Now Evie and Harry are a little older, planning days out that include age-suitable activities as well as things we haven’t done every school holiday since they were younger, is becoming more and more difficult. Luckily, businesses seem to be recognising this gap in the market and have started running session for that awkward stage between “little ‘uns” and adults.
Below are a list of boredom busting days out for older children
Alpaca Walk at Barnacre Alpacas, Heddon-On-The-Wall
About: Barnacre’s hugely popular ‘Alpaca Walk n Talks’ are a great way of experiencing alpacas up close. The experience, where everyone gets their own alpaca, lasts at least an hour during a 1 mile gentle walk on the farm
Minimum Age: 10 years
Price: £25 per person
Website: https://barnacre-alpacas.co.uk
Axe Throwing at Valhalla North, Durham
About: A bad*ss axe throwing centre with a Viking theme
Minimum Age: 8 years
Price: £20 per person
Website: https://www.valhallanorth.co.uk
Batting Cage at Gutterball Alley, North Shields
About: Step inside the Bull Pen and practice your batting skills
Minimum Age: TBC
Price: from £7.50 for 30 mins
Website: https://www.gutterballalley.co.uk
Climbing at Newcastle Climbing Centre, Newcastle
About: The premier indoor climbing venue for Tyneside and the North East and one of the best indoor climbing venues in the U.K.
Minimum Age: 7 years
Price: from £30 per person
Website: http://www.newcastleclimbingcentre.co.uk/
Smart Cookies Cookery School at Blackfriars, Newcastle
About: For the slightly more confident 11-15 year olds who are fed-up with making fairy cakes and want to get their teeth stuck into something a little more challenging. These sessions are all about building on from the basics and really developing their culinary skills and confidence – but at their own pace. They’ll have a choice of delicious dishes to make which can be challenging or well within their own comfort zone. The sessions include refreshments throughout the day, a communal lunch in the Cookery School and recipes to take home
Minimum Age: 11 years
Price: from £45 per person per day
Website: https://www.blackfriarsrestaurant.co.uk/cookeryschool
Digital Darts at The Wonderbar, Newcastle
About: Whether you’re playing for fun, or get competitive, Wonderbar’s interactive darts experience allows you to battle through different games to become the ultimate interactive darts champion. No experience is necessary and anybody can play
Minimum Age: Nothing official but best suited to 8 years plus
Price: from £15 per hour
Website: https://wonderbar-newcastle.co.uk/darts/
Escape Room at Clue HQ, Sunderland
About: Teams of 2 to 6 are locked in a room and given 60 minutes to find the clues and solve the puzzles in order to figure out a way to escape
Minimum Age: 7 years
Price: From £10 per player
Website: https://cluehq.co.uk/sunderland/
Gaming at The CTRL Pad, Newcastle
About: Newcastle’s first and only video gaming lounge
Minimum Age: Game dependant
Price: £5 per person per hour
Website: https://thectrlpad.com
High Ropes at Air Trail, Stockton-On-Tees
About: Set over 4 levels, over 38 unique challenges, Air Trail is the UK’s biggest high ropes adventure course
Minimum Age: As long as you’re taller than 1.2m
Price: from £11.50 per person
Website: https://www.airtrail.co.uk
Paint Balling at Bedlam, Sunderland
About: Bedlam Paintball is renowned for its realistic, purpose-built paintballing Game Zones and imaginative game scenarios that transport you into another world
Minimum Age: 12 years
Price: from £15 per person
Website: https://bedlampaintball.co.uk
Pottery Throwing & Painting at The Pottery Experience, Jesmond
About: Newcastle’s best pottery making and painting experience
Minimum Age: 10 years
Price: from £33 per person
Website: https://www.thepotteryexperience.co.uk
Quad Biking at The Quadfather, Cramlington
About: TBC
Minimum Age: TBC
Price: TBC
Website: TBC
Snowboarding at Silksworth Sports Complex, Sunderland
About: Home to the North East’s premiere ski facility with three ski slopes consisting of a 160m floodlit and misted main slope plus two dedicated nursery ski slopes. Lessons run by our highly qualified instructors are available for skiers of all abilities.
Minimum Age: N/A
Price: from £30 per person
Website: https://www.everyoneactive.com/centre/silksworth-sports-complex-and-ski-slope/ski-slope/
Stargazing at Kielder, Northumberland
About: All year round – a star gazing and astronomy heaven! Kielder Observatory is located in the heart of Northumberland International Dark Sky Park. They have the largest expanse of dark night sky in the whole of Europe, thanks to minimal light pollution. Winter nights are darkest and best for viewing deep sky objects such as galaxies, while in summer you can view the beautiful Milky Way, passing comets, shooting stars and see the Sun’s surface using our incredible telescope.
Minimum Age: TBC
Price: TBC
Website: http://www.visitkielder.com/visit/kielder-observatory
Virtual Reality at YuMe World, Newcastle
About: YuMe World is the first entertainment centre in the UK To unveil some of the most exciting and challenging Virtual Reality game concepts the world has ever seen. Sourced Exclusively by industry specialists, these stunning units will blow the minds of even the most dedicated gamers
Minimum Age: TBC
Price: TBC
Website: https://www.yumeworld.co.uk
Water Sports at Tees Barrage, Stockton-On-Tees
About: Tees Barrage International White Water Centre is Teesside’s award-winning home of adventure, which was reopened in 2012 after extensive redevelopment. This magnificent centre of activity can be found on the banks of the River Tees between Stockton and Middlesbrough and offers a unique variety of watersports the whole family can enjoy
Minimum Age: 14 years
Price: sport dependent
Website: https://tbiwwc.com
Young Driver Lessons at Young Driver Experience, Newcastle
About: The Young Driver training programme mirrors what you would learn when driving on the road. The only difference is you will learn to drive in a safe environment on a specially constructed road course
Minimum Age: 10 years
Price: from £39.99 for 30 mins
Website: https://www.youngdriver.eu
And finally, something totally different at Selfie Central, Newcastle
About: Selfie Central is a fun, interactive experience. Think of it as the ultimate photo studio with 11 totally different sets
Minimum Age: 12 years
Price: £10 per person
Website: https://www.selfie-central.com
Thanks for reading, I hope I’ve given you some new ideas to try. If you do give any of the above a go, I’d love to know what you thought of them in the comments ☺️
North East Eats and Kids 
[…] Looking for ideas for days out that include age-suitable activities for teens and pre-teens? Have a read of https://northeasteats.home.blog/2021/06/03/teen-preteen-friendly-activities-in-around-the-north-east… […]
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