More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Hop down with your little bunnies to the park at Deal for activities running from Sunday, April 2 to Easter Monday. They kick off with Donkey Day when Mike’s Donkeys – Bella, Charlie, Danny and Dermot – return on Sunday, April 2 between 11am and 3pm for chin rubs and back scratches, followed by Savage Skills, the UK’s leading freestyle mountain bike stunt team, on Sunday, April 9. An Easter trail runs between 9.30am and 4.30pm, from Saturday, April 1 to Easter Monday, costing £1.50 per trail sheet and the school holiday club for ages eight to 14, Betteshanger Basecamp, is on weekdays from Monday, April 3 to Thursday, April 13. Visit betteshanger-park.co.uk
Bewl near Lamberhurst springs into the new season with the Bewl Belle offering trips around the reservoir with drop-off and pick-up points around the shore, throughout the holidays from Saturday, April 1 to Easter Monday. The festivities will include an Easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday. There’s also bike hire and a children’s adventure playground. For details visit bewlwater.co.uk
A series of activities for the whole family will run whatever the weather. From Monday, April 3 to Thursday, April 6, join Story Time with Goldilocks and the Three Bears, a free, 20-minute theatre show performance, followed by a craft session. Reserve your child’s slot at event box office in the centre open every day from Monday, April 3. There will also be an Easter Egg trail from Saturday, April 1 to Easter Monday, where children can hunt for 12 giant eggs hidden around the mall for a chocolate prize. Details at Bluewater.co.uk
Be a busy bee this Easter and get baking and making at a cookery day on Wednesday, April 5 at the house in Chiddingstone, or make some Easter bunny buns and chocolate eggs on Thursday, April 6, before heading outside for an Easter egg hunt. For details and to book for activities through the holidays, visit boreplace.org/whats-on
Cadbury Easter egg hunts across Kent
After a successful launch last year, the city centre attraction will open its Medieval Story Garden again on Monday, April 3, hosting a series of themed activities from storytelling to medieval medicine lessons and a Knight’s School quest, plus a Maypole dancing session. The Easter themed activities run until Friday, April 14, 11am to 3pm each day. For details visit canterburytales.org.uk
Help bunny find the missing members of the Churchill family around the home of Sir Winston and along the way, discover their nicknames before tucking into a chocolatey prize. The trail will run from Saturday, April 1 to Easter Monday, between 11am and 4pm. Normal admission applies, £2 per trail.
Digger lovers both young and old will be able to indulge their passion at the Strood site, which is open from 10am to 5pm throughout the school holidays. There is free parking and a gift shop on site. For details go to diggerland.com
The Lubbock lamb has escaped from his pen and gone on the run across Emmetts Garden – follow the trail and find out where he has escaped to, between Saturday, April 1 to Easter Monday, between 11am and 4pm. Normal admission applies, £2 per trail.
Alice’s Circus Adventures come to Groombridge Place near Tunbridge Wells throughout the holidays with themed fun from Saturday, April 1 to Easter Sunday, 10am to 5pm daily. All the family can meet the Mad Hatter, Alice, The Queen of Hearts, Cheshire Cat and the forgetful White Rabbit. Organised with Acting Moon, there will be a circus themed twist as characters thrill audiences with their circus tricks high up in the forest, plus a photo booth and birds of prey displays twice daily. For entry and a 10% online discount, go to groombridgeplace.com
The Gillingham shopping centre will be running free Easter Family throughout the school holidays from Monday, April 3 to Easter Saturday, April 15 at 11am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm. Makendoo return with art and craft workshops from Monday, April 3 to Sunday, April 9 outside Boots, where children can decorate an Easter card, flower pot, plant a sunflower seed or make a bunny, chick, egg or butterfly mask. No need to book, but parents need to supervise their children. For details go to hempsteadvalley.com
Easter activities at the Chatham site run from Saturday, April 1 to Easter Monday and include joining Doc.Yard’s assistant Bunsen for an electrifying session and an Easter egg hunt to find giant colourful rope eggs hidden across the site with clues from the Captain’s Cat. Young explorers who find all four and crack the code can win a treat. Visitors can also explore the site and try three play areas or picnic onsite. Tickets are valid for a year. For details go to thedockyard.co.uk/whats-on
Easter holiday activities run at the farm near Paddock Wood every day from Saturday, April 1 to Easter Monday from 10am. An entry fee of £1 allows access to indoor soft play, outdoor adventure play and crazy golf plus games and animals including lambs and chicks. For details go to thehopfarm.co.uk
Spot adorable new animal arrivals at the wild animal park as you visit in the Easter holidays, between Saturday, April 1 to Easter Monday. There will be fact-packed animal talks every day at locations around the park, plus activities, competitions and crafts, as well as fun trails to follow. Young visitors can also learn about how the park works to send animals born there back to protected areas of the wild. The park’s Treetop Challenge and Animal Adventure Challenge will also be open throughout the holidays. For details visit aspinallfoundation.org/howletts
Find some creepy crawlies around the Mote throughout the school holidays with a Spring Bug Trail, which runs from Saturday, April 1 to Easter Monday, between 10am and 5pm each day. There will also be a guided estate walk on Sunday, April 9 at 10.30am. For details call 01732 810378 or go to
The charity, which is based in the Involve Hub in Maidstone's Mall near the bus station, is holding an arts and crafts week from Monday, April 3 to Friday, April 7, with activities mornings and afternoons, including making Sock Monsters on Thursday, April 6. Some are paid-for activities, most are for a donation.
The Bug Roadshow will be at the trust’s Tyland Barn Visitor Centre in Maidstone on Wednesday, April 5, with sessions at 10am, 11.30am, 1.30pm and 3pm. Learn facts about wild exotic animals and even get to hold some! Sessions are £6 and suitable for ages five and over. Learn how to use stencils, potato stamps and collage to create your own original printed pattern on recycled card at an Eco Easter Birds session at the Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve on Thursday, April 6. There are one hour sessions through the day starting at 10am. Entry is £6. To book for either visit kentwildlifetrust.org.uk
The Sooty Show will be working some special magic in the Big Top at Kent Life Heritage Farm Park in Sandling, Maidstone, on Saturday, April 1 and Sunday, April 2. There will be three Sooty shows each day at 11.30am, 1.30pm and 3.30pm, with each including a magical warm-up and a chance for pictures at the end. While on the 28-acre farm, meet the newborn spring lambs, head to Cuddle Corner, or go wild in the large indoor soft play area. All Sooty shows are included in the entry fee. For details and to book call 01622 763936 or visit kentlife.org.uk.
KNOLE
On Monday, April 3 and Monday, April 10, between 11am and 3pm, there are spring-themed activities, wild art and the chance to learn how to make a home for a wild animal. There is a suggested donation of £2 for the activities, which are suitable for five to 12.
Take the Easter quest from Saturday, April 1 to Easter Monday, when young visitors can seek out clues hidden around the castle grounds. Those who answer all the questions will receive a chocolatey reward. Trail cards cost £1, with normal admission fees applying. At the end of the Easter break Robin Hoodie and Maid Marion arrive for a walking theatre adventure of silliness, from Good Friday to Easter Monday. For tickets and further details visit leeds-castle.com
The castle and its World Garden reopen to visitors on Saturday, April 1. The garden contains some 8,000 plant species, thanks to the vision of modern-day plant hunter Tom Hart Dyke. There will be an Easter egg quiz and trail on Saturday, April 15, to Easter Monday. For details go to lullingstonecastle.co.uk
The house and gardens are open from Saturday, April 1, kicking off a fortnight of entertaining activities, including a new garden trail and Easter-themed crafts. A garden trail to decode the Easter Bunny’s clues in time for Easter will be running from 10.30am to 6pm from April 1 to Easter Sunday and there will be crafts from noon to 4pm. The hunt will involve finding carrots with hidden secret messages left around the garden, to find the answer to a rabbity riddle and solve the puzzle. Crafts will be held in the Old Coach House, including helping colour in a giant story poster and making a pair of rabbit ears. The price of activities are included in the standard grounds admission price. For details go to penshurstplace.com
Step back in time to the days of the dinosaurs with the Hythe site’s Dinosaur Forest, the UK’s biggest outdoor collection of life sized dinosaurs, including the new arrival, the Spinosaurus, measuring in at 18 metres long and 1.6m tall. Dinosaur rangers will be on hand throughout the holidays to give talks. On Saturday, April 1, the reserve will also celebrate International Bear Day, with stars spectacled bear pair Oberon and Rina. There will be a walking bear safari, the chance to learn about them and make bear masks at the conservation studio. Plus there will be free crafts, games and fact-filled talks and an Easter egg trail with prizes at the end. For details go to aspinallfoundation.org/port-lympne
ROYAL VICTORIA PLACE
Make a date with the Tunbridge Wells shopping centre on Wednesday, April 5 for storytime with PJ Mask characters Catboy, Owlette and Gekko. These super heroes swoop into action at night, solving mysteries that arise during the day, on a mission to make things right for everyone in the daytime world. On Wednesday, April 12, Mr Bump, Little Miss Princess and Mr Tickle will be at RVP to share some fun stories based on the original creations by Roger Hargreaves which all started with the first book featuring Mr Tickle back in 1971. Storytime sessions for both are at 11am, noon, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm, on level one opposite M&S. Events are free and may be subject to change or cancellation. Spaces are on a first come, first served basis, so arrive early to avoid disappointment. Whilst at the centre take time out to explore the shops, open throughout the Easter Weekend, except Easter Sunday. Find out more at royalvictoriaplace.com
