The confines of the M25 have plenty of opportunities for a Kentish day out. Chris Price rounds up five ideas.

Brooklands Lakes, Dartford

Get up early, put your gear in the car and drive down to Brooklands Lakes for some carp and pike fishing. Known as the Dartford Lakes and home to the Dartford and District Angling and Preservation Society since the 1930s, it is open for experienced anglers and family days out. Fishermen in the know choose groundbait feeder tactics for bream. Dog biscuit floaters work well for carp.

A few minutes drive from Junction 2 of the M25, the carp in the lake reach more than 30lbs and the bream more than 7lbs. It is also home to tench, roach, perch and eels.

There is no need to book. Just turn up, start fishing and a bailiff will find you and give you a day ticket.

Open: 24/7 but young children only in daylight hours.

Cost: Day tickets cost £6 for one rod, £8 for two rods and £10 for three rods, all for a 12-hour period. Under 12s £3 per rod for 12 hours. A 24-hour session costs £20 and 48 hours costs £25. Bring own equipment.

Address: DDAPS, Lake House, 2, Walnut Tree Avenue, Dartford DA1 1LJ. Parking in the industrial estate off Powder Mill Lane or in DDAPS car park next to Homebase.

Contact: 01322 270397 or www.ddaps.org

Charles Darwin developed his revolutionary theories on evolution on an expedition aboard HMS Beagle. The captain of the vessel, Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy, is a less well-known figure but children can hear his story and learn naval skills at Darwin’s Kent home.

Tying knots and spelling their name in coloured flags helps to unravel some of the mysteries of the world of nautical navigation. The captain will also tell the story of his famous adventure with Darwin and families can hear how FitzRoy was the Michael Fish of his day.

FitzRoy provided the first weather forecasts for fishermen and sailors by developing a warning system about potential storms using barometers placed around the country.

These forecasts were published for the first time during the 1860s in the Times and even today, one of the shipping forecast areas is named FitzRoy in his honour.

Visitors to Darwin’s home, near Orpington, can also see the rooms where the scientist used to study, and where he wrote On the Origin of Species. The house is still home to many of his scientific instruments, as well as test-tubes, animal skulls, little boxes containing insects and his well-worn walking stick.

A new exhibition at the house is a full-sized replica of Darwin’s cabin aboard the HMS Beagle, there’s even an animated illusion of the man himself.

Open: Daily from 11am to 5pm until Saturday, September 1. Seafaring events from Monday, August 13 to Friday, August 17.

Cost: Adults £9.90, concessions £8.90, children £5.90, families £25.70, plus activities cost £1.

Address: The Home of Charles Darwin, Down House, Luxted Road, Downe BR6 7JT

Contact: 01689 859119 orwww.english-heritage.org.uk/Darwin

Eltham Palace

It is famous for its 1930s art deco decoration but visitors will travel back to the Victorian era for the Ugly Bug Safari.

The childhood home of Henry VIII will let children race around the grounds on an insect hunt, with magnifying glass in hand. They will meet mini-beasts and learn about their habitats before making their own creepy crawly to take home.

The following week, visitors are taken back to the war years, with air raids, rationing and evacuations teaching children about life in the 1940s. They can also tackle an obstacle course and the children’s drill.

Eltham Palace’s entrance hall, dining room and gold-plated bathroom are among England’s finest examples of art deco.

There are also plenty of places to enjoy a picnic and view the substantial medieval remains. The palace was initially a moated manor house with vast parkland, until it was acquired by the future Edward II in 1305 who subsequently passed it on to his queen, Isabella. Henry VIII was the last monarch to spend a substantial amount of time at Eltham, after it was eclipsed in grandeur by Greenwich Palace in the 16th century.

Open: Sunday to Wednesday, including bank holidays from 10am to 5pm until Sunday, November 4. Bug Safari from Sunday, August 12 to Wednesday, August 15. Second World War event from Sunday, August 19 to Wednesday, August 22.

Cost: Adult £9.60, concessions £8.60, children £5.80, families £25.

Address: Eltham Palace, Court Yard, Eltham SE9 5QE

Contact: 020 8294 2548 or www.english-heritage.org.uk/Eltham

Thames Barrier, near Woolwich

Find out how and why the Thames Barrier was built. The outdoor summer 2012 exhibition explains how its 10 steel gates – stretching 520 metres across the Thames – protects 1.25m people in 125 square kilometres of central London, including the Houses of Parliament, from flooding. The Thames Barrier has closed 119 times since it was completed in 1982 and when raised, the main gates are as high as a five-storey building and as wide as the opening of Tower Bridge.

A boat trip getting up close to the barrier runs from Westminster and Greenwich. The Thames River Services trips cost from £8.50, children from £4.25. Details on www.thamesriverservices.co.uk

Open: Daily from 10.30am to 5pm until Sunday, September 9.

Cost: Free until Sunday, September 9.

Address: Thames Barrier Information Centre, 1 Unity Way SE18 5NJ

Contact: 0208 305 4188 orwww.environment-agency.gov.uk/thamesbarrier

Summer crafts classes will get children designing their own wallpaper inspired by William Morris.

Morris was founder of the Arts and Crafts movement and Red House is the only house commissioned, created and lived in by him.

In a secluded part of the garden, children can use Morris’ designs for their own paper, using rubber stamps of Red House birds and flowers. Meanwhile, mum and dad can relax in the tearoom.

When the L-shaped house was completed in 1860, artist and designer Edward Burne-Jones described it as “the beautifullest place on earth”.

It still has original features and furniture by Morris and architect Philip Webb as well as stained glass and paintings by Burne-Jones. Guided tours are run in the early part of each day, before the art workshops get under way. Conservation work has started on some of the wall paintings and some previously unknown decorations have been discovered after some wooden battens were taken off the ceiling. It is hoped these original Morris designs and the restored wall painting will be ready to go fully on show next summer.

Open: Wednesday to Sunday from 11am until 5pm. Guided tours only from 11am until 1.30pm, which must be booked. Art workshops run on Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout August from 1.30pm to 4pm.

Cost: £8, children £4. Workshop £2.50 each.

Address: Red House, Red House Lane, Bexleyheath DA6 8JF

Contact: 0208 304 9878 orwww.nationaltrust.org.uk/red-house