Swords, arrows and eggs

Armed to fight boredom, six families set off on adventurous days out. Joanna Moorhead reports

Joust the job

What Enjoy the colourful sights and exciting action in a summer of jousting at Lulworth castle, Dorset
When Jousting takes place at 12 noon and 3pm, July 24-Aug 29. Castle open daily (not Sats except July 30)
Price Adults £8.50, children £4.50; family (1+3) £13.50, (2+3) £21
Information 01929 400352

Twice daily over the summer, the brave knights of Lulworth do battle with the Evil Black Knight on the castle's front lawn. It's a scene that brings medieval history to life as little else can. And it's not all about spectator sport: visitors can try juggling and archery themselves. "The archery is brilliant," says John Bowden, 10, who got an exclusive preview of the festival. "And it was so exciting seeing the horses galloping.

"The castle is good too. Children don't always enjoy being taken around an old place, but at Lulworth they've hidden pretend rats in every room and you have to look out for them. It makes walking round it a lot more fun. Downstairs, in the basement, there's a room set up for a meal in the olden days, and you can almost imagine the family who lived there have just gone out of the back door. It's so realistic."

His sister Hannah, six, says she particularly enjoyed the animal park with its rabbits, sheep and ponies. "The bunny barn was my favourite bit - you could hold a rabbit there," she says. "There were lots of peacocks walking around too and I liked looking at their feathers." Their mother, Lisa Bowden, says there's also a good adventure playground reached through a pleasant woodland walk, and plenty of space for kids to run about. "I'd recommend it, especially if you're looking for somewhere to take a picnic," she says. "It's a good place to take your cricket bat and ball, because you could easily have a great full day out there, enjoying the jousting and the castle and then having a ball game and a picnic."

Roald Dahl and the chocolate factory

What Be inspired by the life and writing of children's favourite Roald Dahl at the Roald Dahl museum and story centre in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire
When Open 10-5, Tues-Sun and bank holiday Mondays
Price Adults £4.50, children £3.50, family £15
Information 01494 892192

Roald Dahl wrote his novels decades ago, but he's the second hottest children's author around for summer 2005, with the new Johnny Depp movie of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory due to open next week. Take your children to see it, and then bring them here to the village where Dahl lived and wrote for many years, so they can learn about the man behind the story.

The museum opened a few weeks ago. It's similar to the Roald Dahl gallery in nearby Aylesbury, but the emphasis is on inspiring children to use their life stories and experiences to write entertaining and engrossing stories. In the galleries at Great Missenden we learn how Dahl, as a Repton schoolboy, offered his services as a product-sampler at the nearby Cadbury's factory and - bingo - the plot of Charlie falls into place. Ditto the link between the RAF fighter pilot flying over Germany in the second world war and James soaring over the countryside in his giant peach.

Best of all, young visitors are given a story ideas book so they can make an immediate start on transforming events around them into story-fodder. "I really loved the page where you can invent a character - you can come up with a name, like Pinky Perkins, and then say what she's like," says Miranda Smith, aged six. "And you can think up new words like stink-i-roo-pop, which is a fizzy drink that not a lot of people like. Roald Dahl liked making up new words, and so do I."

Two words of warning: first, book ahead for this summer as the museum has been very popular since it opened. Second, the cafe isn't yet up and running so take a picnic or check out one of the village pubs (where Dahl himself liked to have the occasional drink) at lunchtime.

Budding scientists egged on

What Learn how the world works at the Glasgow Science Centre
When Open daily 10-6
Prices Adults £6.95, children £4.95
Information 0141 420 5000

You don't have to be a boffin to have a great day out here, and you're almost guaranteed to learn something about science. The emphasis at Glasgow Science Centre is on finding out how things work, without that feeling like hard work at all. The first floor is all about exploration and discovery: how we see and smell and touch. On the second floor, there's lots about science in action, with a big emphasis on the future of the digital society. And the third floor is about science and possibilities - it even predicts when the first human brain transplant is likely to be performed.

For many kids, the action-packed workshops are the most popular part of the day. "The egg drop challenge was my favourite bit," says Freddie Miller, eight. "What you have to do is drop an egg from the balcony of the first floor on to the floor below without breaking it. You think it can't be done, but actually it can. They rope off the area underneath so no one gets splattered, though, just in case." Other attractions include the science shows - which feature gasp-inducing chemical reactions and often inhabit the territory between science and magic - and the climate change theatre. Here kids can learn more about how our world is being affected by global warming, and find out what changes they can make in their own lives to help.

Manufacture gives way to art

What Enjoy the fusion of art and history at Salts Mill, in Saltaire, near Bradford
When Open daily 10-6
Price Free
Information 01274 531185

Salts Mill exists through the vision of three men: Titus Salt, who owned it in its original 19th-century textile-manufacturing heyday; Jonathan Silver, who bought it in a derelict state in the 1980s and saw its potential; and David Hockney who, like Silver, grew up in the area and whose work needed a permanent home. The result is an ideal place for a day out that adults and teenagers will enjoy as much as smaller children. Hockney's art, from his early works through his lithographs, oils and photo montages, is easily accessible to children, and older kids will enjoy taking along a sketch book and using the images as inspiration for their own drawings.

Jo Allen's son Oscar, five, loved his recent trip. "The Hockneys are so colourful and Oscar really enjoys looking at them and talking about them," she says. "It's a good place to go with another adult, so you can take turns to look after the children and do a bit of retail therapy - the home shop there has a wonderful range of European kitchenware."

The bookshop, with its child-friendly floor cushions where parents can lounge and read a book to their little ones, is very popular and the cafe is family-orientated too, with smaller portions of the grown-up food available. "It's a great place to go on a really hot summer's day when you need time indoors but want somewhere big and airy so you don't feel claustrophobic, especially with children," says Allen. When you've seen enough inside the mill, there's plenty to do in the immediate area. Saltaire, the model village built by Salt, is nearby, as is the pretty tramway to Shipley Glen and a waterbus on the nearby canal.

Bows and arrows hit the spot

What Learn about nature and the legend of Robin Hood in his ancient stamping-ground of Sherwood forest The Sherwood forest country park and visitor centre is at Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire
When Park and visitor centre open daily10-5; Robin Hood festival Aug 1-7
Prices: Free (small charge for theatre performances during festival)
Information www.nottsyouth.co.uk; www.sherwoodforest.org.uk

For children mesmerised by the tale of the world's best-loved outlaw, there is no finer summer treat than a trip to the annual jamboree that commemorates him. If you can make it for the fun and games, the music and the theatre performances, then do, but even outside the festival season there's lots to do and plenty to learn about Robin Hood and the flora and fauna in the region. Adam and Ellen Walker, who visited with sons Aidan, seven, James, four, and 18-month-old Joseph, were enthralled.

"Legend says that Robin Hood and his men hid in the hollow trunk of a huge oak tree - and the boys loved playing there," says Ellen. "The whole place has a wonderful atmosphere and it's really beautiful. There are lots of simple pleasures, like watching the squirrels and birds, and it's a great place to take a picnic and make a day of it."

Aidan thought last year's festival was great fun, and is looking forward to going back for the event in August. "There's so much to see and do, with people dressed up in the sort of clothes people used to wear then, and they act out the fights between the sheriff and Robin's men," he says. "And there's a playground there, which I really enjoyed, too."

Adam suggests heading for South Forest after the visitor centre if you want to leave the crowds behind; there's a bridle path leading up to it, and you can ask at the visitor centre for directions.

Or go into nearby Edwinstowe, where you can see the church where Robin Hood and Maid Marian reputedly tied the knot.

Finding Nemo - and swimming with him

What Walk among the fishes at the Blue Planet aquarium, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.
When Open daily 10-6
Prices Adults £9.95, children £7.50, family (2+2) £34
Information 0151 357 8804

How far would you go to entertain your kids in the school holidays? How about an aquarium where you get to dive into the tank to swim with the fishes?

It's certainly a day out with a difference, although the truth is that, while adult dives into the tanks are available at Blue Planet, you have to book well in advance and it's certainly not something you can just turn up and do. Phone for more information if you are interested in letting your kids see you offering the sharks their daily nosh.

But even without the dive, Blue Planet is a superb aquarium. Marie Dimond, who visited with her family, says the guides are very on-the-ball. "I've been to other aquariums around the country, and I'd say this is definitely the best," she says. "Everyone loved it, especially the underwater theatre. You can sit and watch the divers feeding the fish, with someone alongside you explaining what's going on, and it really is fascinating."

Her daughter Ellie, 12, loved the 70-metre tunnel that takes you through a Caribbean reef tank where you can watch, among other things, three-metre sand tiger sharks. "It's really exciting having the water beside and above you as you walk through, and there's this conveyor-belt walkway that carries you through, which makes it even more fun," she says.

Other tanks hold the red-bellied piranha, whose razor-sharp teeth can cut through steel, and the batfish which, if startled, will play dead and mimic a leaf on the water surface. When you're done inside, there's the new outdoor octopus adventure park, where you can ride on a wobbly crocodile or a bouncy whale.