The UK has a huge array of museums and art galleries for you to enjoy. From the big hitters in London, such as the Natural History Museum, V&A, Tate Modern and National Portrait Gallery, to exciting living museums where your family can step back in time (such as the Black Country Museum in the West Midlands or the Highland Folk Museum in the Cairngorms). These Museums let your kids get hands-on with history, attending School and learning about farming, crafts, and much more. Art Galleries are not just for the grown ups! They now have workshops and child-friendly trails to inspire even the youngest artists to start drawing.  So why not try out one of our Museums or Art Galleries on your next holiday?   

Museums and Art Galleries

Want to enjoy a leisurely swim or a splash with the family? You can find an array of incredibly fun activities for all the family at a Leisure Centre including tennis, badminton, roller skating, aerobics, gym, dance classes and many more! Whatever takes your fancy, they have it! 

Swimming Pools and Leisure Centres

Splash around whatever the weather at these great indoor and outdoor waterparks in the UK! Nothing brings out your inner child quite like the prospect of a water slide or a wave pool. So, don your sturdiest swimwear and swap the beach for one of our top wet and wild waterparks. Whether you’re into white-knuckle flume rides or meandering around a lazy river with a float, water parks are guaranteed to make a splash, whatever the weather. 

Water Parks

Feel like royalty and visit one of the UK’s beautiful palaces, castles or stately homes. We are lucky to be surrounded by amazing history and architecture here in the UK, and through several organisations we are able to visit and experience these amazing homes. Learn about the history of the buildings and residents, view the art and walk amongst the gardens. Many of these places also offer plenty of activities and guides for the children too! So why not visit one on your next trip?

Castles and Palaces

Weather is too nice to stay indoors? Want to stretch your legs? Children need to run wild?  Then head to one of the UK's fantastic parks and playgrounds on offer and breath in that fresh air!

Parks and Playgrounds

The UK is the home of the amazing steam train! This integral part of our lives and history means we are lucky to still have many running steam railways and transport museums and attractions.  Why not experience the romance of a steam train ride in the Welsh mountains or across Bodmin and try out a railway or transport attraction on your next holiday.  

Railway and Transport 

Why not consider learning to sail on your next staycation? Take to the sea and harness the wind to discover the joy of sailing.  Unlock new adventures and areas by learning to sail, or even discover more about your local area!  From age 8, children are allowed to participate in RYA learn to sail courses. Why not try sailing on your next staycation. 

Sailing

If you decide to take a holiday in the UK to an area you don't know (or maybe you do but want to know more), an excellent way of seeing around and actually getting to see the "best bits" is by taking a tour with a local guide or someone in the know. Walking tours, cycling tours, boat tours, pogo-stick tours (ok maybe not the last one) - whatever suits your family best, can be booked online or at local visitor information centres and make a real difference to your stay.  You can find out the history of a place, local facts or even go on something weird and wonderful like a ghost walk or follow in the footsteps of Sherlock Holmes or Jack the Ripper.  Eek.  An open top bus journey can take away the hours pounding the pavement to look around a large city. Boat trips and river cruises are also a great way of seeing a lot of things in a small amount of time, giving you a completely different aspect of the town you are visiting.  Join a large boat or charter something smaller yourself and follow the river along to get a better look at all the surround countryside.  

Tours and River Cruises

There are a huge number of zoos, wildlife and safari parks all over the UK and most are well worth a visit and provide a really exciting and unique day out.  The broad difference between them is that Zoos tend to keep animals with their own species in smaller enclosures for a real up-close encounter, whereas a visit to a Safari Park usually involves driving around much larger enclosures to see groups of animals - maybe rhino, giraffe and gazelle all in one setting.  Some are self-drive (for a monkey snapping off your wing mirror type affair) or in others you are guided round in a truck, spotting lions and elephants from afar - similar to an African safari, just without the plus-size sunset, hot weather and flamboyant tribespeople (although lets not get too picky about this; most UK safari parks are just a couple of hours from home and do not involve remortgaging the house to go). Many zoos and parks now are great conservation pioneers and animal rescue centres, so by visiting, you are often contributing to real global issues, supporting endangered species or deforestation or other genuine threats to wildlife.  The parks usually have lots of information about these causes and it can be a great way to get the kids to learn about the world we live in, the animals from different continents and the dangers they face.

Zoos, Wildlife Parks and Safari Parks

The Shetland Islands is an archipelago of around 100 islands situated between the northern coast of Scotland and Norway - fewer than 20 of them are inhabited.  It is, in their own words, "a unique place of peace, pure air and wide open spaces....savour the wildlife, the birdlife and the warm community spirit."   I feel relaxed just thinking about it.  Plus, I've got a sudden urge to buy a Fair Isle jumper. The Shetland Islands all have their own heritage and history.  Whichever areas you choose to visit you'll find a huge variety of wildlife and many archeological and historical sites to uncover.  In fact, there are more than 8,000 listed sites and all kinds of historic (and prehistoric) remains here, from 2nd World war defences right back to the Neolithic period.  There are also many shipwrecks in the surrounding waters, which attract divers from all over the world. Lerwick, the capital, is a pretty harbour town with a population of about 7,000.  There is a good visitor centre here which is full of useful information, and a couple of museums well worth a visit - the Croft House Museum and the Shetland Museum.   Clickimin Broch (a broch is an Iron Age hollow roundhouse) is a popular attraction and can be combined with a  scenic walk along the shores of Lerwick.  There are a few brouch buildings around the Shetlands - Mousa Broch (take a ferry to the uninhabited Mousa for this one) is a great example of an Iron Age dwelling and it makes for a fun day trip out. There is a strong Viking heritage in the Shetland Islands; take a trip to Haroldswick in Unst to find more about it.  Unst is meant to have been the place where Vikings first set foot in the North Atlantic and over 50 settlements have been found there.  You can climb aboard a replica Gokstad ship - the Skidblaner and there is also a replica Viking longhouse - designed from the findings in a nearby excavation.  Kids will love it! The Shetlands Islands are Isles of discovery, exploration and adventure.  In winter, you can even se the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) from here. As family holidays go, this really would be of the memory-making variety.  Just don't forget the jumper. 

Shetland Islands, Highlands, Scotland, UK

Argyll, Highlands, Scotland, UK

Badenoch and Strathspey, Highlands, Scotland, UK

Caithness, Highland, Scotland, UK

Cumbrae, Highlands, Scotland, UK

Inverness, Highlands, Scotland, UK

Isle of Arran, Highlands, Scotland, UK

Isle of Bute, Highlands, Scotland, UK

Lochaber, Highlands, Scotland, UK

Moray, Highlands, Scotland, UK

Nairn, Highlands, Scotland, UK

Ross and Cromarty, Highlands, Scotland, UK

Skye and Lochalsh, Highlands, Scotland, UK

Sutherland, Highlands, Scotland, UK

The Highlands and Islands covers northern Scotland and it's surrounding islands including  Orkney, Shetland and Outer Hebrides. It is a wild corner of the United Kingdom and really is an amazing place if you are looking for awe inspiring landscapes and almost all outdoor activities you can imagine.

Highlands and Islands, Scotland, UK

Scotland is an extraordinary and diverse country.  The beautiful countryside, the vibrant cities, icy mountain peaks, white sandy beaches and picturesque towns and villages combine to make a truly awesome holiday destination, whether you are looking for an adrenaline filled adventure, a cultural trip or a relaxing beach break.  You can see all sorts of wildlife; deer, birds, puffins, seals, whales and dolphins.  There are hundreds of castles to explore; Dunrobin, Eilean Donan, Craigievar, Bannockburn and Caerlaverock to name a few; these fortresses are testaments to Scotlands rich past - a place where all corners are steeped in history.  Scotland is an adventure playground; skiing in the Cairngorms National Park, kayaking in the outer Hebrides, scaling waterfalls in Kinlochleven - it is a land of outdoor pursuits.  Whatever kind of holiday you are looking for, Scotland has it all. 

Scotland

England, UK

Northern Ireland

Wales

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland make up the extraordinary United Kingdom; home to mountains, caves, rivers, dramatic coastlines, medieval villages and vibrant cities.

Places nearby

argyll

badenoch-and-strathspey

caithness

cumbrae

inverness

isle-of-arran

isle-of-bute

lochaber

moray

Things to do in shetland-islands