It’s summer and we all know heat is part of this marvelous season that announces Summer holiday for children. Children do fine when places are hot, but when it gets hotter, it’s no longer the best for them. After spending so much time in the classrooms, it’s no longer surprising that children will want to spend their Summer months outdoors. It’s one of the best months for them to spend together with family in the open air. It may be a bike ride after dinner or just taking a dip in the pool. There’s no time as good enough to spend summer with kids than the Summer holidays.

Our kids have been sitting in the classroom for long months, sitting at home becomes pretty boring for them. That’s why I decided to come up with a list of places you can spend summer with your kids in London and its environs for free.

1. Play Pirates at the Diana Memorial Playground

Spend summer with your kids at the Diana Memorial Playground. Let you kids have a feel of what royalty is all about by taking them for a visit at this playground in Kensington Gardens. It’s open for kids up to 12 years old and located next to the Kensington Palace of Lady Diana, the Princess of Wales.

The playground design draws its inspiration from the stories of J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan. The Diana Memorial Playground was opened to the public on June 30, 2000 and is a safe and fun place for children under 12 to play for free and freely. For more safety, unaccompanied adults are not allowed to enter and the gate is always locked for everyone’s safety.

What can you find in the Diana Memorial Playground?

• A play tunnel
• A sand beach around a pirate ship
• A sensory trail
• Slides, swings and a climbing trail
• Play sculptures and hidden toys in the bushes and plants (trees and plants surround the playground)
• A music area
• A story-telling space
• Places for grown-ups to sit while they watch their kids play. However, most of them usually play along with their kids on the ship.

2. A Day Out with the Kids at Kew Gardens

It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2003 for its role in the development of science, plant research, works on history and the development of garden landscape. The Kew Gardens is a 300 acres landscape where visitors take around three hours to explore.

Read Also: 5 Stunning Gardens to Visit With Family in London

You can spend a whole day there with kids of under 17 for free to explore the beautiful gardens. This makes it an affordable place to spend summer with kids and get a million worth of happiness.

What can you find in Kew Gardens?

• It’s a 300-acre beautiful garden with beautiful landscape
• Kids enjoy the massive park’s outdoors which they love to run around
• The Treetop High Walkway that offers terrific views
• An indoor interactive playground called Climbers & Creepers for 3-9 year-olds
• Treehouse Towers for 3-11 year-old children
• A family shop and a cafe next to the Climbers & Creepers and the Treehouse Towers
• A paradise for both professional photographers and visitors. Make sure you have all you need, else you will leave dissatisfied
• Outdoor sculpture exhibitions

It should be noted that Kew Gardens is on the flight path of the Heathrow Airport so you will get noise from planes landing and taking off every few minutes. It may be a distraction, but you will get used to it after a while as the beautiful scenery drowns away the noise.

3. Spend a Hectic Time with the Dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum

It’s time for ‘living with the dinos’ at the Natural History Museum at the Darwin Centre where you will find the almost 12,000 years old mammoth tusk. Your kids will be more than happy to live the prehistoric times with extinct creatures like the dungong skeleton, the mammoth tusk and the elephant bird egg.

They will also find real scientists working at the Investigate Science Centre in the basement. Both children and adults are aloud to handle the plants, animals and geological treasures that are stored there.

Yes, it is all free for all those who want to spend summer with kids though you can become a Friend of the Museum for a small fee. This goes with the benefit of adopting a specimen in the museum.

4. What About Having a Feeling of “Country Life” at a City Farm

If you are in London and want your family to have a feel of what it means to live in the “country”, then know there are many city farms around where you can visit for free. You are also free to donate if you enjoy it so much.

Some of London’s Famous City Farms where you can spend summer with kids

• Spend time with the goats, pigs, sheep and more at the Hackney City Farm as well as pay a visit to its award-winning cafe
• What about visiting the largest urban farm in London with a 34 acres open parkland, Mudchute Park and Farm. Here, your kids can take a horseback ride, visit the farm animals while taking advantage of the farm’s educational facilities.
• If your kids wants to go for a pony ride and see a wide range of poultry, livestock and horses, then checkout Kentish Town City Farm.
• If you want something more rural, then checkout the Stepney City Farm at the East End.
• And they can go donkey riding, take pony-care classes as well as milking demonstrations at the Vauxhall City Farm.

5. Take a Technology Ride at the Science Museum

South Kensington has three marvelous museums where you can spend summer with kids – the Natural History Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum and the Science Museum which I am talking about. The Science Museum was founded with objects that went on display at the 1851 Great Exhibition is open to children of all ages. Presently, the Science Museum has the latest technology that helps visitors of all ages learn about science.

What can you find there?

• The basement “Garden” with its water-based, construction and sensory experiences for kids age 3 to 6
• The “Pattern Pod” where kids aged 5-8 can enjoy creating patterns in various ways.
• The IMAX cinema is also open to bigger kids
• While you can take a stroll with the entire family at the museums outstanding shop.

At the Science Museum, you will discover iconic objects, award-winning exhibitions and stories that tell incredible scientific achievements. One thing you will love at the museum is that it’s free and open to everyone. You are also free to donate and support the museum.