20 outdoor activities for children in and around Cambridgeshire

It got me thinking that we do so much with the children and I do not document it all, a lot of things we do that are free too. So if you are feeling at a loose end and want to do something fun, outdoor activities and indoors, look no further. Although this is based in and around Cambridgeshire you can find similar things to do in the area of the world you live. All you need is a little imagination…

Cycling

We enjoy cycling as a family, there are lots of places to cycle in Cambridgeshire. Depending on the ages and abilities of the children there are smaller routes and longer routes, and epic routes. Here are our favourites in those categories:

Small route

There is a nice cycling route we do from St Neots, around Hail Weston and back in a circle. I have done a short diagram of it below for you to follow. It’s about 7 miles and takes us a good couple of hours with the children as we often stop at Hail Weston park which is great for the kids.

Longer route

If you are feeling brave you can drive the bikes to Grafham Water, which is a great place to explore and enjoy a bike ride. It is around 9 miles but the cycle route around the lake is very hilly. So it’s harder than the short route above, despite it not being that much further. We love cycling around Grafham.

Epic route

The epic route which Hubby does a lot and Noah keeps asking to do with him is from St Neots to Grafham and around Grafham, then back again. All in all it’s about 25 miles I believe and a good few hours of cycling. I am pretty sure it will not be long before Noah is out doing this with Daddy at the weekend.

Scooting

Another thing we all love to do is scooting. For this you need a nice smooth path or road to scoot along, we have one just on the outskirts of Cambridgeshire that we venture too quite frequently, Danish Camp, we can scoot all the way to Bedford and the children really enjoy it. It’s not far, just perfect for little leggies!

Nature exploring

I got this idea from a walk we did around the RSPB headquarters, give the children a check list of things to spot out on a walk. Maybe even win a prize. We had to find the colours of the rainbow once and it was a lot of fun, easy to spot colours and the younger ones can join in too. You only pay for parking at the RSPB headquarters too, so this is always a bonus.

We also love walking around our local nature reserve, Paxton Pits, it’s a nice and peaceful place to explore. It is almost hidden away, if you didn’t know it was there – well you wouldn’t know it was there! There are a lot of walking paths to follow, so you can do short walks or longer walks. You can even sit and watch the boats go past. It is my favourite dog walk location.

Finding a sport they love

Noah loves football, he lives and breathes it. Everywhere we go there has to be a ball with us. When we go out for walks in the evening he will ask to bring the ball. As long as it gets him up and about and active, we don’t mind! Isla loves cartwheeling to pick the ball up – very clever!

Dog walks

We walk the dogs everyday, not always as a family mind you, but we do walk them as a family most days each week. It is nice seeing the children interact with the dogs, they love running with them. But it is also nice to see the kids interact with each other. There’s something about a nice long walk that brings out the best in them, they always end up in an imaginary world or singing, making up silly stories. It’s fun listening to them. It sparked my screen time trick too – making the kids earn valuable screen time with a dog walk! Making outdoor activities earn the children screen time!

Splash parks

What I mean by this is one of those parks that was a shallow pool that the kids can have a lot of fun in, splashing and running. There is one in Cambridge with a pool, its about knee height on me. We also venture slightly afield to Letchworth and there is an amazing splash park there for the younger (non swimming kids).

National Trust

This is the only thing we probably do pay for annually as we just love visiting the National Trust locations around us. We have a few on our doorstep: Wicken Fen, Anglesey Abbey, Houghton Mill and our favourite, Wimpole Estate. We love going for a nice walk, we take the dogs too. It will be nice to have a look around the Wimpole Manor House when the kiddies get older, they would just run around it being noisy if we went now!

Visit a farm

This is always a winner with the children. We loved Sacrewell Farm, it had so much to do for the kiddies. There were a lot of lovely farm animals to see, but it also had tractors to ride and an indoor soft play center – always a winner.

Then there is Wimpole Estate Home Farm, if you have a National Trust membership you can visit this farm for free and there is plenty to do. You can also ride tractors and play in the hay bales.

A day at the races

Obviously, having Newmarket Racecourse in Cambridgeshire is a great way of getting outdoors and having fun in the family enclosure. There is so much to do and you can take your own picnic, which is always a bonus.

Fishing

All you need to do is buy a fishing license and adhere to the rules of whatever stretch of river you are at, but apart from that fishing has become a fun activity for the kiddies. Daddy loves fishing and he is made up that the kids enjoy it too. They both get so excited when they catch a fish!

A simple picnic

Well this one is super easy: find a location that you like and take a picnic. You can spend as long or as little time as you like there. There are so many lovely picnic spots in Cambridgeshire, from parks to nature reserves.

Hire a boat

This is one of our favourite outdoor activities in the Summer, we hire a boat from Huntingdon and spend the day up the river towards St Ives and back again. We all love it, the children soak up all the nature around us and they love the picnic. They also enjoy driving the boat – Captain Constants!

Add some steps

I share my step count with the kiddies most days, they often ask me how many steps I have done. If I haven’t done a lot that day then I usually use this to challenge the kiddies to help me up my step count. At this point they ask me how many steps I have done, then ask me throughout the walk, then add up how many steps we have done by a little maths! Their favourite activity. It is so nice to just get out and have a walk in the fresh air, I am grateful that my kiddies are active.

We are in such a great location as the Norfolk beaches are not too far, Rutland Water isn’t too far either – so much to do on our doorsteps. We are really lucky. What do you like to do with the kids in terms of outdoor activities, I would love to know in the comments below?