Free family days out: Dinosaur fun to farm trips

School summer holidays are in full flow, but for many parents filling the weeks with new and exciting activities can be daunting.

The cost of a day trip can soon add up, especially when you factor in food and admissions fees.

With that in mind, we've rounded up some summer fun days out in the West of England, and the best part is; they are all free.

Warminster in Wiltshire has been rebranded as 'Roar-minster' for the summer, with six dinosaurs placed in cages around the town with a trail map available in local shops.

As well as the dinosaurs, a number of letters have been hidden in shop windows for children to find. They are then added to a raffle if they manage to make the correct word with the letters.

Sophia completed the trail with her mum Claire and brother Miles, she said it was "fun and I like seeing the dinosaurs around my town".

There are also prizes for the grown-ups, as a number of independent shops in the town are running a loyalty card scheme which, once complete, enters you into a prize draw to win £500 to spend locally.

Carlee Wakefield runs the luxury gifting and lifestyle shop Iris & Olive, she said it was an "absolute no brainer" to get involved.

She added it is a "fantastic initiative to get more visitors into the town and to encourage people to explore places they otherwise wouldn't have".

Traders say they have already seen more local families out and about in the town centre trying to find the dinosaurs and they hope it will also attract families from further afield.

'Roarminster' is running until 5 September.

For nearly 50 years, work has been going on to create a 20-mile car-free path accessible to everyone called the Strawberry Line.

There are several different routes you can take depending on ability and how long you want to be out for.

For a long, continuous route through the North Somerset Levels and the Mendip Hills, start from Lampley Road in Yatton and ride along the Draycott Park estate, which is part of the latest extension to the track added in November 2025.

There are also shorter 3.5-mile (5.6km) and 1.5-mile (2.4km) sections which you can join to Wells and get hillside views of Wells Cathedral.

All routes are wheelchair-friendly, with a hard all-weather surface and mainly flat.

At Yatton Station, a cafe and cycling hub part run by adults with learning disabilities, is one of the recommended starting points.

Sally Wilcock, operations and community engagement manager, said they have a wide range of bikes, trikes, hand cycles and adaptive bikes.

"Having access to a path that is smooth, wide and traffic free really makes cycling accessible for more people," she added.

The cycle path was created on a disused railway, which has only been possible thanks to hours of work from volunteers.

Mick Fletcher, chair of the Strawberry Line, said if they didn't have volunteers then the "size of the path would shrink, the brambles would come in from the side, the grass would grow".

So they spend "thousands of hours a year maintaining the surface and maintaining the vegetation so it's accessible", added Fletcher.

Earlier this year, the Strawberry Line was shortlisted for a prestigious Ramblers Association Award in recognition of its contribution both to the local community and of the huge effort it has taken to get there.

Fletcher said winning the award would be mean a "huge amount to us".

Public voting has now opened and Britain's Favourite Path 2026 will be announced later this year.

In Cheltenham, you can discover the history of the town's most well-known buildings and landmarks on a self-guided trail.

Families can pick up a trail map, which also has a quiz on the back, from the town's Information Centre where you can also collect a prize for completing it.

Lisa Kowalkowski, destination manager at Visit Cheltenham, said they launched the trail because they "often get families coming in asking what they can do".

There are 20 places to tick off the list including Montpellier Gardens, Neptune's Fountain, the Wilson Art Gallery and Museum finishing at the Brewery Quarter.

Kowalkowski said the highlight of the trail for her is seeing the Queen's Hotel, "they've got the Union Jacks flying outside, perfect selfie moment for you and your kids".

Pigs, cows and goats are not necessarily the first things you would imagine seeing in the city.

However, Bristol has lots of city farms open to the public including Windmill Hill, Hartcliffe and St Werburghs, all of which boast peaceful gardens, a selection of animals and green space in which to take a deep breath.

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