Aldeburgh
Thorpeness Meare · Photo: DS Pugh
Row between the little islands of Thorpeness Meare in the morning, then spend the afternoon at Minsmere's Wild Zone, sand martin tunnels and pond dipping.
Water Activities · 10:00–11:30 (1h30m)
Last boat hire is 4:30pm; morning is calmer.
A shallow boating lake built in the 1910s with islands named after Peter Pan stories, where families hire rowing boats, canoes and punts. A gentle, old-fashioned hour on the water close to Aldeburgh.
Photo: DS Pugh
12:00–15:30 (3h30m)
Picnic, then the Wild Zone and a pond dip; baby change in the visitor centre.
An outdoor family attraction in Westleton.
Photo: Bogbumper
East of EnglandWells-next-the-Sea
Walk the boardwalk through the pines to one of England's widest beaches, then trade sand for a tiny steam train that trundles inland to Walsingham and back. Under-5s ride free.
Holkham Beach → Wells and Walsingham Light Railway
East of EnglandCambridge city centre
Three free university museums sit within a ten-minute walk of each other in central Cambridge, so a wet day costs nothing but lunch. Start under the giant whale skeleton, eat at the Fitzwilliam's courtyard cafe, then finish with sledges and snow goggles at the Polar Museum.
University Museum of Zoology → The Fitzwilliam Museum → The Polar Museum
East of EnglandSouthend-on-Sea
Ride or walk the world's longest pleasure pier out into the estuary, then head up the hill to Hadleigh's ruined castle, which is free to explore, for big views back over the water.
Southend Pier and Train → Hadleigh Castle
