Summer Holiday Fun in North Notts

The summer holidays have arrived and August is packed with exciting things to do for children and families across North Nottinghamshire!

There are plenty of events and activities indoors and out so, even if we don’t get wall to wall sunshine, there’ll always be something to do to keep your little ones entertained.

August fun starts with the annual week-long Robin Hood Festival at Sherwood Forest Country Park from 31^st July to 6^th August.  It’s always a popular event because there are amazing activities and entertainment for all the family and which are all free!

The Nottinghamshire Libraries Summer Reading Challenge is a great way to get your children enjoying reading as well as keeping them busy! This year’s theme is Animal Agents where children from 4 to 11 are asked to help the Animal Agents (a group of furry, feathered and slippery sleuths) to solve a tricky mystery.  

Look out too for special events in your local library during the summer holidays including ‘Sylvia South and the Word Catcher’ Family Theatre in Worksop Library.

The Idle Valley Nature Reserve is a fun place this summer with a range of ‘Wild’ and exciting outdoor sessions especially for children. Perfect for keeping children from 2 to 14 active and entertained.

Why not get lost in the Maize at Kelham Hall Country Park?  It’s a massive 5 acres of twists, turns, riddles, dead ends and loads of fun for all the family!

See all the exciting events taking place in and around Mansfield during the summer holidays in their jam-packed Summer What's On Guide.

• There are all sorts of wonderful themed events to keep the kids happy at Mansfield Museum – dinosaurs, zoos, Shetland pony, jellyfish, Lego, crazy cat door-hangers, giraffes, cheeky monkeys, White Post Farm Animal Roadshow and loads more!
• The Old Library, Mansfield and other venues are also hosting a range of activities throughout the summer – Park Play sessions, Dance School, Family Multi-sports, Rock & Pop Summer School, Summer Clubs and much more.

Clumber Park is the perfect place to let your kids have fun in the great outdoors with a host of free sporting activities for all ages.  Choose from archery, volleyball, football, rounders, tennis, table tennis, hockey, cricket, games, skipping and many more fun activities – or why not do them all?!

Perfect for a rainy day, the National Civil War Centre in Newark invites you to “Uncover a wealth of weird and wonderful stories” at their summer of 17th century science.  There are free daily performances and daily family craft activities (included in the admission price).  There’s so much to see that you could easily spend a whole day in the Civil War Centre which is, itself, ideal for older children and adults.

There are 4 weeks of fun and exciting children’s activities throughout August at Bassetlaw Museum in Retford, and all are free.  Starting on 1^st August there’s a different activity each day of the week including Playmobil, Caterpillar Music, Jo-Jingles, Lego, papercrafts, painting, creative crafts, picnics, sports & games.  There’s no need to book - you can just drop in as you please.  Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Also in Retford, The Hub Artisan and Tourist Information Centre is holding a series of children’s art activities during the summer.

The Harley Gallery on the Welbeck Estate is holding a whole range of exciting creative workshops for children and families throughout the summer.  All workshops are held inside so perfect for rainy days. They’re always popular so do book well in advance!

To visit the beach this summer you don’t have to travel far….  Mansfield ‘beach’ is running for the whole of August (ends Saturday 26^th) and why not take a trip to Worksop by the Sea from Monday 14^th to Friday 18^th August.

The Chapter House Theatre Company is staging a wonderful Outdoor Theatre production of The Wind in the Willows at Creswell Crags in the early evening on Friday 18th August.  Your family will love the summer adventures of Badger, Ratty, Mole and Toad!

Look out for lots of other brilliant events for families during the month:

• Family Funday in Worksop
• Mansfield Summer Festival
• Outdoor Cinema screenings
• Butterfly Hunts
• Falconry Walks
• Summer Holiday Swims
• Pirate Cruises on the Chesterfield Canal
• Ravenshadow Medieval Event in Sherwood Forest
• Bushcraft & other Workshops in Southwell
• Gloworm Family Music Festival in Clumber Park
• Circus Skills Workshop in Southwell
• StageAhead Theatre School Open Day, Newark
• Living History Camp in Sherwood Forest
• Fun activities at Rufford Country Park
• and much much more!

All of these and lots more can be found in the In North Notts Events directory here.  Why not bookmark our Events directory so you can quickly see what’s on locally and across North Nottinghamshire?

We're keeping our fingers crossed for the month to be sunny and warm, but whatever the weather we hope our ideas will help you have a fun and happy August with the children.

Happy August!