Throughout August, buses in England will be free for children and adult fares capped at £3 single, making family outings more affordable. Alternatively, PlusBus tickets offer unlimited local bus travel when arriving by train. Here are six ideas for family days out by bus across England.
Great North Museum, Newcastle
Newcastle's Great North Museum: Hancock offers free entry and features painted mummy cases, fossilised dinosaur teeth, a stuffed wombat, and a fake merman. Roman altars are lit with colourful projections, and a planetarium shows start from £2.95. The summer exhibition 'Treasure: Hidden, Lost, Found' (free until 20 Sept) displays Roman coins and Viking silver. A bus ticket gives 10% off in the cafe.
The Tales on the Tyne trail features giant Peter Rabbit sculptures across Newcastle, raising funds for St Oswald's hospice. INNSiDE Newcastle hotel hosts a Tynetastic Peter sculpture, art events, a riverside restaurant with a bambino menu, and free meals for under-11s until 6 September. Family rooms start from £119 for four in August. In Ouseburn, the Biscuit Factory gallery offers three more fluffles, free kids' activities, and a roof terrace. Bus 306 runs to Tynemouth for beach time under castle-topped cliffs. The Tyneside cinema has selected films at £5 and kids' classics over summer.
Forest Fun Near Hatfield, Essex
Hatfield Forest, a National Trust site, is free to enter and covers 400 hectares of flowering fields and woodland. It was a royal hunting ground and is home to deer descended from Henry I's 12th-century herds. Activities include boardwalk walks, meadow rambles, den building, and birdwatching. Bus 509 from Bishop's Stortford stops near The Green Man, a short walk from the forest.
Lakeside picnic tables and an alfresco cafe are a mile away. Parking costs £9, so arriving by bus saves money. A linear walk can loop through woods to Thremhall Priory or follow the Three Forests Way to Hatfield Broad Oak for bus 305 (not Sundays). In Bishop's Stortford, there's a riverside splash pool and castle mound. South Mill arts centre offers kids' crafts for £2, and Much Hadham Forge museum has a free Tudor storyteller event on 27 August. Bus 35 runs hourly to Much Hadham.
Cave Art in Nottinghamshire
Creswell Crags offers a limestone gorge with caves featuring prehistoric rock art. A bus ticket from Worksop on bus 209 (every two hours, not Sundays) grants free museum entry and 10% off in the cafe. The Welbeck Estate's trail includes sculptures and leads to the crags. Welbeck has a free museum and gallery with highlights like Charles I's pearl earring and a Michelangelo Madonna. The Harley cafe serves local food, with kids' soup at £5 and cheese on toast at £6.
Half-Price Harewood, West Yorkshire
Harewood House usually charges over £20 for adults, but arriving on bus 36 from Leeds or Harrogate gives 50% off walk-up tickets. Access includes the house, Capability Brown parkland, gardens with waterfalls and bamboo thickets. Kids enjoy a wooded adventure playground with zipwire, treehouse, and willow maze. Nature safari bags with map, compass, torch, binoculars, and magnifying glass are available. Summer activities include den-building, gardening, statue-cleaning, circus skills, and Tibetan monk workshops. Inside, there's a Cecil Beaton exhibition until 4 October. A 5-mile circular walk from the bus stop offers deer, buzzards, and the Muddy Boots cafe. Leeds's Royal Armouries museum is free.
World-Class Art in Norwich
The Sainsbury Centre's free sculpture park features works by Elisabeth Frink, Antony Gormley, Henry Moore, and Lynn Chadwick, set in 140 hectares of parkland. Inside the Norman Foster-designed gallery (pay what you can), exhibits range from ancient Chinese tomb figures to modern installations. Kids can stand in a glass box to 'become a work of art'. Summer exhibitions explore the meaning of life and play. A bus ticket gives 10% off in the cafe. Bus 25 from the station or city centre stops near the Sainsbury Centre and passes Norwich Castle, which reopened after a £27.5m renovation. The Great Hall has sound-and-light shows, and a £2.50 twilight ticket is available an hour before closing.
Wildlife Watching in the Lakes
Aira Force waterfall is 45 minutes on bus 508 from Penrith station, running beside Ullswater. Look out for dippers, dragonflies, and red squirrels. The area offers walks from pushchair-friendly strolls at Pooley Bridge to hikes up Gowbarrow Fell. This trip is featured in the book 'Where to Watch Wildlife in Britain By Low-Carbon Transport', which includes 100 other car-free trips to nature-rich sites across the UK.
