40 family activities for a rainy summer day
Without wanting to give up on the Great British summer just yet, there is no denying that we have all spent a lot of time lately hoping for sun but expecting rain. Here are some ideas to provide inspiration and remind you that a rainy day doesn’t have to mean a boring one.
Things to do at home
1
Make your own board games
If you’ve exhausted your supply of board games, try making your own. Stuck for ideas? Try combining two of your favourites. It’s easier than you think. Scrabble plus snakes and ladders: every time you land on a snake you have to draw new scrabble tiles, for instance.
2
Birdwatching
It might not sound like the most scintillating time for kids, but help them discover the wonder of the natural world with Nest Friends – the site offers kid-friendly fact sheets to help them identify garden birds, as well as activities and DIY project ideas.
3
Make your own pizza
Crafting pizza dough is the ultimate family activity: it’s cheap, easy, and it’s pretty time-consuming. Remember to tell the kids that the more they knead their dough, the better the pizza will be, and let them create their own toppings.
4
Wikipedia racing
Great for the smartphone generation: everyone starts on one Wikipedia page (Golden Delicious apples, for instance) and has to find their way through the web of Wikipedia hyperlinks to another pre-chosen page; Elvis Presley, perhaps. It requires careful planning and good general knowledge skills to win.
5
Go on a puddle-hunting walk
Get your anoraks and wellington boots on and go out hunting for puddles. Whoever makes the biggest splash wins!
6
Make paper boats
Head out into your garden or the local park and gather some twigs and leaves, and you can use old newspapers, to make into boats. Then have a competition to see whose design can float for the longest.
7
Start a raindrop orchestra
Grab some old pans, bottles and buckets, and leave them outside to fill up with water. Then use some spoons as percussion “beaters” to give them a whack, a bang and a wallop to see what different sounds you can make.
8
Do some DIY
A rainy day is the perfect time to do a bit of craft-based DIY. Uncommon Goods sells everything you need to make homemade pinball machines, bath bombs, bird feeders and more. There’s something for all abilities and price ranges.
9
Great rainy day bake-off
If you aren’t a natural baker, there are plenty of companies who offer all-in-one kits, which contain weighed out ingredients, instructions, plus piping bags and cupcake cases where required. Search BakedIn, Bottled Baking Co or Honeywell Bakes for some easy starters.
10
Make a terrarium
Chop a big plastic water bottle in half, add some pebbles and soil and a plant then tape the pieces back together and voilà! If you fancy creating something a bit more upmarket, The Urban Botanist sells a wide selection of glass terrariums and everything you need to fill them, from £59.95.
11
Make your own t-shirt
If your wardrobe is in need of an update then why not use a rainy day to make your own T-shirt? There are plenty of all-in one kits out there to help. We particularly like Me-shirt kits, which contain stencils, fabric paints and fabric pens.
12
Learn some survival skills
Make your kids feel like back-garden explorers as they create a shelter with a set from The Den Kit Company. Kits contain waterproof tarpaulin, a groundsheet and tent pegs to help little ones learn to make their own shelter from the rain.
13
At-home escape room
Escape rooms were doing a roaring trade before the pandemic but you can enjoy them at home with a few instructions and a bit of imagination. Try kits from Trapped, which offer everything you need. Available from Argos.
14
Do some pottery
Containing air-dry clay, pottery tools, paint, brushes and varnish, a handy kit from Sculpd has everything you need to make your own pottery – no need for a kiln. Kits contain easily enough clay to make at least four small pots or whatever your imagination can come up with.
15
Try some rain painting
Take some thick artist paper or cardboard and paint some designs with watercolour paints (geometric shapes work well), then take your masterpiece out and leave it in the rain for a few minutes. Watch how, as the raindrops splatter your paint, colours bleed together and create a brand-new piece of rain art.
16
Take an online cookery course
For older kids and teens who fancy a challenge, why not take an online cookery class? There are plenty out there from a variety of sources, from Jamie Oliver to Waitrose. If you fancy something a bit more intimate and in person, you can also find options locally on Airbnb Experiences.
17
Do an experiment
Doing a bit of science is a classic rainy day activity. Whether it’s making slime or constructing a papier mâché volcano, there’s no better way to get the kids learning while having fun. The Cambridge Science Centre offers hundreds of guides for different at-home experiments to help you get started.
Things to do out and about
18
Visit a local heritage railway
If you want to explore the countryside without getting wet, consider visiting your local preserved railway. Relive Britain’s golden age of rail travel in a Hogwarts-Express-style compartment pulled by a steam train. Many offer on-train lunches, dinners and other activities, and parents can be sure to find some good local pubs near to stations.
19
Ghyll scrambling
Climbing up or down a hillside stream in the Lake District is much better in the rain. You’ll appreciate the extra water as you slip down natural slides, leap into deep pools, and wade through deeper water. You’ll be getting wet anyway so you may as well get soaked.
20
Go on a scuba-diving adventure
Why not try going all the way underwater with a scuba-diving course? There are plenty of dive shops around the UK offering beginner’s courses in both indoor pools and in shallows just off beaches for anyone over the age of 10. Find your local dive shop at Padi Scuba Diving.
21
Let the kids go for a drive
Going for a drive with the kids might be a recipe for more chaos than it’s worth, but why not let them get behind the wheel? Vauxhall’s Young Driver programme operates at 70 venues across the UK with private roads and with specially designed vehicles for five- to 17-year-olds to learn to drive long before they can get a license. From £32.99, visit youngdriver.eu for more details.
22
Go exploring in the rain
A hike in the rain might not sound like a lot of fun, but there’s no such thing as bad weather if you have the right waterproof coat – plus you’ll have the park and streets to yourself. Download an app like Caper, Love Exploring, or Go Jauntly, which are stuffed full of guided walks and resources to help you discover more about your local environs.
23
Get even wetter
Water sports in the rain can be top fun. Paddle-boarding has become a hit in UK venues over the past few years, and if you have a local canal, river, lake or beach, there’s probably a kayaking or paddleboarding centre nearby.
24
Visit the theatre
This summer lots of big ticket West End shows are touring the UK, including School Of Rock, Sister Act, and Six, so check out what’s coming to you. If you’re in London, download the TodayTix app to get bargain rush tickets from as little as £15 on the day.
25
Become a puddle scientist at Chester Zoo
Check out the specific wet weather trail focusing on indoor exhibits, and look out for zoo staff who want to recruit young visitors to help with “puddle science”. And you’re still likely to see plenty of animals in the zoo’s 35,000 strong collection.
26
Skipton Castle
Having lasted for over 900 years, Skipton Castle’s roof can more than withstand a bit of rain. Get a feel for what life was like in medieval times in one of Britain’s best preserved castles with rainy day activities such as a family quiz, illustrated tour sheets and a delightful tea shop to dry off in.
27
Snorkel with sharks at the Sea Life Centre Manchester
Who says you need to go on holiday to have a daring adventure? As a new attraction this summer, groups of up to four can go snorkeling in the shark tank at Sea Life Centre Manchester to get up close and personal with the sharks and learn more about these beautiful creatures. £40pp, book at Sealife Manchester.
28
Try a smartphone safari in London
If you have a smartphone, then you have a camera, and there’s no better place to use it than a rainy day in London, thinks Jeanette Lendon, founder of Jet Black Squares, a family-friendly smartphone photography expert who has created tours around London offering photography and editing tips. Perfect for Instagram-obsessed teens.
29
Meet the insects at Stratford-upon-Avon’s Butterfly Farm
The UK’s largest insect paradise is ideal for the whole family. It’s not just butterflies but stick insects, beetles, leaf-cutter ants, bees, and many more.
30
Go tropical
Tropical World Leeds is exactly what it says on the tin: a toasty warm collection of tropical animals, plants and other creatures. It’s brilliant fun, but if the weather brightens up, it’s set in Leeds’ beautiful Roundhay park. which features a Gardens of the World exhibition.
31
Go for a dark walk at Bodmin Jail
A new attraction in Cornwall this year is the spooky Bodmin Jail Dark Walk, which guides visitors through the violent and gruesome past of one of Britain’s most haunted buildings and the surrounding moorland with theatrical effects to test even the bravest souls.
32
Make some fudge
If you have a sweet tooth, then get yourself down to one of Fudge Kitchen’s six locations across Britain for a fudge-making masterclasses with master makers; just the thing to make a rainy day a bit brighter. From £95pp, or buy an at-home kit from £30, Fudge Kitchen.
33
Bring video games to life at Rumble Live
A giant outdoor laser quest, bringing the fun gameplay elements of video games to real life in a beautiful woodland setting at Grafham Water in Cambridgeshire, Rumble Live might be perfect for Fortnite-obsessed kids. It’s suitable for all ages and we are assured it is “much more hardcore” in the rain. £15pp, Rumble.
34
Do go chasing waterfalls
After a downpour of rain, waterfalls look their most spectacular, and fortunately in Britain we are blessed with plenty of beautiful walks featuring waterfalls. Ingleton Waterfalls in the Yorkshire Dales is particularly amazing after a bit of rain, but don’t miss Stock Ghyll Force in the Lake District and The Cascade in Surrey.
35
Have an adventure in a cave in Wales
There are plenty of great caves to explore in Britain, but Go Below and Zip World Slate Caverns are particularly fun: both are located in Snowdonia and offer underground assault courses, zip wires and trampolines through old mines.
36
Explore the sky in Edinburgh
Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh is all about the forces that shaped our world (including rain!). This year it opened the UK’s first and only Digistar 6K planetarium to show the stars in more detail than ever before. Tickets from £5.50, from Dynamic Earth.
37
Learn the craft of storytelling
One of the UK’s newest museums, the Story Museum in Oxford has a full programme of events throughout summer. Learn all about the craft of stories with expert guides, inspiring plays and workshops to help foster a new generation of storytellers.
38
Go on an art trail
Manchester is certainly no stranger to rain. And to combat drizzly weather fatigue, a new bright and colourful art trail has been set up around Old Trafford this summer. Find the trail at OT Creative Space.
39
Celebrate the slippery Slytherins at WB Studio Tours
Harry Potter might have had plenty of rainy days at Hogwarts but he never let it get him down. This summer you can celebrate Harry and friends’ most famous rainy day adventure: when they sat indoors and made Polyjuice potion to sneak into the Slytherin common room, a limited-time attraction open for the first time.
40
Go on a Bear Grylls Adventure
The whole family can become a little more like the intrepid and fearless adventurer by making a trip to Bear Grylls’ new official activity centre near Birmingham. You can try out all manner of adventure activities both indoor and outdoor, including high-ropes courses, archery, rock climbing, skydiving and even snorkeling. To book visit Bear Grylls Adventure.
