When the holidays come round and the weather isn’t kind, you’ve had enough of craft, jigsaws and board games indoors, screen time has been stretched to its limit and you just need to get out the house, there’s a lot to be said for just putting on raincoats and wellies and embracing it with a walk in the puddles, but when that loses its appeal it’s good to have a few go-to activities up your sleeve to keep everyone entertained.  So here’s some indoor places you can go in and around Harpenden.  With a few exceptions, everywhere listed below is within around a 30 minute drive of Harpenden. 

Brave the soft play

No doubt you’ve already discovered the joys of soft play!  It’s noisy, it’s chaotic, it’s not exactly relaxing, but it certainly lets them run off steam. Perhaps there’s somewhere new on the list below to try.

SAADI Gymnastics Play Gym (limited times)
DJ’s Play Jungle St Albans
Get Wild! Hatfield
Funzone Hatfield
Gosling Play Park Welwyn
Soft Play City Welwyn
DJ’s Play Park Hemel Hempstead
Cotlandswick Leisure Centre London Colney
Westminster Lodge Soft Play
Snakes & Ladders Dunstable
Parents Paradise Watford

 

Try out a new activity

When it’s wet outside, why not get wet inside  and enjoy a family swim! Or for older children who have outgrown the soft play areas, there’s a wealth of other leisure activities to use up that excess energy. 

Swimming at Harpenden Leisure Centre
Westminster Lodge Swim Centre
Climbing Wall at Westminster Lodge
Locked Escape Rooms St Albans
The Pioneer Club Skatepark St Albans
Bowling or Laser Tag at tenpin Luton
Gravity Active Luton
Orbital Trampoline Park Luton
Gosling Trampoline Park Welwyn
Roller City Welwyn
Cloud 9 Xtreme Airpark Hemel Hempstead
Laser Quest Hemel Hempstead
Planet Ice Hemel Hempstead
The XC Hemel Hempstead
GO Bowling Dunstable
Glow in One Mini-golf Watford
Laser Planet Watford
Ninja Warrier UK Watford
Putt Club Indoor Crazy Golf Watford
Puttshack Watford
Rockup Watford

 

Get lost in a book at the library

For a quieter pursuit how about a visit to your local library to stock up on new reading material. Hertfordshire library tickets are valid at any Herts library and borrowed books can be returned at any library. Baby Rhyme Time and Storytime sessions also continue to run during holidays.

Harpenden Library
Redbourn Community Library
Wheathampstead Community Library 
St Albans Library

 

Get hands-on at a local Museum

Check our What’s on page or their websites for details of extra activities they may be running during the holidays.

Harpenden History Museum
Redbourn Village Museum
Redbournbury Mill
St Albans Museum & Gallery
St Albans Cathedral
Verulamium Museum
Stockwood Discovery Centre Luton
Wardown House, Museum & Gallery Luton
Mill Green Museum Welwyn
Welwyn Roman Baths
The de Havilland Aircraft Museum London Colney
Natural History Museum at Tring
British Schools Museum
RAF Museum

 

Get creative

Glaze Time run sessions during holidays (usually Wednesdays at Inn on the Green)
Pots of Art St Albans

 

See a show

Check out the listings at one of our many local theatres.  There are always lots of great children’s shows touring from adaptations of classic books to magic and science, there’s something for everyone.  And although you need to book, there’s often tickets still available on the day, so always worth a look.

The Eric Morecambe Centre
The Alban Arena
Luton Library Theatre
The Hat Factory Arts Centre Luton
The Old Town Hall Hemel Hempstead
Grove Theatre Dunstable

 

Take in a movie

Whether it’s a latest release or a re-showing of a classic you want, take a look at the cinemas listed below, and also the theatres listed above as many do family film showing during the holidays, often at cheaper prices.

Cinema at the Hub on Veralum
The Odyssey St Albans
Cineworld Luton
Odeon Hatfield
Cineworld Hemel Hempstead

You can find even more places to go in our Things To Do section, and details of specific activities and events running will be on our What’s On page.