Activities
The word ‘bored’ doesn’t exist around here. Not when you could be clinging to the crags on a rock-climbing experience in a national park, cycling cross-county through ancient heathlands or joining a subterranean adventure into limestone caves. If these adventure holidays sound a bit extreme for you, try more sedate outdoor activities like a gentle afternoon on horseback in a former royal hunting forest, rural rambles along a foodie trail or fossil hunting on a prehistoric beach. Or perhaps you’d like to try something new on your activity holidays. Archery lessons in an ancient forest and countryside llama trekking sound pretty cool, don’t they?
Explore the English Riviera Global Geopark
Spot rare wildlife, go coasteering, and discover stories of drowned forests at South Devon's Global Geopark, a fascinating area with rich historical and geological heritage.
Location: Torquay, Devon
Catch some waves at Woolacombe Beach
North Devon has some of the county’s most popular family beaches, including award-winning Woolacombe.
Location: Woolacombe, Devon
Action packed watersports at Camber Sands
Kite-flyers and windsurfers of all ages and abilities should head to Camber Sands - a dramatic sandy beach on the south coast, and the perfect spot to catch the waves.
Location: Camber Sands, East Sussex
Discover a seaside sporting paradise
The island where windsurfing was invented has got to be an ideal place for watersports, but Hayling has beautiful countryside as well.
Location: Hayling Island, Hampshire
Enjoy beach sports on Brighton beach
Brighton beach is famously full of pebbles, but at Yellowave there is plenty of sand making it the place to go for all kinds of beach sports.
Location: Brighton & Hove, East Sussex
Explore The Grand Pier of Weston-super-Mare
Relive happy childhood memories of eating ice creams, skimming stones and skipping along piers in Weston-super-Mare.
Location: Weston-super-Mare, Somerset
Leap into the surf at some of Cornwall’s most spectacular beaches
Surfing is every bit as much fun as it looks and the true Cornish experience is not complete without riding the waves at one of Cornwall’s golden beaches, with well-trained instructors.
Location: Across Cornwall
Explore the Cornish sea
The Cornish Sea is the unique marine graveyard, and also doubles up as a mecca for scuba divers.
Location: Falmouth, Cornwall
Bird watching in St Bees
The largest seabird colony on the west coast of England is at St Bees Head.
Location: St Bees, Cumbria
Take a dip in Bude Sea Pool
Take the whole family to this part man-made, part natural sea pool which nestles under the cliffs at Summerleaze beach in Bude.
Location: Bude, Cornwall
Try sea kayaking in St Austell Bay
With its sheltered beaches and harbours, St Austell Bay is the ideal location for sea kayaking.
Location: St Austell, Cornwall
Ride a horse across Perranporth beach
Enjoy an exhilarating gallop through the Atlantic waves and three miles of golden sand at Cornwall’s popular Perranporth beach.
Location: Perranporth, Cornwall
Go sailing in Scilly
Indulge in an exotic island escape… just off the Cornish coast.
Location: Isles of Scilly, Cornwall
Soar above England’s highest chalk sea cliff
Work up the courage for a unique, exhilarating way to take in the iconic scenery of East Sussex’s famous Beachy Head, near Eastbourne.
Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex
Go all One Direction in North Somerset
Visit Clevedon Pier where boy band One Direction filmed their ‘You and I’ video and cruise on the last sea-going paddle steamer in the world.
Location: Clevedon, North Somerset
Mermaids, dinosaurs and pirate adventure on the Yorkshire Coast
Hunt for fossils on the beach or solve the mermaid mystery and sail on a pirate ship. Go on a dinosaur walk or explore the Maritime Trail.
Location: Scarborough, North/East Yorkshire
Take time for yourself at Tinside Lido
Take a dip in the 1930s art deco outdoor Tinside Lido, where you can go for a dip or relax with a snack.
Location: Plymouth, Devon
Wander along sparkling Scilly beaches
With sparkling white sands reminiscent of the Caribbean, Scilly is a tropical break that is close to home.
Location: Isles of Scilly, Cornwall
Get Your Blood pumping in Newquay
With iconic surfing beaches, this town a favourite holiday destination for fun in the sun, and anything else the weather might throw at you.
Location: Newquay, Cornwall
5 of the best beaches for wildlife spotting
From fluffy seal pups, to bottlenose dolphins and soaring sea birds, England's beaches are great places to see nature at its very best.