Whilst this year’s summer is far from the norm, you can still squeeze plenty out of it now that lockdown has eased.
Let’s face it, a summer of festivals and holiday’s abroad are a distant memory this year and finding activities closer to home seems to be the popular (and more sensible) choice.
Here’s just a few of the things to do on the local scene this month…
Visit a secret garden via the National Open Garden Scheme
This absolutely one of our favourite finds as of late.
The National Open Garden scheme gives visitors the chance to visit some amazing private gardens in local homes. And believe you me, some of these homes are exceptional!
Each Monday tickets are released for you to pre-book your visit for the upcoming week. Search through the available gardens to find your nearest spots across the Home Counties. It’s pretty affordable at between £3-£6 a visit per person and each garden has it’s individual rules in which some allow picnics.
Find your nearest garden here.
Tip: If you’re struggling to find anything too local, try checking the next week as availability changes regularly.
Take a walk around Stockwood Discovery Centre gardens
The Stockwood gardens are Luton’s best kept secret. I certainly feel like they do not get anywhere near as much publicity as they should do. Nestled within the Stockwood Discovery Centre at Stockwood Park are beautifully landscaped gardens and best of all, free to visit.
They’ve recently announced their re-opening on Thursday 2nd August with revised opening hours.
Location: Stockwood Park Golf Club, London Rd, Luton LU1 4LX
Admission: Free For the latest visiting guidelines check their website here.
Dine alfresco at The White Horse – Tea Green
A local favourite with a fantastic pub garden, filled with twinkly lights, a wooden swing and best of all , countryside views. They’ve recently built some fabulous alfresco dining pods and it’s also worth noting they are participating in the 50% Eat Out to Help Out scheme Mon-Weds!
Booking is essential so give them a message via Facebook or call on 01582 722855.
Walk an Alpaca
A few years ago for one of my birthday’s I walked an Alpaca and it was the most random yet hilarious thing! We ventured out into the Aylesbury countryside but recently I’ve found somewhere much closer to home in the Bedfordshire village of Wilstead.
Herrings Green Farm is full of things to do, Alpaca walks included! You never know what type of personality your Alpaca will have so it’s quite amusing and a unique experience all round.
Location: Herrings Green Farm, Cotton End Rd, Wilstead MK45 3DT
Admission: £32.00 per person Please check their website for availability.
Go wild Blackberry picking
Why is it that fruit and veg taste better when your pick them yourself? I’m sure they do!
According to The National Trust, August is one of the best months to pick wild blackberries and I’ve seen tonnes of blackberry hedges on my local walks. A home made blackberry and apple crumble has my name all over it.
Just make sure they are not on private land, you wash the berries and the all the other common sense stuff that someone will probably jump on if I don’t mention.
Well there’s certainly a few things here to keep us busy so we can start to enjoy the summer as much as realistically possible! We would love to know what your plans are this summer, let us know below.