle and Farnham are free.
3. Then free ‘outings’ (unless you use the cafes):
- Shoreham and Selsey lifeboat stations. Shoreham also has a free fort to look at while you’re there
- Brighton city Airport at Shoreham – Fantastic architecture, lots to look at as well as the planes and helicopters.
- Would be Lewis Hamiltons! – visit Mercedes Benz at Weybridge. There is no entrance fee to visit or to view the majority of the exhibitions. Some activities (for example Simulators and Little Learners) can be booked on the day for as little as £6 per person. See three floors of fascinating displays, legendary vehicles and Mercedes-Benz powered F1™ cars.
4. And for a small fee (£15 or less):
- £15 instead of £30 for a vineyard tour with tasting and unlimited cream tea for two at Carr Taylor Vineyard, East Sussex, or £29 for a group of four.
- Stay in and watch a movie and get a craft beer hamper from Beer 52 including a selection of eight mixed light and dark beers, a snack, magazine and tasting glass for £13.99 (Wowcher)
5. Learn a new skill
For instance an online Photography For Beginners course from Lead Academy costs £9 instead of £295 (wowcher).
Other Top Tips:
As usual, the more planning you do the more you save so for instance, visit Shoreham for the day and go for free to: the lifeboat station, the airport and the fort – and take a picnic!
Make it fun – walk round the block and then sit in and watch a movie on the TV – with homemade popcorn.
To learn more about saving money and managing your personal finances, check out our online course bundle for just £30!
