Fed up of trips to the cinema or swimming pool? We’ve had a look around for some of the more unusual days out for all the family in south London and Kent this summer…
Dinosaur hunting at Crystal Palace Park
Forget Jurassic Park, dinosaurs have been back in south London since Victorian times. The Natural History Museum’s founder Richard Owen and sculptor Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins erected a series of model dinosaurs in the park more than a century ago. There’s even a free audio trail. Go to audiotrails.co.uk/dinosaurs
See the animals at Deen City Farm
It’s not often you get to go to a farm while you’re still in the city. The five acre site near Morden has around 150 animals including alpacas, birds, cows, goats, pigs and sheep. Go to deencityfarm.co.uk
Go Ape at Battersea Park or Chessington World of Adventures
Climb along on a series of wires, steps, swings and obstacles all at terrifying heights. There’s a junior course as well as a terrifying main tree top adventure. Go to goape.co.uk
Treetop Walkway at Kew Gardens
Designed by the same folk who did the London Eye, the 18-metre high walkway in the arboretum between the temperate house and lake gives you a spectacular view and a close-up of birds, insects, lichen and fungi. Go to kew.org
Teapot Island, Yalding, Kent
Home to the biggest collection of teapots in England, this island features 7.600 teapots including a three metre tall one collecting money for Kent Air Ambulance and novelty ones crafted to look like people as diverse as Darth Vader, Winston Churchill and The Queen. There is a café on site and the chance to paint your own teapot. Go to teapotisland.co.uk
Diggerland, Strood, Kent
Surely the name says it all. Who wouldn’t want to drive a digger round all day? Rides include the stack attack, crazy carts, mini Landrovers, spindizzy, digger skittles, dumper trucks, digging for buried treasure, mini tractors, a digger merry-go-round, and go-karts. Go to diggerland.com
Rib Tours London
Hurtle down the river at high speed while getting a quick lesson about sites such as London Bridge, Greenwich, the MI6 building and more on fast and fun voyage – either the 50 minute Canary Wharf Experience or the 25 minute Tower Bridge Rib Dash. Go to ribtourslondon.com
Like our What's On page on Facebook for entertainment news, interviews, reviews and features from across south London.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here