Rainy day ideas

Indoor activities

Find indoor activities for half term holidays, bank holiday weekends, seaside escapes and city breaks. Take your pick from indoor attractions and such as free museums and other indoor attractions such as aquariums and galleries, or if you’re feeling braver, there are climbing centres, underground caverns and cycle velodromes. You can tour television studios and explore living history heritage attractions, or even whet your whistle on a brewery tour. Whatever you fancy doing, England is packed with indoor activities and things to do on a rainy day.

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Enjoy splendiferous fun at the Roald Dahl Museum

Ever wondered where Charlie and the Chocolate Factory started? This family-friendly museum has answers for children and adults of all ages.

Location: Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire

 

Get on board at the National Railway Museum

The world's largest railway museum is home to a staggering collection of restored locomotives, including the fastest steam engine of all time.

Location: York, North Yorkshire

 

Rainy Day Activities: Step back in time at York Castle Museum

Travel back in time on a rainy day at this trend-setting museum, which transports visitors back through 300 years of history.

Location: York, North Yorkshire

 

Rainy Day Activities: Enter the magical Warner Bros Studio Tour

Step inside the wizarding world of Harry Potter at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London and feel the films magically come to life.

Location: Leavesden, Hertfordshire

 

Travel back in time at Milestones Museum

A trip to Milestones in Basingstoke brings the past to life. The museum is home to over 20,000 objects that were either made or used in Hampshire, and is a record of the county's social, industrial and transport history.

Location: Basingstoke, Hampshire

 

Rainy Day Activities: Get hands on at the National Football Museum

Explore the world's largest football collection, learn about the history and culture of England's national sport and take part in other footy-related indoor activities at Manchester's National Football Museum.

Location: Manchester, Greater Manchester

 

Rainy Day Activities: Visit Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum

Find out how Manchester’s famous inventions helped shape the modern world, from the world’s first steam-powered mill to the splitting of the atom, at this fantastic indoor attraction.

Location: Manchester

 

Visit Europe's largest library

The Library of Birmingham houses a million printed volumes, the largest number held by any public library in the UK.

Location: Birmingham, West Midlands

 

Nine floors of silver-screens

A visit to the National Media Museum is a must if you love photography, film, television, animation, gaming or the internet.

Location: Bradford, West Yorkshire

 

Rainy Day Activities: Watch films in style at The Electric Birmingham

Lounge on a sofa with a drink in hand and watch the latest blockbusters at the UK's oldest working cinema.

Location: Birmingham, West Midlands

 

Rainy Day Activities: Catch a show at award-winning kids’ theatre, the egg

Looking for something to do when it rains that'll keep the kids entertained and adults smiling? Try a show or creative workshop at the egg.

Location: Bath, Somerset

 

Rainy Day Activities: Discover military history at The Royal Armouries

Britain’s national museum of arms and armour is home to a fascinating and unique collection, including the only existing suit of armour built for an elephant.

Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire

 

Rainy Day Activities: See famous works in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum

With numerous famous artworks and historical artefacts on display, the award-winning Royal Albert Memorial Museum is a must-see indoor attraction in the heart of Exeter.

Location: Exeter, Devon

 

Rainy Day Activities: Visit the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford

All the great civilizations of the world are represented in the Ashmolean Museum’s collections; escape the rain for a whole day, or pop in for five minutes for a quick browse.

Location: Oxford, Oxfordshire

 

Meet the Romans at Wroxeter Roman City

See the city that the Romans built for us - once the fourth largest city in Roman Britain.

Location: Wroxeter, Shropshire

 

Rainy Day Activities: Sunderland Museum

Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens is a great place for the whole family to spend the day – and it’s free.

Location: Sunderland, Tyne and Wear

 
A family watching chocolate being made at Cadbury World, Birmingham.

Go chocolate crazy at Cadbury World

A must-visit destination for chocoholics of all ages, Cadbury World in Bourneville near Birmingham is full of fun indoor activities and things to do when it rains.

Location: Birmingham, West Midlands

 

Rainy Day Activities: Explore Earth and space at Liverpool’s World Museum

Need ideas on things to do when it rains? Visit one of North West England’s oldest museums and get a hands-on look at our planet from the oceans to the stars.

Location: Liverpool, Merseyside

 

Rainy Day Activities: Get spooked at Tudor World

Delve into Tudor life with a series of rainy day activities at this interactive indoor museum, found in one of England's most haunted buildings.

Location: Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire

 

Rainy Day Activities: Explore Oxford's Museum of Natural History

Delve into Oxford University’s scientific archives, housed inside one of the city's most beautiful neo-Gothic buildings.

Location: Oxford, Oxfordshire

 

July events: Buxton International Festival

Take your seats and enjoy a summer celebration of music, art, opera and literature on the edge of the scenic Peak District.

Location: Buxton, Derbyshire

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