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Days out can be expensive, especially when you have six weeks to fill. So here's our handy guide of things to do in and around Southend this summer that will hopefully save you a few pennies! We also have a full A3 planner you can download for FREE to help you get organised.
As well as the below, don't forget to check out our 'What's on guide' calendar for hundreds of other events throughout the summer. We've handpicked a few of the free events below but there are many more on our calendar and more being added regularly.
Remember that although the events or activities may be free, there may be parking costs to consider. For any activities in Southend, the monthly Southend Parking Permit at £12.50 per month could save you a huge amount of money on parking and you could even just sign up for the summer and cancel in September if you think you may benefit. I would highly recommend taking a packed lunch for days out to really keep your costs down!
☀️1. My Pet Pals workshops - FREE - Running everyday from 20th July - 1st September, pop into Pets at Home Southend to take part in their FREE workshops. Learn all about how to care for a Syrian Hamster and design your own hamster home, while also getting involved in some crafts and colouring! Kids will receive activity sheets, a My Pet Pals certificate, and there is a chance to meet some of our amazing animals…all for FREE! (Recommended 4+)
☀️2. Animal Feeding at The Green Barn Farm Shop - FREE - A working farm and shop in Benfleet, join them every weekday at 10.30am and 2.30pm during the summer holidays to help feed the animals. Free to attend and no need to book! They also have a play area and activity barn and maize maze at an extra charge
☀️3. Southend Cultural Festival - FREE - 21st July - Southend's High Street will be filled with entertainment from steel drums, to ceilidh music, Brazilarte to busking, live art and cultural workshops throughout the day. Free children's activities and interactive workshops.
☀️4. The Victoria Kids Club activities - FREE - 1st, 8th, 15th & 22nd Aug - Little Victories kids club will be running free events kids aged 3-11 years including Teddy Bears picnic, Summer in Southend, Princess and prince party and Superhero day.
☀️5. Visit a local library and join the Summer Reading Challenge - FREE - Running from 20 July to 31 August for children aged 4 to 12. There will also be an Early Years Challenge for children under four as part of the fun
☀️6. Castle Point Transport Museum - FREE (Donations welcome) - Open to public on their Open days- Sunday 7th July, 4th August and 1st September.
☀️7. Lego club sessions - FREE (Donations welcome) - With events running on 21st & 25th July and 11th & 31st August including 'Around the world with Lego' and 'Legoland exhibition'
☀️8. Summer activities at Hadleigh Hub - FREE - Family activities every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday throughout the holidays. No need to book! Including family film nights, Kite Making, Space Rocket craft, Self-portrait biscuits, small animals and craft, summer games, bee craft and LOTS more on the first link.
☀️9. Just Ride Southend - Use the track and borrow any bikes of your choice for just £2.50 donation per rider - carers and parents of children riding are free and welcome to ride
☀️10. Southend Splash Fountains - FREE - Don't forget to take a towel and why not have a play in Poodles Park, directly opposite on the beach whilst you're there
☀️11. Craft activities with Hobbycraft Southend - £5 per activity, Hobbycraft are once again running their craft workshops on Wednesdays and Saturdays, including Summer Clay creatures, clay pencil toppers, friendship bracelets and rip collage workshops.
☀️12. Punch and Judy show with Leigh Community Centre - FREE - 27th & 28th Aug - 2 shows per day showing at Strand Wharf.
☀️13. Kids food activities at The Phabulous Cafe - Every Wednesday throughout the holidays, for £6pp, take part in activities from making edible chocolate gardens, pizza making, Monster Marshmallows and decorating gingerbread men.
☀️14. Hadleigh bike park - FREE - With bike tracks for all ages, play areas and walking trails, you can easily spend a full day at Hadleigh Park
☀️15. Canvey Miniature Railway - Just £1 for a single ride or 6 rides for £5.00. Open every Sunday
☀️16. Big screen outdoor summer cinema - FREE - Just turn up, no need to book. Showing films every Saturday from 3rd - 24th August outside The Forum in Elmer Square. Showing Cloudy with a chance of meatballs, Back to the future, Wall-E and Wonka.
☀️17. Fossil crafts and fossil display - 16th Aug - Belfairs always have lots of events running and this particular event is just a small charge per craft. Join Kerry at Belfairs Woodland Centre for some fun, fossil related, crafts including excavating dinosaur eggs! You will also be joined by local palaeontologist, Reg, who will have a display of fossils to view.
☀️18. Fruit Picking at Hilltop Farm, Benfleet - A local hidden gem! A bit of a different activity if you want to get out for a walk - Pick your own fruits from this lovely local farm. Check their Facebook before you visit for updated opening times and what fruit is ripe and ready!
☀️19. Trust Links Summer Fayre - FREE - 24th July - A free event in partnership with ABSS. Enjoy live music, explore the garden, bouncy castle, a variety of stalls, tasty food and much more
☀️20. Walk Southend Pier - £3.00 adults, £2.00 children - Pick up a Wildlife Watch Leaflet from the Visitor Information Centre for just £1 and tick off what you see on the way. They also have a puppet festival event running from 9th-11th Aug which is FREE (admission charges apply)
☀️21. LRBC Summer activities - 7th Aug - Just £2 per child. A Summer Fun day with arts and crafts, games and planting. They are also running a Summer Slime day on 14th Aug at £5 per child.
☀️22. Garon Park Enchanted Fairy trail - From Friday 26th July and throughout the Summer holidays, Children (and Grown ups too) are invited to join an Enchanted Fairy Trail for just £1pp. Receive a certificate at the end!
☀️23. Tea & tots Dad's club takeover - FREE - 20th July - A free event for 0-4's with Forest tots, including mini sports sessions and sensory play.
☀️24. Animal mysteries trail - FREE - From 20th July - 1st Sept, head to Hadleigh Park and pick up a FREE summer trail booklet (or download the trail or print at home) and help your children find the animals hiding in the park. Have fun with the selfie boards and see what else you can find!
☀️25. Summer Community event at Garon Park - 28th Aug - Just £5 children & £1 adults. This event will have a real spirit of the local community feel with Food Stalls / Traditional and Circus Games / Craft and activity stalls / Indirock climbing wall / Youth Zone / Enchanted Fairy Trail / Smoothie Bike / Face Painting / Henna ART / Planting and Conservation Activities / Licensed Bar
☀️26. Big up Southend Craft Markets - FREE - Taking place on the last Saturday of the month in The Victoria Shopping Centre, Big Up Southend is not only a craft market but an open mic event with lots of children's craft activities available. Taking place on 27th July, 31st August and 28th September
☀️27. Hadleigh Farm Rare Breeds Centre - Adults £5.50, Child 3-16 £4.50, Under 3's FREE. Animal feed is available to purchase on arrival for 40p per bag or 3 bags for £1.00. With animals, a play area and sand pit, you can certainly get a few hours of entertainment at the most local farm. Make sure to take a picnic as there is no cafe or refreshments on site! The tearoom next door has recently opened but its currently bookings only
☀️28. Families growing together summer events - FREE - For children 0-4, families growing together are holding free activities every Tuesday throughout the whole summer. Including Disney day, Emergency services day and a summer party!
☀️29. The Bread and Cheese Pub outdoor cinema - FREE - Every Tuesday and Wednesday, you can enjoy a free summer movie marathon with the kids. They are also holding Mum and Dad mornings every Weds with soft play indoors from 9-11. On the 3rd Aug they are holding a Summer Fete and 24th Aug they have a family fun day with inflatables.
☀️30. Activities at Southend Libraries - FREE - As well as the Summer Reading Challenge, Southend Libraries have a variety of free events running on selected dates including: Robot Competition Launch, The Art of Scribbling, Character mask making, design your own badge, origami and creative writing. More details for some events coming soon.
☀️31. ATF Summer Holiday specials - FREE - 16th & 23rd Aug - A completely free session for children of all ages with their parents and carers. Lots of singing, fun learning, crafts, sports, games and much more
☀️32. Catchment to coast - FREE - 27th July - No booking required. There will be kids crafts and the opportunity to make leaky dams at Belfairs. At 12 noon there is a guided woodland walk.
☀️33. Hands-on science tour - FREE - 23rd & 26th July - Hands-on Science are on tour and bringing some fun family sessions to The Forum and Shoeburyness Youth Centre. With a team of friendly Cambridge students and hands-on experiments, answering lots of questions about science.
☀️34. Essex Fire Museum family days - FREE - 28th July, 13th &25th Aug - Essex Fire Museum in Grays are holding a host of free family open days throughout summer. With museum trails, arts and crafts, fire safety room, old fire engines and water squirting. The museum is free entry but visits must be pre-booked as they are on the site of a working fire station.
☀️35. A day at the beach - FREE - We couldn't have a list of free activities in Southend without including a beach day! Check out our beach category for ideas on where to set yourself up for the day!
☀️36. Create 98 Pokemon trading session - FREE - Enjoy a coffee whilst your children trades pokemon cards in the craft rooms. Drop in between 2-5pm on 1st Aug and 10-4pm on 25th Aug.
☀️37.Find a school/community summer fete on our 'What's on guide'.- There are lots planned and many are free entry so only pay for what you do
☀️38. Go Swimming at one of Fusion Leisure Centres
☀️39. Go Crabbing at Chalkwell Beach - FREE - If you don't fancy a full on beach day (or if the weather isn't suitable) why not go Crabbing instead? There's lots of spots perfect for it along Southend beaches.
☀️40. Yoga4all Adult and Child yoga classes - FREE - From Weds 31st July for five weeks, you can join in free child and adult yoga sessions at Shoebury East Beach - or a £5 donation at other venues.
☀️41. Music in the park at Priory Park - FREE - Running every Saturday and Sunday until the end of summer from 3.30-4.30pm. Bring a picnic and a blanket. Have a wonder around the flower gardens, feed the ducks or head over to the play area.
☀️42. Open top bus ride - Be a tourist in your own town and sit on the top deck of the open top bus. £5 return for adults and £3 for children or get a day ticket £6.50 adults and £4.00 children and hop on and off as much as you like. (If you get on/off outside Lemon Witch on the Broadway, show them your bus ticket for 10% off all shakes)
☀️43. Feed the ducks at Southchurch Park - FREE - Remember bread is harmful to ducks so you could always take along some oats or cereal or pay £1.50 to buy some food from the eco-friendly duck feeder that was installed a few years back
☀️44. Take a picnic and head to a local spot from our Out and About Category- FREE - From parks, playgrounds, woods and nature reserves. Take your pick!
☀️45. Meadowcroft Garden Centre Crazy Golf - £3pp or £10 for 4 - Lovely garden centre with cafe and snack hut. They also have a small play area at picnic benches by the crazy golf.
☀️46. Spend the day at Shoebury Common Park and the beach - FREE - Our favourite park in Southend and perfectly situated close enough to the beach to get a change of scenery after lunch and grab an ice cream at Uncle Tom's on the way past. Great for all ages!
☀️47. Southend Family centre family activities - FREE - Click the link to see the full schedule. All siblings welcome except specific 0-2 classes.
☀️48. Visit Two Tree Island Nature Reserve - FREE - Two Tree Island is an ideal location for bug spotting and bird watching! Grab the kids a cheap bug hunting kit or make them a scavenger hunt and see what they can find!
☀️49. Ride the cliff lift - FREE - The shortest funicular railway, run by volunteers. Ok so this is a very short activity and isn't enough to fill the day but can be a good focus to get out of the house during the long six weeks holidays when you're desperately trying to find something different to do! Make sure you check opening times beforehand.
☀️50. Take in the views on top of Rayleigh Windmill - FREE - (or £1 min donation) The grade II listed buildings is open Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays and you can explore the windmill, join in the virtual tour and climb to the top with free entry.
☀️51. Hockley Woods - FREE - Hockley Woods is always guaranteed to be a good day out. As well as the woods, you have the large play area and sand pits for before or after your walk!
☀️52. Play mini golf at Dinos Encounter Crazy Golf - 14 and under £4, 15+ £6. An 18 hole family friendly dinosaur themed crazy golf course which is suitable for children and adults of all ages. They also have a bar and large beer garden with a small slide for the kids.
☀️53. Visit Hadleigh Castle - FREE - A perfect spot for the kids to let off steam and have a picnic.
☀️54. Events at Adventure Island - FREE - Make use of any annual membership you have at Adventure Island or Sealife Adventure. With events running such as day of the dragon and superhero weekend. You can also use your membership and get 50% off to play crazy golf at Adventure Golf.
☀️55. 8th Leigh Scout group Community fun day - FREE - 18th Aug - A free event and all welcome! Give scouting a try with our fun collection of summer activities
☀️56. Decorate a cupcake at Mrs Barnes Bakery - £5pp - Running every Tues - Sat throughout the holidays. Pop in and decorate a cupcake. Ages 2+
☀️57. Visit a museum - FREE Most museums are free or ask for a small donation. We have lots of local museums with some offering events such as Anglo-Saxon weekend at Prittlewell Priory.
☀️58. St Mary's horse refuge Rochford - 11th Aug - Admission by small donation. All welcome including Tombola, games, stalls, ten pin bowling, cake sale, vintage tractors and cars
☀️59. Hyland's Estate - FREE - Spend the day at Hyland's in their award winning castle themed adventure playground and with 574 acres of parkland, there's lots of space for walks/picnics and ball games. They also have an open day on 21st July.
☀️60. Hanningfield Reservoir - FREE - Hanningfield have a number of events taking place across summer. Or you could grab a map and follow the Wind in the Willow trail. At the Discovery Nature Centre, there is a cafe on site and a good sized play area near the car park.
☀️61. Maldon Promenade - FREE - The Promenade has everything you could want for a day out whether or not you choose to spend any money. With an impressive play area, sand pits, crabbing pool, skateboard park and BMX track. You can also pay for the splash park, which is a reasonable £3.25 for a 25 minute session for one adult and one child or you could visit Maldon Petting Zoo or the Adventure Golf.
☀️62.Stubbers Adventure Centre - For the admission entry fee of £3 adults and £4 children (FREE for under 5's), you get access to Adventure play areas with a young adventurers area and a bigger play area for the older ones, woodland discovery trail and sand play and paddle beach. All other activities have extra charges however you can certainly get away with not paying for activities with the amount of activities already included in the entry fee.
☀️63. Lathcoats Farm - PYO fruit (£2 entry and just pay for the fruit you pick) or use the cafe or farm shop and customers get FREE entry to see the farm animals and ride on tractors. A really lovely morning or afternoon - If you want to pick you own fruit, make sure you book online!
☀️64. The Peter Rabbit trail at Langdon Hills Nature Reserve - FREE - You can complete the trail for free or grab a map for £1 from the Visitor Centre. There's woodland, meadows, lakes and a museum of Plotland Life. No play area unfortunately but a great cafe!
☀️65. Thames Chase - FREE - Follow the new Gruffalo Party Trail completely free, by following the markers. You can buy an activity bag for £3 to complete some activities or take your own paper and crayons for the rubbing activities. Read our review here. There's also various activities running at Thames Chase over half term for an additional cost including Easter Box Decorating and Craft Wednesdays.
☀️66. The Gruffalo Trail at Thorndon Country Park - FREE - A firm favourite and you can follow the sculpture trail for free or pay £1 for a map. Cafe and picnic areas available!
☀️67. The Stick Man Trail at Weald Country Park - FREE - With over 520 acres of woodland, lakes, hay and wildflower meadows, deer park, kid's play areas, open grassland as well as the Stickman Trail, Weald Park is a great place for a day out.
If you have any free or low cost ideas you'd like to share with out parents, let us know here! Feel free to tag us in anything you do over the summer!
