The best Easter 2020 entertainment from egg hunt to lambing activities, walks and spring festivals
Spring is a great time for family fun and adventures and getting outside with your children.
Here are our pick of the best Easter activities planned around the South East of England.
Buckinghamshire
Waddesdon Manor is having a Cadbury Easter Egg Hunt from April 4 to 13.
Discover fun facts about nature and new parts of the gardens while taking part in an egg hunt around the grounds. Children £3, grounds admission applies.
Children can also enjoy an Easter petting farm at the manor which runs from April 15 to 19.
Get up close and personal with new furry, hairy or feathered friends this Easter, as animals return to Waddesdon’s stable yard. Free with grounds admission.
Dorset
Farmer Palmer’s, just outside Poole, is planning family-friendly Easter-themed activities.
The Easter fun includes hands-on experiences with the animals that populate the farm and an Eggstravaganza featuring hundreds of chocolate eggs over the weekend (April 10 to 13).
Entry from £12.50, children aged two are £5.50 and children under two are free. For more information go to the website.
East Sussex
The annual Marbles Match and Easter Bonnet Parade takes place in the imposing shadow of Battle Abbey, site of the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
The marbles match
Visitors will be able to watch local teams lose their marbles in a traditional competition dating back to 1945. It starts at 10am on Good Friday, April 10.
Spectators of all ages will also be able to give marbles a try or take part in the Easter Bonnet competition. For more information go to the website.
Hampshire
Visit Gambledown Farm where in Spring, lambs are bottle fed, bluebells and daffodils are out and children can see baby chicks.
If you are looking for a family Easter break, the farm offers barn stays and glamping set in 270 acres of Hampshire countryside, go to the website for more information.
Chicks at Gambledown Farm
Gilbert White’s House Garden Bird Easter Egg Hunt runs from April 4 to 19. Children can hunt for painted eggs in the gardens and meadow, which are all based on the eggs of the birds which nest in the grounds. Find them all and claim a chocolate egg.
The cost is £3 in addition to the general admission price, adult £12, child under 16 £5, for more information go to the website.
Gilbert White’s House
There will be an Easter Sunday Cruise and Egg Hunt on the John Pinkerton II canal boat on the Basingstoke Canal through beautiful Hampshire countryside on April 12.
Take a leisurely afternoon cruise to King John’s Castle where children can search out their Easter eggs. All trips are crewed by trained volunteer members of the Basingstoke Canal Society, a charity dedicated to safeguarding the canal. All proceeds are used to maintain the canal for the future. It is a two-and-a-half hour return trip.
The price is adults £12, children £6. Book online here.
The John Pinkerton II canal boat
Jane Austen’s House Museum is arranging some family-friendly activities. There will be an Easter egg trail, family walks and a Young People’s Writing Workshop. Booking is required for the workshop (April 4 to 19) and walks (April 8 and 15), go to the website.
Meet Bobtail Bunny and forest friends Betty Bunny, Hennie the Hedgehog and Red the Deer at Paultons Park from April 4 to 19, go to the website.
Easter at Paultons Park
Butser Ancient Farm will be celebrating the ancient festival of Eostre and the goddess of Spring. Visitors will be able to meet the Saxons from Herigead Hundas with demonstrations, traditional crafts, cooking and DIY archaeology experiments. There will also be mini-mosaic making, wattling and more.
And Butser’s Roman IX Legion will be in residence in the Roman village with fighting and marching demonstrations, archery, Roman cooking, crafts and more.
It runs from April 10 to 13, prices are from £9 for adults and children aged three to 16 are £5. Go to the website for more information.
Kent
There will be Easter fun at Hever Castle from April 2 to 19 April.
Children can hunt for colourful carrots and bunnies in a free Easter trail in the castle or take part in two free Easter egg hunts in the grounds at 11am and 3pm.
They can also create an egg-shaped decoration to hang on the Easter tree in a free craft activity.
Admission prices, castle and gardens: adults £18.80, children aged five to 15 £10.70 and under-5s free. See the website for more information.
Easter at Hever Castle
Spa Valley Railway in Tunbridge Wells is having Easter activities from April 10 to 13 April.
Spot all the Easter bunnies alongside the railway between Tunbridge Wells and Eridge. A chocolate egg will be available (whilst stocks last) for all children taking part.
Resident steam engine ‘Ugly’ will be in action each day and standard fares apply.
Adult tickers are £10, children aged two to 15 are £5 and a family ticket for unlimited travel on the day is £28.00 when booked online in advance here.
West Sussex
Easter sees the return of the Worthing Observation Wheel. Standing at a height of 46 metres, the WOW is the tallest wheel on the south coast offering views of up to 10 miles across the South Downs and along the coast. See here for information.
Whatever you do, have a fantastic time!