What to do in the summer holidays in Hertfordshire

If you’re planning a family trip to Hemel Hempstead in the school holidays, you won’t be short of things for the kids to do! Here are our suggestions for child-friendly activities in and around Hemel during the summer holidays.

Sportspace

Hemel’s main sports centre has lots going on for the kids during the summer holidays, including swimming lessons for all ages and abilities, as well as more advanced aqua activities for the older, more advanced swimmers, such as scuba diving, synchronised swimming and water polo. And most weekday afternoons, there’s an inflatable commando course, just for fun!

On dry land, tennis and trampolining are the order of the day, or you could get them interested in workouts with junior gym sessions.

The XC

Older kids – aged 7-11 and 12-17 – can let off steam at the XC, with a range of extreme activities: skateboarding, scooters, high ropes, caving and climbing. But the little ones can have fun there too: there are morning sessions for children aged 3-7 to teach them the basics of skateboarding and climbing.

The Snow Centre

If the weather’s too hot, head over to the Snow Centre for a spot of skiing, snowboarding or messing around on the snow slide. The centre houses the largest indoor ski lesson slope in the country, and it always has perfect skiing conditions.

Planet Ice

If graceful gliding is more your kids’ style, send them to Planet Ice for skating lessons and intensive courses which are being held throughout the summer.

A day at the park

If you’re watching the pennies, take the kids to let off steam at Gadebridge Park. There’s a play area for the younger kids, a skate park for the older ones, lots of footpaths and cycle tracks, and lots of grass for them to run around on.

Let’s go fly a kite…

If it’s a lovely day, do what families have been doing for generations – take a picnic to Dunstable Downs to fly kites and watch the gliders. Parking is free for National Trust members, otherwise it’s £2.50 which is still a bargain for a day’s activity.

If you go down to the woods…

If you need an excuse to get the little ones excited about a trip to the woods, tell them you’re going Gruffalo hunting! A combination of an app and a special trail in Wendover Woods will get them searching for footprints and clues. And whilst you’re in the woods, why not explore one of the walking trails, before letting them in the Adventure Play area. Activities are free, but you will have to pay for parking.

Going to the zoo…

The UK’s largest zoo, Whipsnade, is only around half an hour’s drive away. It has a packed schedule of talks throughout the day so you can learn more about some of the animals, and there are play areas and a petting zoo to keep the younger kids happy.

Harry Potter

If you’re spending time in Hemel Hempstead this holiday, you can’t go home without visiting Hogwarts as the Harry Potter Studio Tour is a mere 15-minute drive away. You can see the original film sets, take a walk in the Forbidden Forest, find out more about the special effects, ride a broomstick and try butterbeer. It may not be the cheapest day out you’ll have this summer, but it’s a must for Harry Potter fans.

To be able to afford these and even more activities, save money on hotels by staying in one of our serviced apartments from just £130 a night for the whole family (between 4 and 6 people).