School's Out For Summer!

1 August 2011

It’s official - school is out and the summer is here! Well, kind of. Come rain or shine, indoors or outdoors, there is something for everyone to do this summer holiday. If you’re going away, staying indoors or simply looking for ideas to keep the kids entertained this August, Freeview has it covered.

Throughout August and into September, the children’s entertainment channels on Freeview offer something for every age group. CITV, CBeebies and CBBC, will all be showcasing a series of summer highlights to keep your little ones entertained. If you’re going on holiday or want to save a selection of great Kids TV for a rainy day, Freeview+ can record and store your shows all summer long . We’ve also teamed up with Visit Britain and CBBC to list a series of summer events around the UK to ensure your children stay as active as they do entertained!

CBBC, Freeview channel 70, will be kicking off the summer holidays with a mix of entertainment and factual series. Alesha Dixon will be encouraging music and movement with a brand new series at the end of August called Alesha’s Street Dance Stars. The Strictly Come Dancing winner will be looking for the best young dancers from all over the UK to compete in rounds for a ‘money can’t buy’ prize. CBBC classics include the brilliant Wallace & Gromit, the cheeky Shaun the Sheep and the naughty Bear Behaving Badly. In September, watch out for Sam & Mark's Big Friday Wind-Up, a brand new series featuring pranks, games and musical performances from the BBC studios.

CBeebies, on Freeview channel 71, will be focusing on a summer of Friends, Family and Fun Times. There are CBBC classic shows such as Same Smile and Show Me Show, and there are brand new episodes of Baby Jake and his magical imagination. Iconicles is a new series from 8th August about Nat and his animated world featuring a cast of colourful characters! The crime-fighting rodent, Rastamouse, is back in a brand new episode called Natty Hill Carnival on August Bank Holiday, and if there is a lack of flowers and plants outside your window, Big Barn Farm and Mr Bloom’s Nursery will bring the outdoors in, highlighting nature and the things children can learn from it.

Over on CITV, Freeview channel 72, Yu Gi Oh 5D’s is back for a brand new series alongside series four of Bakugan. Classic CITV shows will be on throughout the day, including Almost Naked Animals, My Goldfish is Evil and Kick Buttowski. There is also a great selection of creative art and craft shows, both messy and imaginative, including Art Attack, Fingertips Prove It and Annabel’s Kitchen. Not forgetting Mini CITV, the pre-school slot, which will include great series for the young ones, including Fireman Sam, The Cat in the Hat and Babar & The Adventures of Badou.

Great activities and outdoor fun around the UK – the best things in life are FREE!  

The great outdoors is just waiting to be explored. In the spirit of Free, Enjoy England have done all the hard work of finding the great things-to-do without the great cost. From Farms to Festivals, Parks to Galleries, there is so much to do without spending a penny. Check out the full selection here:

http://www.enjoyengland.com/Things-to-do/Attractions/Free-Things-to-do.htm

Top 10 Entertaining Kids on a Budget

It doesn’t have to cost the earth to keep the little ones entertained. England is packed full of museums, galleries, gardens and exciting activities, where they can let off steam and learn something new. Here are top ten ways to keep them entertained on a budget. 

1. The National Gallery, London

Get your budding Picassos down to the National Gallery’s Drawing Sunday. This weekly event is totally free, giving youngsters an opportunity to create their own masterpieces using a supply of colouring pencils, paper and copious amounts of glue. Best leave some space on the fridge at home for them to hang their creations…

2. Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Lancashire

Blackpool Pleasure Beach has been entertaining children for over 100 years, and today you’ll find cartoon-inspired rides like Dora’s World Adventure and the Rugrats’ Lost River. There are attractions for big kids, too, like the Pepsi Max Big One – among the tallest, fastest and steepest roller-coasters in the world.

3. National Railway Museum, York

With 100 locomotives under one roof, the National Railway Museum is the ideal place to let your little ones let off some steam. Highlights include the Hogwarts Express (the train used in the Harry Potter films) and the gleaming Art Deco Duchess of Hamilton.

4. Swallows and Amazons Cruise on Coniston Water, Lake District

Arthur Ransome used the lakes and rivers around Coniston Water as inspiration for his legendary children’s book, and on this cruise you’ll visit Wild Cat Island, Holly Howe, the Amazons’ boathouse and other spots that feature in the story – all aboard a 1920s solar-electric launch boat.  

5. Jimmy’s Farm, Ipswich

At Jimmy’s Farm in Ipswich, kids can pet the resident rabbits, pigs and sheep, stroke a ferret or two and run around chasing butterflies. The farm is laid out over a 40-acre nature trail and woodland walk, and there’s an adventure playground and den building sessions, which should tire them out before the drive home.

6.  The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, Buckinghamshire

Kids and adults alike are encouraged to dress up as Roald Dahl characters and create their own stories at this exciting museum in the author’s home village. There are free story-telling sessions, too, which take place outside – or in Miss Honey’s classroom if it rains.

7. Go Ape, Kent

Normally it’s a nightmare when kids ‘go ape’ but at this treetop assault course in Kent, it’s actively encouraged. The course involves zip lines that fling you 65ft above the forest floor, plus 38 rope crossings and a 12m Spider’s Web. Altogether now, Tarzaaan...

8. Big Picture Show at the Imperial War Museum North, Manchester

How about taking the gang along to the Big Picture Show at the Imperial War Museum North? They can experience 360-degrees of sights and sounds from the Second World War – with films projected onto the gallery walls, floor and even themselves. There’s an ex-Iraq War tank to check out, too, and the 13-pounder field gun that fired the first shot in the First World War.

9. The UK Wolves Conservation Trust, Berkshire

Take your pack to see the resident wolves at this enormous enclosure in rural Berkshire. Kids can get up close to these misunderstood creatures on the children’s wolf walk – or how about shadowing a wolf keeper for the day and watching the animals being fed? FYI: they’ll get mucky so old clothes are essential.

10. The Alnwick Garden, Northumberland

Kids will have a great time dodging the water jets in the Grand Cascade, playing hide and seek in the Bamboo Labyrinth and getting a head for heights on the Treehouse’s wobbly rope bridges. There are opportunities for them to learn stuff, too, with experts on hand in the Ornamental Gardens to answer questions about the exotic plants.

For plenty more ideas and events in your area, visit http://www.enjoyengland.com

Playtime on the Piazza with CBeebies and CBBC – Manchester

CBBC and CBeebies will be having Playtime on the Piazza, a special three-day feast of family fun at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays on . Tickets to the free events are available from the BBC by visiting www.bbc.co.uk/bbcnorth .