Schools in East Lothian break for half term on Friday 7 February and pupils go back to school on Tuesday 18th February (Monday 17th is a staff in-service day).
Here are a few ideas for a fun-filled family break without spending a fortune.
Out and About
Scotrail Kids Go Free ticket not only give up to two free kids off-peak travel with each adult, you also get one free child entry to lots of great attractions including The Seabird Centre and Camera Obscura.
LothianBuses have a Family DAYticket which allows up to 2 adults and up to 3 children unlimited travel together, all day, for only £7.50
Just like playing with someone else’s toys, going to a different park, woods, beach or sport centre is always loads more fun than the local one. Why not explore a neighbouring area as if you were a tourist?
If you want to be active, why not check out these local sports venues:
Aubigny Sports Centre, Haddington
Dunbar Leisure Pool
Loch Centre, Tranent
Meadowmill Sports Centre, By Tranent
Musselburgh Sports Centre
North Berwick Sports Centre
www.mercatgait.com, Prestonpans
If wild places rock your world, then search the database of woods to visit at Visit Woods. There are loads of ideas for outdoor activities at the Nature Detectives website.
If you or your children need a bit of an incentive to explore the great outdoors, you could combine your walk with a spot of geocaching – a sort of high tech treasure hunt using sat nav or the GPS on smartphones. There are geocaches all over the world and East Lothian has a fair few hundred of them. It’s a great way of of discovering new places. Visit Geocaching.com to get started.
You could follow up your trip to a cafe afterwards. Community Centre cafes offer great value for money. East Lothian community centres with cafes include Bleachingfield, Musselburgh East, Ormiston, Port Seton, Longniddry, Pennypit & Prestonpans. Contact details and opening hours can be seen here.
Culture & Heritage
The Fraser Centre has a varied programme of family-friendly films ranging from classics such as Whisky Galore to the latest blockbusters such as Gravity. Tickets are all by donation.
DadsWork, with funding from Prestonpans Support from the Start, are having a Go Mad with Dad free Mid Term Movie Matinee on Wednesday 12th February 2014 at The Fraser Centre showing Disney’s Planes. Doors open at 1.00pm and movie starts 1.15pm. Free refreshments will be available, FREE tickets are available form Kevin Young @ DadsWork on 0131 665 0848 / 07833741768 or dadswork@hotmail.co.uk. This movie matinee is for dads, male carers and their children. Further information is also available from Kevin Young. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL.
East Lothian Council Museums Service manages Dunbar Town House, John Gray Centre in Haddington and John Muir’s Birthplace in Dunbar, all of which have free entry. Prestongrange visitor centre at Prestonpans is currently closed but the expansive site is open to explore. The Coastal Communities Museum run in partnership with the Coastal Communities Museum Trust is also free to visit.
At £16 for adults and £9.60 for children, entry to Edinburgh Castle could hardly be described as “frugal”. However, a family membership to Historic Scotland might cost less than you think. An annual membership for 2 adults + children equates to £7.04 (or £5.70 for concessions) per month by direct debit. This would give you unlimited access to all Historic Scotland sites including East Lothian gems such as Dirleton Castle, Tantallon Castle and Seton Collegiate Church. To add extra value to your trip, time your visit for when a special event is on such as the medieval jousting tournaments held at Linlithgow Palace.
Event Listings
The following websites are good for finding out what’s happening in the local area.
For further afield, try The List.
Wet Weather activities
Bad weather makes holidays a challenge.
What do you do on dreary drizzly days? bake? draw? watch old movies? How about letter writing, code-breaking or board games? We would love to hear your ideas!