School Holidays

Summer Holidays 2019

With six weeks to keep the children occupied, we thought we would offer some help with some ideas for activities, events and days out that are taking place over the summer holidays.  Lots of these ideas are free so please take a look and use the links provided.

Summer Reading Challenge 2019

What is the Summer Reading Challenge?

The Summer Reading Challenge takes place every year during the school summer holidays. You can sign up at your local library, then read six library books of your choice to complete the Challenge. There are exclusive rewards to collect along the way, and it’s FREE to take part!

The Summer Reading Challenge website helps you keep track of your reading all year round: find new books to read, take part in competitions and mini challenges, and play games.  The link is below:

Where is our nearest library?

Winchester Discovery Centre

Jewry Street

Winchester

SO23 8SB

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Connect4Summer is a programme for children in 23 venues across Hampshire which provides an exciting programme that will include a range of sports activities, healthy cooking classes for children and their parents or carers, as well as additional support for our most vulnerable families who are in need.  Most local to Winnall is the Carroll Centre in Stanmore. 

Click on the link below for further information and to download a booking form.  This form needs to be filled in and returned via the email on the form or alternatively, you can phone the number provided on the booking form to book your place.

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Park Sport Eastleigh 2019

Park Sport celebrates its 15th year and is Eastleigh's sport and activities programme for 8-16 year olds in the summer holiday break.  The 2019 schedule runs from 29th July to 23rd August and sessions are £1 per session (as they are heavily subsidised).  Sessions include sailing, football, dance, fishing, skateboard coaching and more... click on the link below of further information.

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River Park Leisure Centre - Winchester

Swimming is an inexpensive way for children and adults to spend time not only having fun, but getting fit.

The leisure centre also has other activities over the holidays and an indoor soft play area. 

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Seaside in the Square

3 weeks of FREE activities and events from 19th July to 11th August including live music, outdoor cinema, beach sports and arts and crafts.

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Westgate Museum Winchester

Free admission (donations welcome)

• Winchester’s Tudor and Stuart era is revealed in this beautifully refurbished listed monument, the last of the main medieval gates into the city.
• A debtors’ prison for 150 years, visitors can see the with walls covered in prisoners’ graffiti. The museum houses a unique collection of weights and measures and a Tudor ceiling from Winchester College. There are great views of the city from the Westgate roof.
• A great attraction for children where they can try on a suit of armour or make an authentic brass rubbing (small fee charged).
• This Grade-1 listed building is not wheelchair accessible due to its age, and there is a considerably steep staircase from the street entrance.
• The Westgate Museum is operated and funded by Hampshire Cultural Trust. This independent charity champions world-class culture and exists to showcase, connect and empower Hampshire’s creative economy.

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Wolvesey Castle - Winchester

Free entry to this National Heritage site

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Winnall Moors Nature Reserve

A stone’s throw from Winchester city centre, Winnall Moors nature reserve is a picturesque patchwork of wildflower-rich meadow, pasture and woodland, with a beautiful, clear chalk stream running through its heart.  Free entry (donations welcome)

With the Adventure of Winnall Moors story trail, you can help the creatures of Winnall Moors rescue the Kingfisher from the evil clutches of the Toad Emperor and his army. Follow the sculptures and clues around the reserve to help you on your way to victory. 

You can also follow the water vole trail, which takes you from Winchester city centre into the reserve. Look out for these charismatic little mammals, or listen out for the distinctive ‘plop’ of one dropping into the water as you follow the winding path along the River Itchen.
 

Winnall Moors has long, surfaced paths and boardwalks, making walking with a pushchair easy.  

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Royal Armouries – Fort Nelson

Free admission (donations welcome)

• Fort Nelson houses the Royal Armouries’ collection of artillery and historic cannon – the Big Guns – with over 350 on display, including the massive 200-tonne railway gun.
• This vast Victorian fortification, with panoramic views of the Solent and Meon Valley, was built in the 1860s as part of a defensive chain around Portsmouth and its vital Royal Dockyard. It is probably the best surviving example of a Victorian fortress and has been restored to its original 19th-century state, together with parts of its Second World War history.
• Visitors can explore 19 acres of ramparts and outer fortifications, plus secret underground tunnels and ammunition bunkers, and discover what life was like for the Victorian garrison in the barrack rooms, hospital and kitchen.
• Museum galleries include The Voice of the Guns and Artillery Hall, which display an extensive collection of icon guns from around the world, from medieval wall-smashers to 20th-century weaponry.
• Daily events include guided tours (small fee) and a big gun salute at 1pm. Cafe 1871 serves drinks, snacks and light meals.
• There are school holiday activities and special gun-firing events throughout the year. Please visit our website for more information.

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St Catherines Hill Nature Reserve

A dramatic 220ft climb up St Catherine’s Hill’s wooden stairs reveals showstopping views of Winchester city, as well as the Itchen Valley floodplains and the downland it nestles in. At the summit are the earthworks of an Iron Age fort, buried ruins of the Norman chapel that gives the site its name, and a copse of beech trees. In the summer you’ll be able to hear the cackle of a woodpecker, spy buzzards and kestrels hunting in the valley below, and meet our friendly British White cattle that graze the site to encourage wildlife to flourish.

On the way down look out for some of the 25 species of breeding butterfly that call it home, including chalkhill blues, brown arguses and marbled whites. Keen eyed visitors might also spot some of the rarer orchids dotted across the hill’s slopes and meadows, including musk orchids, frog orchids and autumn lady’s tresses. St Catherine’s Hill is a fabulous place to enjoy a summer walk and free (donations welcome)

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Beano Time Travellers at Mottisfont

Beano Time Travellers! takes place from Saturday 20 July – Sunday 8 September 2019, 11am-5pm (outdoor trail available from 10am)

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Other Family Days Out