10 outdoor attractions to visit in and around London

GoApe in Battersea Park or at Chessington World of Adventures
For outdoor climbing, try GoApe in Battersea Park or at Chessington World of Adventures–an attraction we reviewed in 2016 (Read my review HERE). There are zip-trekking tree top adventures for both adults and children. For families that are looking to do day trips over the bank holiday weekend, GoApe also has high rope adventure courses in other forest parks near London, such as in Surrey and Berkshire.

Garsons
For a pick your own farm near London, Garsons in Esher can make for a fun day trip. The farm offers a large variety of vegetables and fruits to pick, and the availability of crops to pick is updated online, so it is worth keep checking to find out about the opening for this season. We visited in October and I loved walking around the fields with the children and picking vegetables.

Hobbledown Farm and Adventure Park
At Hobbledown Farm and Adventure Park in Surrey families can see a variety of animals as well as enjoy the large outdoor play areas and indoor play barn. In the outdoor play area, built in a medieval theme, children can dig for marbles, bounce on jumping pillows and much more. There is also the Hobbledown High Ropes Course with zip wire for older children, and in addition to seeing farm animals, families can enjoy the Wallaby Walk-Through, where visitors walk on a pathway and the wallabies roam around freely.

Bocketts Farm
The farm park I’ve visited the most times is Bocketts Farm–a truly charming farm park set in the beautiful hilly Surrey countryside. In addition to meeting and feeding animals, families can enjoy the large play areas outside at Bocketts Farm, and we spent a long time in the tunnels on the playground and on the jumping pillow. Older children can enjoy pony rides, and there’s a farm walk on the area, which is something I would like to explore some time. There are also indoor play areas, including soft play, slides, little tractors and a big tractor to climb into.

RHS Wisley Garden
The stunning RHS Garden at Wisley in Surrey has outdoor play areas, including an area with sticks that can be used for den building and several cafés. Over the bank holiday weekend, RHS Wisley Garden is hosting a spring craft fair.

Battersea Park Children’s Zoo
At Battersea Park Children’s Zoo families can see animals, such as monkeys, pigs and donkeys, and children can run around in the outdoor play area, where there are climbing towers, swings and water and sand play.

Willows Activity Farm
With a pretty and fun Peter Rabbit Adventure Playground and a wide range of activities, Willows Activity Farm near St Albans is also a fantastic destination for a unique family day out. I loved the fun and unique Peter Rabbit Adventure Playground designed for children under 6 when we were first invited to the farm park, and we went back this year to spend more time in the themed play areas and experience the fun Peter Rabbit-themed entertainment. The farm park, which it takes us around an hour to get to, also boasts a large barn with horses, cows, sheep, rabbits and guinea pigs.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
With natural play spaces, a playground and special events, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has an exciting programme for families. At the moment there is a dragon sculpture trail and exhibition (until 30 September) ideal for families who want to hunt for dragon sculptures while exploring the gardens.

Odds Farm Park
Another farm park that is easy to get to from South West London is Odds Farm Park near High Wycombe, which I was invited to review a few years back and it then took us around 50 minutes to drive there from Fulham (read review HERE). This year, Odds Farm Park has a new water play area with 80 metres of channels, streams and pools, and the numerous play features allow young visitors to move water through a series of pumps, channels, rivulets, wheels and gates.

Putt in the Park
For a fun outdoor family activity that can be unplanned, Putt in the Park offers exciting mini golf courses in Battersea Park, Wandsworth Park and Acton Park. The venues are open until dusk every day and there is no need to book. The Acton Park venue now has a wood-fired pizzeria.

WWT London Wetland Centre
At the WWT London Wetland Centre families can escape the city and go for walks in the peaceful surroundings, help feed the birds, see otters, play outdoors and much more. The outdoor play area includes a climbing wall, water games and zip wires.