Finding a family day out that keeps everyone happy isn’t always easy. What works for a toddler might not hold the attention of a teenager, while parents usually want somewhere that’s easy, relaxed and has good food and coffee within reach!
If you’re searching for family activities in Durham, it helps to choose somewhere with plenty of variety. From soft play and meeting animals to woodland walks, outdoor adventures and places to eat, having several activities in one location means you can shape the day around the ages and interests of your family.
At Thorpe Farm, on the border of County Durham and North Yorkshire near Barnard Castle, families can combine indoor and outdoor activities without having to spend the day travelling between different attractions.
Here’s our guide to some of the best family activities in Durham for every age group.
Family Activities in Durham for Toddlers
With toddlers, simple is often best. Somewhere they can explore safely, burn off some energy and stop for food when needed can make for a much easier family day out.
Soft Play
Soft play is a great choice for little ones, particularly when the Durham weather isn’t cooperating.
The Soft Play at Thorpe Farm gives younger visitors somewhere to climb, play and explore while parents can enjoy a more relaxed visit. Having an indoor play area to fall back on takes a lot of the pressure off planning a day out with a toddler.
It’s also a handy option when you don’t want to commit to a completely outdoor day. You can spend some time playing indoors before heading outside if the weather brightens up.
Meet the Animals
For many toddlers, seeing animals is one of the highlights of a countryside day out, which is why farm attractions tend to work so well with this age group.
Thorpe Farm has animal paddocks where families can stop and see some of the residents as part of their visit. It’s a simple activity that can be combined with a walk and doesn’t require you to plan an entire day around it.
Read our guide to where to meet farm animals in Durham for more ideas.
Our Toddler Combination
For an easy morning or afternoon, we’d recommend:
Soft play → café lunch → visit the animals → farm shop browse
It gives little ones plenty to do without making the day feel too busy.
Family Activities for Preschool Children
Once children reach preschool age, they’re usually ready for a little more adventure.
Combining indoor play with time outside is a great way to keep the day interesting, particularly if you’re looking for activities that can fill more than just an hour or two.
Explore Outdoors
Getting children outside doesn’t need to involve an elaborate attraction. Sometimes having space to walk, explore and discover things is enough, and simple outdoor play often holds their attention far longer than you’d expect.
Thorpe Farm offers plenty of opportunities to get outside, including its woodland walk and animal paddocks.
Take a look at our guide to outdoor activities for kids to discover more ways to enjoy some fresh air during your visit.
Soft Play and Lunch
Preschool children are also at a brilliant age for soft play, so combining an energetic play session with lunch can make planning your day particularly easy.
At Thorpe Farm, you don’t have to get back in the car every time you want to switch activities. Once you’ve arrived, you can mix and match different parts of the site depending on your children, the weather and how much time you have.
Our Preschool Combination
Try:
Outdoor exploring → see the animals → lunch or a café stop → soft play
Starting outside while everyone has plenty of energy before finishing with some indoor play works particularly well on changeable days.
Family Activities in Durham for Primary School Children
Primary school-aged children often want a little more independence and adventure from a day out.
This is a great age for turning a simple countryside visit into a full day of different experiences.
Woodland Adventures
A woodland walk gives children the opportunity to explore, spot wildlife and enjoy being outdoors away from screens.
You can make a walk more interesting by setting children challenges along the way. See who can spot the most birds, find interesting leaves or identify different trees.
Let the kids lead the way and a simple stroll quickly turns into a proper woodland adventure.
Meet the Farm Animals
Older children can get more out of visiting the animal paddocks too. Rather than simply seeing the animals, encourage them to learn more about the different species and life in the countryside.
Seasonal Activities
It’s also worth looking out for seasonal activities at Thorpe Farm throughout the year. During the summer and school holidays, additional family attractions and events can turn a visit into an even bigger day out.
Visit the Farm Shop
A trip to a farm shop can be surprisingly enjoyable with children too – particularly when there’s the promise of choosing a treat!
The Thorpe Farm Shop near Barnard Castle is perfect for browsing local produce and picking up something to take home at the end of your visit.
Our Primary School Combination
Make a full day of it with:
Woodland walk → animal paddocks → lunch → family activities → farm shop treat
You can find even more inspiration in our guide to a full day out at Thorpe Farm.
Family Activities in Durham for Teenagers
Planning family days out with teenagers can be a little trickier. They may have grown out of traditional children’s attractions, but that doesn’t mean family days out have to stop.
The key is choosing activities that feel a little more grown-up.
Get Active
Older children and teenagers often enjoy activities where there’s some friendly competition involved.
Thorpe Farm’s indoor padel courts offer families another way to get active during a visit. Padel is easy for beginners to pick up, making it a good option even if you’ve never played before.
Because the courts are indoors, it’s also an activity you don’t have to abandon when the weather turns.
Enjoy the Outdoors
For something more relaxed, teenagers can join the rest of the family for a woodland walk and some time outdoors.
A countryside walk followed by something to eat can be a much easier sell to older children than a traditional children’s attraction.
Food Makes Everything Better
A good café stop can become an activity in itself, particularly with older children.
Building lunch, cake or drinks into your plans gives everyone time to sit down together before deciding what to do next. It doesn’t have to be a big meal out or traditional fish and chips on the way home, and delicious food somewhere comfortable is often all it takes to keep everyone happy.
Our Teen Combination
Try:
Padel → lunch or coffee → woodland walk → browse the farm shop
It’s active enough to keep teenagers entertained while still giving the whole family time together.
Create Your Own Family Day Out in Durham
One of the easiest ways to plan family activities is to stop thinking of a day out as one big attraction.
Instead, combine several smaller experiences.
A morning of soft play followed by lunch and a walk can be just as enjoyable as visiting a major attraction – and often far more relaxed.
This is particularly useful for families with children of different ages. Younger children can enjoy soft play and meeting the animals, while older children can explore outdoors or try something more active.
At Thorpe Farm, you can create a day that suits your own family rather than following a fixed itinerary.
Why Visit Thorpe Farm for a Family Day Out?
Thorpe Farm is ideally positioned for families looking for things to do around County Durham, Barnard Castle, Darlington, Richmond and the surrounding areas.
What makes it particularly useful for families is the variety available in one place. Depending on the ages of your children and the time you have available, your visit could include:
- Soft play
- Animal paddocks
- Woodland walks
- Outdoor activities
- Indoor padel
- Lunch, coffee and cake
- Browsing the farm shop
- Seasonal family activities
With lots of activities on one site, you can visit for a couple of hours or turn your trip into a much longer family day out. It’s worth checking our opening hours before you set off so you can plan around lunch and the drive home.
More Family Days Out in Durham and the North East
If you’re building a longer family trip or a family holiday in the area, there’s plenty to offer beyond a single visit. Here are some of the other places to visit that families tell us they enjoy.
Durham City
Durham Cathedral is Durham’s most famous landmark and, together with the castle, forms a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Even younger children tend to be impressed by the scale of it.
The Durham riverside walk is an easy way to see the best of Durham city centre on foot, and the Prince Bishop River Cruiser gives you a different view of the same stretch of water without much effort from little legs. If you want to give a walk a bit more purpose, a self-guided treasure trail turns a stroll around the city into a puzzle to solve.
For something quieter, the Durham University Botanic Garden is a lovely spot for a picnic, and the botanic gardens make a good pairing with the Oriental Museum on the same side of the city.
Museums and Days Out Nearby
The area has some genuinely award-winning museums, including Beamish Museum. Better known as Beamish, the Living Museum of the North, it lets families travel back in time through a pit village, a 1940s farm and an old-fashioned sweet shop, with a tram ride between them.
Locomotion at Shildon is free to visit and full of historic trains, which makes it an easy win with train-mad children. Locomotion and Beamish are both good options for a full day rather than a quick stop.
The Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle is closer to us and well worth a visit, particularly if the weather has turned.
Castles and Country Estates
Raby Castle is a medieval castle with a deer park and gardens to explore, and the newer play areas there have made it a much easier sell with younger children than it once was.
Bishop Auckland is worth a look too, with Auckland Castle and the wider Auckland Project sitting right in the middle of town.
Teesdale and the North Pennines
Teesdale and the Durham Dales are perfect for families who’d rather be outside. High Force waterfall is one of the most impressive sights in the North Pennines National Landscape, and the walk down to it is short enough for most children to manage.
Hamsterley Forest has waymarked trails, a visitor centre and an adventure playground, so you can make it as gentle or as energetic as you like. Teesdale Alpacas is another local favourite if your children enjoy meeting animals.
The Durham Coast
The Durham Heritage Coast is often overlooked. Seaham beach is the pick of the bunch, and hunting for sea glass along the shoreline keeps children busy for far longer than a normal beach trip.
Other Farm and Play Attractions
Closer to the city, Adventure Valley is one of the larger family attractions in Durham, combining indoor and outdoor play with animals across a big site.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best family activities in Durham for toddlers?
Toddlers often enjoy activities that allow them to explore at their own pace. Soft play, meeting farm animals, short countryside walks and a relaxed café stop are all good options. Thorpe Farm allows you to combine several of these activities in one visit.
What can families do in Durham when it’s raining?
Indoor activities are useful when the weather changes. Soft play is particularly good for younger children, while families with older children can try indoor padel. You can also spend some time enjoying food and drinks before heading outdoors if the weather improves.
Are there family activities in Durham suitable for different age groups?
Yes. Look for destinations offering several different activities rather than a single age-specific attraction. At Thorpe Farm, younger children can enjoy soft play and seeing the animals, while older children and teenagers can enjoy outdoor activities, woodland walks and padel.
Can you spend a full day at Thorpe Farm?
Absolutely. You can combine several activities to create your own itinerary, with plenty of opportunities to stop for food and refreshments along the way. Read our guide to spending a full day at Thorpe Farm to help plan your visit.
Is Thorpe Farm suitable for a family day out with grandparents?
Yes. Because you can choose how much or how little you want to do, Thorpe Farm works well for multi-generational family days out. Some members of the family can enjoy the children’s activities while others have a coffee, browse the farm shop or join everyone for a gentle walk.
Do you have to do everything at Thorpe Farm in one visit?
Not at all. You can tailor your visit around your family. Come for soft play and lunch, enjoy a countryside walk and the animal paddocks, or make a longer day of it by combining several activities.
Discover Family Activities in Durham at Thorpe Farm
Entertaining a toddler, planning an adventure with primary school children or trying to tempt teenagers away from their screens all get much easier when there are plenty of different activities to choose from.
Thorpe Farm gives you the freedom to build a day around your family, from soft play and farm animals to woodland walks, food, shopping and active fun. It’s fun for the whole family whatever the weather, which is no small thing in this part of the North East.
So, the next time you’re searching for family activities in Durham, gather the family and come and see how much there is to discover at Thorpe Farm.