When you’re thinking of planning a day out for your family, it can be extremely difficult to get your plan off the ground. Managing your children (and spouse!) while you book, travel to and take part in an experience day can seem like a daunting task to accomplish, especially if you want everyone to have a fun day without any hiccups occurring.
Here at Honister Slate, we love family days out that champion amazing experiences and good honest fun. We’ve put together a guide to how you can plan your perfect day to make the experience the best it can be for all involved.
Before you start thinking about where to go on your day out, you should first have a talk with your family about what kind of things they want to do. This should be your kids, your spouse and anybody else that will be coming on the day out. You don’t want to plan an amazing day that you personally will love, but the rest of your family aren’t that interested in. Ask questions about what type of day they’ll enjoy, such as whether they want an adrenaline rush or to be educated.
Next, you’ll want to think about everybody’s needs and restrictions. For example, a theme park day out might seem great for teenagers, but small children and the elderly are not going to enjoy this as much as what they can do will be restricted. Adults may be up for a whole day of activities, but kids may feel tired and not want to be out and about for the entire day.
Another restriction you will want to think about is cost. Some experiences are going to be more expensive than others, so it is important you go into planning it either knowing how much you want to spend per person or an overall cost you’re aiming at. In your research, you might want to look for opportunities to save money, such as discounts or group tickets.
Once you know what everyone wants to do and what everybody is capable of doing, you can begin to research exactly what you want to do.
How people research depends on the person, but here are a few tips to help you out. Use as many resources to research as you can. This includes looking online, in magazines or even asking people for recommendations. By researching using a vast number of sources, you might find a hidden gem that you wouldn’t find with a simple search.
When researching, try to find as many details about the day out as possible. Places with only vague information are the kind of places the day is more likely to go wrong. You want to be able to find out as much information about a place as you can, to help you make an informed decision about whether you want to go there.
As well as the attraction that you’re going to, you want to research the local area at the same time. Sometimes you might find an amazing restaurant nearby that you want to go to, or even more activities that you could add to your day.
For all the events that interest you, next you should check out the reviews. While a website or brochure can boast about how amazing the experience is, the reviews will be able to give you a more honest picture of what it is like. Make sure you read a mix of reviews, paying attention to the negative ones to see what exactly they disliked about the day. Most of the time people like complaining about little things, but if everybody is discussing something constantly, you might want to avoid it.
When preparing the schedule for the day, try to be flexible, but maybe not too flexible. Structure is good, but if your family is regimented to an exact plan for the day, it can make the day a lot less fun. Instead, try to create a plan for the day that doesn’t rely too heavily on timings. Some places might have precise times for you to arrive, but try to be flexible with your schedule leading up to the times when no flexibility is possible. Also, a whole day of activities can easily tire out children, so having a flexible schedule means you can have breaks to recover everybody’s energy.
One of the best ways to ensure the trip goes off without a hitch is to plan ahead. Try not to rush around at the last minute on the day and get everything packed the day before. This includes any activities needed for the car, snacks and spare clothes if needed. Make sure you check the weather forecast in advance, as you might need to pack raincoats or other items of clothing. Even if no rain is on the horizon, sometimes it’s best to pack these things anyways in case of emergency.
You should always book in advance when possible. Some places run on advance bookings only, or will only let in a certain amount of people each day. To avoid disappointment, always prebook.
If you know in advance that there are not going to be food options, such as if you’re going hiking or somewhere else outdoors, prepare a picnic the day before. A picnic is a lovely activity to enhance your day that will also save you money on an expensive lunch out. You can prepare most of a picnic the night before, such as packing any savoury items and making things like sandwiches. As well as food, make sure there is plenty to drink during the journey and throughout the day.
While you might be going somewhere you know, chances are you might be heading somewhere you’ve never been before. Therefore it is important to research the route to know exactly how long it should take. Plug the route into a satnav or a tool like Google Maps to examine the route it suggests and see how long it takes. If possible, try to look at the route at a time/day that will be similar conditions to your trip, such as exactly a week before. It’s no use checking the time at 10 at night on a Tuesday when you’ll be driving it at 9 in the morning on a Saturday!
Prepare the night before what you can, then make a list of everything you need to do the day of the event. This list will ensure you don’t forget anything at the last second, as the rush to get going can often lead to people forgetting something important. You can simply wake up, grab your list and work through it so you don’t forget anything!
While you obviously want to go with your original plan, sometimes things just don’t work out the way you want. Your outdoor activities might be affected by the weather, or the experience you’re looking to go to might need to close for some reason. For these reasons, it is always good to try and think up a backup plan.
This should be a nearby activity to your original plan that you know won’t disappoint. Common ideas are museums or other indoor activities, as these are less likely to be affected by weather or closed altogether. Try to find out if you need your backup plan as early as possible to avoid disappointment. There’s nothing worse than driving an hour to find out somewhere is closed when a phone call before you set off could’ve confirmed.
If you’re looking to embark on a fun family-friendly day full of activities, check out the home of adventure in the Lake District, Honister Slate. We are more than just your typical mine, with a range of adventures spread across our sprawling ground. You can experience everything from cliff camping and canyoning to abseiling and mine tours. We have both action-packed and informative activities, perfect for any type of family day out.
Can’t think of what to do? Our all-day pass is a great choice in this situation. It will take you across three of our amazing activities; The Infinity Bridge, our Via Ferrata Xtreme and Canyoning. The Infinity Bridge is Europe’s longest high-wire bridge and is suspended 1000 feet above sea level. Canyoning will take you across waterfalls and abseil down mountainscapes as you journey across our site. Finally, the Via Ferrata Xtreme is a thrill-seeking adventure that is not for the faint of heart. You’ll journey through challenging environments such as vertical ladder climbs and overhang descents.
If you’d like to find out more about any of our activities or would like to book a day out at Honister Slate, give us a call today at 017687 77230.
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