If you’re thinking of what you can do with your little ones that won’t break the bank, here are some ways to spend less on days out and activities
Days out aren’t cheap, so here we’ll share special offers where you can bring down the price of tickets, as well as any special free events and activities. We’ve also had a look at schemes such as Kids Pass and Little Bird and shared whether we think they’re any good.
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Gardens
RHS: free ticket for LNER members
If you’re an LNER Perks member, you can get a free ticket to one of the RHS gardens until 15 September 2026.
You have to pre-book online, but if you’re taking kids, you can buy their tickets at garden entry. Children under 5 are free, while 5-16 year olds are £6.
You can get one free ticket per member, so if you have more than one adult in your family, you’ll both need to sign up.
BBC Gardeners’ World magazine: 2-4-1 entry card
If you buy the May 2026 edition of Gardeners’ World magazine you’ll get a card that’ll get you 2-4-1 entry to over 380 gardens in the UK and Northern Ireland.
This includes:
Leeds Castle (save £33) - Hever Castle (save up to £25)
- Knepp’s Rewilded Walled Garden (save £30)
- 69 National Trust gardens
- 26 National Trust of Scotland gardens
- 12 English Heritage gardens
The magazine costs £9.99 and you can buy it online even though May has passed.
The pass is valid until March 2027 and can be used as many times as you like.
Kids & family membership offers
Day Out With The Kids: one year for £1
This deal, originally a Black Friday offer, will get you a full-year membership for just £1, saving £29.99. You’ll need the code BF254U.
Featured kids' bank account
Customer rating
4.7/5
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Monthly fee£3.99
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Ages6 - 17 year olds
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Parent account required?No
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Offer2 months free and £5 pocket money
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Offer 2 months free and £5 free pocket money available for new gohenry customers who order a card and deposit £5. Sign up using the code AFUKBC26 to get it.
- Fees £3.99 per month for one child
- Interest paid No - only paid for Plus and Max accounts
- Education Includes access to Money Missions to teach kids about money
- Perks Parents can set chores with the app, and anyone can pay into the account with Giftlinks
- Parent account There's no bank account for parents; instead, the account is topped up using your existing bank account
- Card Customisable debit card
Free ticket offers
Lidl Plus: free ticket to 3,000 activities across the UK
If you’ve got Lidl Plus, then until 31 August 2026, you can get a free single-entry voucher to an activity.
To get it, go to your Lidl+ app, find it in ‘Partner offers’ in ‘More’ and click ‘Redeem this offer’. You need to fill out the form, then you’ll get an email to book an activity.
Once in, you can search for activities nearby – most of the activities are for things like dancing, taekwondo, paintballing and museum visits.
MoneySuperMarket: SuperSaveClub hack
If you take out insurance via MoneySuperMarket you can get free membership to the SuperSaveClub, which offers free tickets every week and month to big name attractions like London Zoo.
But there’s a way to get access without buying insurance that won’t cost you anything – simply sign up for the free Credit Monitor service. You can also do this for every adult in your home, increasing how many free tickets you get.
We’ve written up how to get free membership in detail.
Free Horse Racing tickets via Reach (ended)
You can get a pair of free tickets to see Horse Racing at various locations until all 10,000 have all been claimed.
Locations are:
- Sandown (Thursday 6 August)
- Kempton Park (Wednesday 12 August)
- Carlisle (Wednesday 19 August)
National Lottery: Open Week (ended)
The National Lottery runs a regular promotion where you can get free or low-cost days out, including Eden Project, National Trust, the Tower of London and English Heritage properties.
The National Lottery Open Week runs between 7 March and 15 March 2026 — booking is open now.
To get access, you need to have a National Lottery ticket or scratchcard, which you can use to visit a National Trust or National Trust for Scotland property for free or at a discount. The date of the lottery ticket isn’t relevant, but maybe hang on to it until you know if you’ve won.
You can see a full list of the attractions and the discounts available, searchable by postcode or your current location. The full T&Cs are here too.
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Ticket deals
Winter Wonderland: £1 tickets
There are 500,000 £1 tickets for sale for Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park if you get in quickly. These normally cost between £5.50 and £9.50.
Opening on 19 November 2026 and running until to 3 January 2027, there will be more than 150 attractions, rides and shows, as well as heaps of festive feasting, drinking and live entertainment.
However, a word of warning, unless you’re happy to book an early slot, most of these £1 tickets are mid-week.
You can also get entirely free entry if you book £25 worth of rides when you get your ticket.
Merlin attractions: get two visits for the price of one
Merlin has returned with its “Twice the Fun” offer this year. This means that you can visit two theme parks this summer for the price of one. This includes Chessington World of Adventures, Alton Towers, LEGOLAND Windsor andThorpe Park.
This isn’t a two-for-one ticket offer – instead, you pay in full for your first visit, then you get access to another Merlin resort for a second visit until 25 September 2026.
To get it, you go via the first theme park you want to visit — under tickets you’ll see “Twice the Fun”.
Activities
Dobbies: free monthly workshops for kids
Dobbies garden centre runs free Little Seedlings workshops for kids on the first Sunday of every month to teach them about plants, wildlife and the environment.
For example, next month’s workshop at the Brighton store (Sunday 6 September) is about autumn wildlife and includes an autumn colours quiz and the opportunity for each child to plant their own daffodil bulb to take home and enjoy next spring.
Times vary per store and not every store offers the workshops.
WWF: free Daily Dose of Nature pack
To help families get in touch with their local environment, WWF is offering a free Daily Dose of Nature pack.
Inside you get a guide to help you get your daily dose complete with activity guides, species spotting checklists, a UK wildlife calendar, ways to explore nature at home and prompts to help you stay on track.
The pack will be posted out – including other goodies – and you can download a digital version the moment you sign up.
Barclays: free tennis sessions for all ages
Barclays is offering free social tennis sessions each weekend across the country for all ages every weekend. The sessions are at 10am on Sunday mornings — you can find a nearby court on the website and book onto a session.
You’re not just limited to one session either, you can book every weekend if you want to.
You don’t need to have any equipment, know-how or even a partner to play with. The sessions are social, so you can meet new people to play with.
To book, you go to the website and search for a park tennis court near you with your postcode. If there’s not one near you yet, keep checking, as they’re adding new ones all the time.
Kelloggs: free football camp with promotional boxes (ended)
If you pick up a promotional Kellogg’s product between 1 April and 18 August 2025 then you can get a free day at a football camp for kids aged between 7 and 14.
To claim the free day, you need to scan the QR code on the pack or go here to register. You need to enter the last four digits of the barcode for the product you bought, as well as your postcode. Then you’ll be able to see the current places and request a code to book.
“Open House” events
In September each year many buildings open their doors for free across the UK. Here are some of the main organisations, but do check locally to see if there are other places offering something similar.
Open House London – September 2026
From 12 to 20 September 2026 you can get free or discounted access to hundreds of buildings and gardens in London, many of which are normally closed to the public. Bookings opened on 19 August 2026. Details here.
Heritage Open Days (England) – September 2025 (ended)
On weekends from 12 to 21 September 2025, Heritage Open Days is offering free access to events celebrating England’s history and culture, such as tours and exhibitions. You can register for tickets until 14 August. Details here.
Doors Open Days (Scotland) – September 2025 (ended)
In September 2025 there’s a similar open day festival in Scotland giving you access to buildings and events across the country. It runs across four weekends, depending on location. Details here.
Open Doors (Wales) – September 2025 (ended)
Throughout September 2025 you can get free entry and guided tours to more than 200 historic sites in Wales. Loads of events don’t require booking. Details here.
National Trust & English Heritage offers
English Heritage: free family pass with a newspaper (ended)
If you buy a copy of the Daily Star, Express or Mirror between May 9th and May 17th you can get free entry to an English Heritage property with your family.
A copy of the paper will cost between £1.50 and £3.60 depending on the paper and the day – with midweek papers costing the least. The English Heritage family pass is worth up to £50.
The family pass works for groups up to 2 adults and 3 children, or 1 adult and 4 children, or 2 adults. The pass is valid until Sunday, 14 June 2026.
Make sure you check the terms and conditions for exclusions and the English Heritage website for opening times.
English Heritage: free family pass (ended)
Complete this online form and you’ll be able to visit an English Heritage site with your family between now and 2 November 2025.
The pass permits two adults, two adults and three kids or an adult and four children and is worth around £40. Participating sites include Bolsover Castle in Derbyshire, Eltham Palace in London and Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire.
Once you’ve filled out the form you’ll be sent a digital pass to your email. If you’re keen, be quick as the passes usually run out very swiftly!
National Trust: free family day pass (ended)
With WalesOnline and InYourArea you can get a free family day pass to participating National Trust sites.
But you’ve got to be quick! There’s a limited number of passes available, and they tend to be snapped up very quickly.
The day pass admits two adults and up to three children, or one adult and four children. Single adults and couples can also use it. You might need to prebook. When booking, select ‘Affiliate organisation member or passholder’ for the number of people your pass can admit.
The vouchers need to be used by 31 August. You can redeem it Monday to Sunday, excluding 23 to 25 August 2025.
Check the T&Cs before going, as some sites are excluded.
Days out ticket discounts
National Rail: 2-4-1 days out
If you’re travelling by train to an attraction, you might be able to use it for a discount on your entry. Details here.
Theme park deals
Check out our separate guide to paying less for theme park tickets such as Alton Towers and Legoland.
Boundless membership
If you work in the public sector or are a civil servant, a Boundless membership gives you free access to UK attractions, including Kew Gardens, a free Kids Pass and Tastecard.
- Basic Boundless costs £40 a year
- Boundless Plus costs £68 a year
We’ve looked in more detail at who can get it and what you get in our review.
What is Kids Pass?
What does Kids Pass do?
Kids Pass is a membership which gives you discounts on the places and things kids like to do.
Kids Pass promises:
- Up to 57% off at “family days out” such as theme parks, bowling and play centres
- Up to 40% off at cinemas, seven days a week
- Kids eat free or for £1 at hundreds of restaurants
- Savings on places like Butlins and Haven
You only need one card per family, rather than per child.
Is Kids Pass any good?
The discounts can be pretty decent, especially the restaurant and cinema deals.
Restaurant deals
Some restaurant chains include are Giraffe, Garfunkels, Barburrito, Handmade Burger Co, and Bella Italia, each offering free food for kids or £1 meals. There’s also BOGOF at Pizza Hut (delivery) and a second pizza for £1 at Papa John’s. There are hundreds of independent ones, too. You can see those involved without getting a membership.
Cinema deals
The cinema discounts through Kids Pass are available at most major chains and various independent places. You get up to 40% off tickets for kids and adults, making it a good option even if you don’t have kids. A quick look at a few different chains and it generally works out as £8 per adult ticket.
Check if it’s cheaper to buy your tickets with a different deal.
You’ll need to buy your tickets through the website or app – you can’t just show your pass at the box office.
Other deals
The theme park and other family activities look good, though as with most entertainment, it’s worth shopping around for other offers. It does look like it includes all the major theme parks and places like Madame Tussaudss and London Dungeon.
You can also save up to 50% at places like Eurocamp, Haven and Butlins.
