Days Out Near Farnham With Children, Checked October 2026

For a day out near Farnham with children, most families start with Birdworld at Holt Pound, the Rural Life Living Museum at Tilford with its narrow-gauge railway, and Alice Holt Forest for the play trail and Go Ape. For a longer trip, the Watercress Line at Alton is one train ride down the line from Farnham station. Every entry checked against the venue’s own site on 28 October 2026.

Winter hours are given because most of these places change them between now and March.

Two you may expect that are not here. Farnham Castle Keep is closed to the public, according to English Heritage, and Farnham Castle itself is a private venue. For indoor play centres, see our separate guide to soft play near Farnham.

Around Farnham

Birdworld, Holt Pound

The bird park three miles south-west of the town and just over the county line in East Hampshire. Birdworld says it is home to 1,000 birds, and it has two play areas, including the indoor Play Barn of nets, rope bridges and slides. Booked at least a day ahead, adults and children aged 2 to 15 are each £22.95 and over-60s and students £20.95; under-2s are free and on-the-day tickets cost £2 more. Carers of a registered disabled guest go free. Winter opening is 10am to 4.30pm, with a choice of 10am or 1pm entry. Pet dogs are not allowed, only registered assistance dogs. Food hygiene rating 5 (1 June 2026). Its first Awesome Autumn Show runs over the October half term. Holt Pound, Farnham, GU10 4LD. birdworld.co.uk

Rural Life Living Museum, Tilford

A museum of country life at Tilford, with historic buildings, rural machinery, cycles and fire engines, and the Old Kiln Light Railway, a two-foot gauge line with diesel and steam locomotives run by a separate group of volunteers. The trains run on selected days only; tickets are sold on the day at Mills Wood Station and the railway’s own site gives the dates. The museum opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, from 1 September to 31 March; in December it opens only at weekends and for Christmas events, and it closes from 24 December to 16 January. It also shuts for private events, so check the site before setting off. Admission is paid, with tickets and an annual pass sold online; the museum does not print prices on its site. Dogs are welcome on a lead. The shop, cafe and toilets are accessible for wheelchairs and pushchairs. The Market Garden Cafe needs no museum ticket; food hygiene rating 5 (30 April 2025, listed under Rural Chefs Ltd). The Reeds Road, Tilford, GU10 2DL. rural-life.org.uk

Alice Holt Forest and Go Ape, Bucks Horn Oak

Forestry England’s forest off the A325, also in East Hampshire. Beside the visitor centre is Playwood, a large playground with a play trail running from it past Gruffalo sculptures to a giant marble run (marbles are sold at the visitor centre). The pink Easy Access Trail is gravelled, step-free and suits most pushchairs. Car park open 8am to 8pm; cafe and visitor centre 9am to 4pm daily. Entry is free, parking is not: from £3 if you leave before 10.30am to £15 all day at weekends, less on weekdays and in winter. Go Ape runs high ropes in the forest: Treetop Adventure for ages 4 to 10 (over 1m tall) from £20.95, the Nets Adventure for 3 to 11 from £22.95, Treetop Adventure Plus for 6 and over from £25.95, and the Treetop Challenge for 10 and over from £36.95. Go Ape’s page gives no winter dates, so check availability when booking. Bucks Horn Oak, Farnham, GU10 4LS. forestryengland.uk · goape.co.uk

The Sculpture Park, Churt

An outdoor sculpture park at Churt, where the works on show are for sale. Adults (18 to 64) pay £15; children, students, over-65s, disabled visitors and carers pay £10, and children aged 3 and under go free. There is no need to book: you buy tickets on arrival. The park prints its opening hours as 10am to 5pm every day. Corner of Jumps Road and Tilford Road, Churt, Farnham, GU10 2LB. thesculpturepark.com

Frensham Great Pond and Common

About 1,000 acres of heath and water owned by the National Trust and managed by Waverley Borough Council, with sandy beaches. Do not go in the water: Waverley’s page still carries the notice it posted on 23 June 2026 that the Environment Agency had confirmed blue-green algae. The Easier Access Loop from the Information Room is 450 metres with a boardwalk and suits wheelchairs. Parking at Bacon Lane is open 8am to 9pm and costs from £1.80 an hour to £7.00 all day by card or RingGo; National Trust members park free. There are toilets but no cafe at the Great Pond at present. Dogs on leads from March to August, and never on the beaches. Bacon Lane, Churt, GU10 2QB. waverley.gov.uk

Museum of Farnham, West Street

Free, and the town-centre choice for a wet morning. The museum fills Wilmer House, a Grade I listed Georgian townhouse, with exhibitions, a children’s trail, activity packs and brass rubbing, and has a walled garden behind. Farnham Town Council lists it as open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm, with free admission and wheelchair access to the ground floor, shop, toilet, Garden Gallery and garden. 38 West Street, GU9 7DX. farnhammaltings.com/museum

Waverley Abbey, near Moor Park

The ruins of the first Cistercian monastery in Britain, founded in 1128 beside the River Wey, about two miles south-east of the town. English Heritage says entry is free at “any reasonable time during daylight hours”. From the small car park the ruins are about 350 metres away through a kissing gate and across a field of uneven turf that may hold cattle; dogs on leads are welcome. A short visit that pairs with the riverside path; see our walks guide. Waverley Lane, GU9 8EP. english-heritage.org.uk

Towards Godalming and Haslemere

Watts Gallery, Compton

The artists’ village of the Victorian painter G F Watts and the designer Mary Watts, just outside Guildford. Children under 16 go free to the galleries, the house and the studios, and the grounds, gardens, cafe, shop, contemporary gallery and the Watts Cemetery Chapel are free for everyone. Adults pay £18 online or £19.80 at the door. The gallery has family trails and interactive exhibits. Open Tuesday to Sunday and bank holidays: visitor centre from 10am, galleries and Limnerslease from 10.30am, all to 5pm with last admission at 4.30pm. The chapel opens daily, 10am to 5pm. Down Lane, Compton, GU3 1DQ. wattsgallery.org.uk

Haslemere Museum, High Street

A natural history and geology museum in the middle of Haslemere, with gallery quizzes for children and a family activity trail. Admission is by donation. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4.30pm (last entry 4pm); closed on bank holidays and between Christmas and New Year. No dogs in the museum or its grounds, except assistance dogs. Family events in the school holidays are booked through the museum’s Bookwhen page; its Halloween afternoon on 27 October cost £5. 78 High Street, Haslemere, GU27 2LA. haslemeremuseum.co.uk

Devil’s Punch Bowl, Hindhead

The National Trust’s heath and woodland above the A3 tunnel, with Gibbet Hill, which the Trust says is the second highest point in Surrey. For children, the Sailor’s Stroll is a 1-mile route, mostly on a surfaced road open to traffic, that suits pushchairs, and the Trust has a 300-metre easy access circuit to a sandstone viewing platform; paths down into the bowl itself are very steep. Parking costs £2 for an hour up to £9 all day (members free), by machine or JustPark, as there is no phone signal. Cafe, toilets and a Changing Places toilet. Dogs on a short lead. Route details from the Blackdown and Hindhead National Trust Supporters, as the Trust’s own pages block automated checks. London Road, Hindhead, GU26 6AB.

Further afield

Watercress Line, Alton

The Mid Hants Railway runs heritage trains between Alton and Alresford through Medstead and Four Marks and Ropley, where there is a playground, a locomotive yard and viewing galleries over the workshop. Alton is on the same line as Farnham, so you can arrive by train; the line’s own notice says the lifts at Alton station are out of order while South Western Railway repairs them. Standard fares booked online: children 5 to 16 £12, adults £26.50, two adults and up to three children £75; under-5s free; on the day costs more. Halloween Witches of Watercress Woods runs 29 to 31 October, Steam Illuminations from 27 November to 2 January, and the Father Christmas Express from 12 to 24 December, each with its own fares. Alresford station, SO24 9JG. watercressline.co.uk

RHS Garden Wisley, near Woking

The Royal Horticultural Society’s flagship garden, off the A3 at junction 10 of the M25. Winter hours apply from 25 October: Monday to Friday 10am to 4.30pm, weekends 9am to 4.30pm, last entry 3.30pm, open daily except 25 and 26 December. Children aged 5 to 16 are £6 and under-5s free. The adult Saver ticket, for visits from 9 November to 31 December, is £15.20 booked online; on the day it is £20.50. RHS members go free. The RHS says the tropical section of the Glasshouse is closed until Friday 13 November for maintenance. Woking, GU23 6QB. rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley

FAST Museum, Farnborough

The Farnborough Air Sciences Trust’s museum, run entirely by volunteers, holds collections from Farnborough’s Royal Aircraft Establishment, including flight simulators and aircraft cockpits. Admission is free, with donations welcome; special events may charge. Open Saturdays, Sundays and bank holiday Mondays, 10am to 4pm, and it welcomes children of all ages and well-behaved dogs on leads. A Christmas makers’ market runs on Sunday 1 November with the museum open as usual. Trenchard House, 85 Farnborough Road, GU14 6TF. airsciences.org.uk

Milestones Museum, Basingstoke

Hampshire Cultural Trust’s indoor living history museum of Hampshire’s past, in Basingstoke Leisure Park, which ran Halloween activities for families this half term. A family ticket for up to five people (no more than two adults) costs from £54, and the trust says tickets are valid for 12 months. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4.45pm, last admission 4pm; closed on Mondays except in school and bank holidays. The museum describes itself as fully accessible and SEN friendly, with free parking. Churchill Way West, Basingstoke, RG22 6PG. hampshireculture.org.uk

Gilbert White’s House, Selborne

The home and garden of the 18th-century naturalist Gilbert White, which also holds the Oates Collections on the explorer Frank Oates and Captain Lawrence Oates of Scott’s Antarctic expedition. Winter opening, November to March, is Tuesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 4pm. Adults £16.50, children 3 to 16 £6, under-3s free; a family of two adults and three children is £39.50, or £26 for one adult and three children. Parking is free for visitors during opening hours if you give your car registration at reception. White’s Cafe has a food hygiene rating of 5 (5 November 2025). The Wakes, High Street, Selborne, GU34 3JH. gilbertwhiteshouse.org.uk

How we chose

These are the days out within reach of Farnham that people search for and whose details can be checked. Prices, hours and rules come from each venue’s own website on 28 October 2026; the Museum of Farnham’s hours from Farnham Town Council; the Devil’s Punch Bowl routes and parking from the Blackdown and Hindhead National Trust Supporters; and hygiene ratings from the Food Standards Agency. Every cafe listed has a rating of 5, and none of these places had posted a closure notice beyond the seasonal ones given above. Prices change, especially for Christmas events, so check before you book. Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@farnhamtoday.co.uk.

For more ideas, see things to do in Farnham, what’s on in Farnham this month, Farnham playgrounds, walks near Farnham, soft play near Farnham and the Farnham Santa grottos. For lunch on the way, there are Farnham cafes and Sunday roasts, or browse local businesses in Farnham in our directory.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best free days out near Farnham with children?

Four places near Farnham charge nothing to get in: the Museum of Farnham on West Street (Wednesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm), the FAST aviation museum in Farnborough (weekends and bank holiday Mondays, 10am to 4pm), Haslemere Museum (admission by donation, Tuesday to Saturday) and the Waverley Abbey ruins, open in daylight hours. Frensham Great Pond, Alice Holt Forest and the Devil’s Punch Bowl are free to walk into, though you pay to park.

How much does Birdworld cost?

Booked at least a day ahead, adults and children aged 2 to 15 are each £22.95, over-60s and students £20.95, and under-2s go free. On-the-day tickets cost £2 more. Carers of a registered disabled guest go free. In winter the park is open 10am to 4.30pm, with a choice of 10am or 1pm entry.

Are the Rural Life Living Museum and Gilbert White’s House open in winter?

Yes, on fewer days. The Rural Life Living Museum in Tilford opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, from September to March, opens only at weekends and for Christmas events in December, and closes from 24 December to 16 January. Gilbert White’s House in Selborne opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 4pm, from November to March.