Days out in Hampshire

Filter 147 places and 516 upcoming events by where you are, what you fancy and what the weather is doing.

Image: 360 Play

Indoor and rainy dayFarnborough

360 Play Farnborough

360 Play Farnborough is a family entertainment centre in The Meads with a three-storey soft play frame, dodgems, a musical carousel and a role play street. Messy play and water play are included in the ticket, and there is no time limit, which makes it a full-day option for children up to 12.

Ages 4 to 12: £15.95 off-peak on weekdays and £17.95 at weekends and in holidays. Adults £6.95 off-peak and £7.95 peak. Under 1s are free but must be booked. A £1.99 booking fee applies to each booking.Directions

Image: Active Monkeys Play Centre

Indoor and rainy dayFleet

Active Monkeys Play Centre

An indoor play centre in Fleet for toddlers and young children. Sessions are booked online, and the centre is open most days of the year.

Check the official site for session prices.Directions

Photo: Alan Hunt, CC BY-SA 2.0

Family days outAldershot

Aldershot Lido

An outdoor pool on Guildford Road in Aldershot, with a classic pool, three flumes, a diving board, a toddler pool and a sandpit. Picnics are allowed, and the grounds have basketball courts.

Check the official site for prices and season dates.Directions

Photo: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0

MuseumsAldershot

Aldershot Military Museum

A museum on Queens Avenue in Aldershot covering the history of the British Army and the town's military past. Families can complete a set of missions around the galleries, aimed at ages 7 and over.

£10 to £25Directions

Image: Aldershot Park

Family days outAldershot

Aldershot Park

A large park in Aldershot with an extensive children's play area split into zones for different ages, a fishing lake and sports pitches. The Blackwater Valley River Path runs along its eastern end.

FreeDirections

Photo: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0

OutdoorsBucks Horn Oak

Alice Holt Forest

247 hectares of forest with walking, wellbeing and cycle trails, a giant marble run, Gruffalo sculptures and play areas. The Go Ape treetop course is also here.

Car parking is paid by card at pay stations near the visitor centre. Check the official site for current charges.Directions

Lee-on-the-Solent

OutdoorsLee-on-the-Solent

Alver Valley Country Park

Gosport's wildlife haven, with woodland, meadows and wetlands between Gosport and Lee-on-the-Solent. The park has a children's play facility at the Western Gateway, a 17th century village and marked routes for walking and cycling.

FreeDirections

Image: Andover Museum and Museum of the Iron Age

MuseumsAndover

Andover Museum and Museum of the Iron Age

A free museum on Church Close telling the story of Andover and the surrounding area. The Museum of the Iron Age, in the same building, covers the nearby Danebury hill fort.

FreeDirections

Photo: Gordon Griffiths, CC BY-SA 2.0

BeachesBarton-on-Sea

Barton-on-Sea clifftop and beach

A stretch of council-managed clifftop open space above Christchurch Bay at Barton-on-Sea, used for walking, cycling, picnics and watching wildlife. Designated paths and steps lead down to the beach, a designated bathing water, with beach huts along the shore.

FreeDirections

Photo: Fernweh, CC BY-SA 2.0

OutdoorsOld Basing

Basing Lime Pits

A former private estate on Basingstoke Common, now a place to walk, play and picnic. Its play area has a 30-metre zip wire, and the site is on the Basingstoke Canal Heritage Footpath Trail, which ends at Basing House.

FreeDirections

Image: The Inland Waterways Association

OutdoorsOdiham

Basingstoke Canal at Odiham

The Hampshire end of the Basingstoke Canal, with the canal navigable to King John's Castle at Odiham. Walks follow the towpath, and boat trips run on the canal in season.

Boat trips are booked online through the Basingstoke Canal Society. Check the official site for current prices.Directions

Image: Basingstoke Sports Centre Soft Play

Indoor and rainy dayBasingstoke

Basingstoke Sports Centre Soft Play

The soft play area at Basingstoke Sports Centre, run by Better. Birthday parties range from soft play to pool parties, with booking recommended.

Under £10Directions

Photo: Mr Ignavy, CC BY-SA 2.0

OutdoorsBasingstoke

Beggarwood Park

A Green Flag woodland park and Local Nature Reserve in Basingstoke, with a toddler and junior play area, outdoor gym equipment, a pump track and the Café in the Park.

FreeDirections

Photo: Birdworld, CC BY-SA 4.0

Animals and wildlifeHolt Pound

Birdworld

A bird park with a Play Barn, a play area and a cafe, two miles south of Farnham on the Hampshire and Surrey border. Treetop adventures are also on site.

Day ticket prices were not confirmed in this research. Memberships start from £65 on the official tickets page. Visitors who travel by Stagecoach bus get 10% off the entrance ticket, if they keep their ticket as proof.Directions

Photo: Christopher Hilton, CC BY-SA 2.0

History and heritageBishop's Waltham

Bishop's Waltham Palace

The remains of a grand medieval residence of the Bishops of Winchester, including a three-storey tower and the great hall windows built by William of Wykeham. The old lodging range now houses Bishop's Waltham Museum.

FreeDirections

Photo: David Martin, CC BY-SA 2.0

OutdoorsLyndhurst

Blackwater Arboretum and the Tall Trees Trail

A small arboretum of trees from around the world on Rhinefield Ornamental Drive, cared for by Forestry England. A short sensory loop with tactile sculptures winds through the arboretum, and the Tall Trees Trail crosses the road to walk beneath Douglas firs and giant redwoods planted in Victorian times.

FreeDirections

Image: Forestry England

WalksBrockenhurst

Blackwater and the Tall Trees Trail, Rhinefield Ornamental Drive

A Forestry England arboretum on the Rhinefield Ornamental Drive, where the 1.5-mile Tall Trees Trail runs beneath Douglas firs and giant redwoods planted in the reign of Queen Victoria. An easy arboretum trail and a sensory sculpture trail start from the same car park.

FreeDirections

Photo: Paul Gillett, CC BY-SA 2.0

Animals and wildlifeSouthsea

Blue Reef Aquarium Portsmouth

An aquarium on the Southsea seafront with marine and freshwater animals in its exhibits and a programme of talks through the day.

Check on the official site. Ticket prices were not confirmed in this research.Directions

Photo: Stuart Logan, CC BY-SA 2.0

OutdoorsLyndhurst

Bolderwood

A Forestry England site on an old coaching route west of Lyndhurst, with some of the oldest Douglas fir trees in the New Forest, the earliest dating to about 1860. Three waymarked circular trails lead from the car park through ancient and ornamental woodland, and the longest passes a deer viewing platform where fallow deer are often seen.

FreeDirections

Photo: Gordon Spicer, CC BY-SA 2.0

History and heritageBreamore

Breamore House and Countryside Museum

An Elizabethan manor house completed in 1583, set between woodland and parkland on the western edge of the New Forest near Fordingbridge. Small guided tours take you through the state rooms and living quarters, and the Countryside Museum recreates post-war village life with farm machinery and steam engines.

Under £10Directions

Image: Buckler’s Hard

History and heritageBeaulieu

Buckler's Hard Museum and Village

An 18th-century shipbuilding village on the Beaulieu River where warships for Nelson's navy were built, including three that fought at Trafalgar. The museum and reconstructed cottages tell the story of the shipyard and the families who lived there, and the wide village street running down to the river is free to explore.

Under £10Directions

Photo: nick macneill, CC BY-SA 2.0

History and heritagePetersfield

Butser Ancient Farm

A working farm on the South Downs with historic buildings, open fires and livestock, run as a living museum of ancient farming. Visitors can look around, buy snacks and bring a picnic.

£10 to £25Directions

Photo: Phil Champion, CC BY-SA 2.0

CastlesCalshot

Calshot Castle and Calshot Spit

A round artillery fort built by Henry VIII in 1539 to guard the sea passage to Southampton, standing at the tip of Calshot Spit with views across the Solent. Later used against smugglers and as an RAF seaplane base, it is owned by English Heritage and run by the neighbouring Calshot Activities Centre, whose shingle beaches are open to all.

Under £10Directions

Photo: Len Williams, CC BY-SA 2.0

Family days outFleet

Calthorpe Park

A town park in Fleet, run by Fleet Town Council, with a play area for children up to eight, a football pitch and pavilion, and a woodland area. Fleet Carnival and the Fleet Half Marathon start from the park.

FreeDirections