There's a great offer on Merlin Thrilling Theme Park Tickets for Two on offer with BuyaGift.co.uk, if you want a day out for people who love thrills and to get the adrenaline pumping.

And it's on offer - it was £78.00 and it's now £69.00, saving you 12%.
Not only that, you can get a further 10% off with our exclusive code** that BuyaGift
have kindly given visitors from this website!
The code to use is AHW2024BAG

Make the most of day entry at one of the following:

- Alton Towers Resort, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
- Chessington World of Adventures Resort, Chessington, West London
- LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort, Windsor, Berkshire
- THORPE PARK Resort, Surrey
- The London Eye, Southbank, South London
- SEA LIFE London, Southbank, South London
- Cadbury World, Birmingham, West Midlands
- London Dungeon, Southbank, South London
- DreamWorks Shrek's Adventure! London
- Madame Tussauds Blackpool, Lancashire
- SEA LIFE Blackpool, Lancashire
- Blackpool Tower Dungeon, Blackpool, Lancashire
- Warwick Castle, Warwick, Warwickshire

So there's plenty to choose from for a great day out!   Please note the "What do I need to know" section for booking information etc. 

And BuyaGift have lots of other options for you with regards to Merlin Attractions - there are castles and theme parks, zoos and aquariums - take a look here.

**Our exclusive code AHW2024BAG is valid with BuyaGift until 31 December 2024 and it's site wide with BuyaGift even for special offers and 2 for 1s!  (Some products are excluded.)

Visit BuyaGift here.

The 1^st August is Yorkshire Day and a great chance to celebrate the beauty and wonders of Yorkshire and its history.  There's lots going on around the county, and if you want to visit, you're spoilt for choice as to whether you go to a city - York? - or towns, or choose a place on the beautiful coastline.   Find out more about visiting Yorkshire here.

So here are a couple of gift ideas which willl last longer than the opening of an envelope and give them the chance to enjoy Yorkshire in all its beauty!

There are lots of wild places to explore, too, so why not give a gift membership to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust who are working hard to keep Yorkshire wild?  The Trust is committed to creating a Yorkshire which is rich in wildlife, saving both wildlife and wild places to bring people closer to nature.  And they have a vision of a wilder future!

The Trust has 45,000 members and membership is a way to help it give Yorkshire’s wildlife a voice, and to inspire future generations.

Discover all about the wildlife and wild places of Yorkshire

Find out about the wildlife of Yorkshire here – the birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, freshwater fish, marine animals and invertebrates.  And discover too all about the the wildflowers, fungi, mosses, trees and shrubs.   Have a look at the State of Yorkshire Nature's Report here.

The county has habitats such as heathland and moorland, wetlands and woodland, rocky habitat and farmland, and both coastal and freshwater habitats. And of course there are hedgerows – find out why hedgerows are important here. – and stone walls.  Why are stone walls so important to wildlife?

And there are over 100 nature reserves in Yorkshire - so lots to explore!  The Trust has tips on best reserves for families, best ones to see butterflies and wildflowers, best birding hot-spots, and hte topmost reserves for accessibility.   Find a reserve here!  You can use their search facility to find a reserve here.

See the amazing starling murmuration at Ripon City Wetlands



Give a membership to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
and help save Yorkshire's wildlife and wild places!
Image © Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

Their gift boxes contain an incredible range of benefits (and I quote, on 31 July 2024)! 

• "Unlimited free admission and parking at our visitor centres and over 2,000 Wildlife Trust reserves nationally
• A subscription to our quarterly Wildlife Yorkshire magazines
• A Wildlife Watch pack and subscription – bursting with posters, badges, quizzes and more!
• Discounts on some of our unforgettable wild events
• Invites to exclusive experiences
• A copy of Discover Yorkshire’s Wildlife – the most comprehensive guide to where, when and how to see wildlife in Yorkshire!"

If that's not enough, there are free great gifts as well - and you can find out about those here.

This is surely a win-win gift – your membership will be helping to fund vital work and a brighter future for the wild places and wildlife of Yorkshire.

Gift memberships are £69.99.  Find out more about the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust  Gift Memberships

 Alternatively, how about a calendar to celebrate all things from Yorkshire?

The Calendar Club have lots of Yorkshire-themed calendars.
View their calendars here.

And you could consider a magazine, such as The Yorkshire Dalesman Magazine.  The issues are packed full of stories about the landscapes, and places and people that make Yorkshire so very speical! There are articles on local history, nature, food, walks, the Yorkshire humour and puzzle pages as well, plus what to do and where to stay in Yorkshire. 

Find out more from Pocketmags

By the way, there's a new series on Channel 4 starting on Monday, 5th August 2024 at 8pm.  It's called Yorkshire by the Sea, and it follows the lives of local people living along Yorkshire's stunning coastline.   The programme on the 5th August focuses on locals making a living, most particularly the Robson family.  They have been fishing the North Sea for generations.   There's also a group of sea swimminers who are taking a full-moon dip - chilly!   Find out more here.

The National Trust has lots of things you can see and do on Yorkshire's coast with self-led walks, cycle trails, fossil hunting, wildlife watching, and incredible views, and of course there's lots more besides in this stunning county.  See all the National Trust places in Yorkshire here and find out about their membership here.

And don't forget English Heritage, too - they have lots of castles, abbeys, gardens, Roman sites, manor houses, priories and other places to visit!  

Visit RHS Harlow Carr, wonderful gardens!

Also - flower and garden lovers will love a visit to RHS Harlow Carr, just outside of the great Harrogate, a jewel in itself worth a visit (make sure you get to Betty's Tea Rooms!).   

Have you ever heard of 50 things to do before you're 11 and 3/4?  

It's a list that has been put together by the National Trust to get kids (and we're all young at heart) outdoors and connecting with nature.  

So with the summer coming up, I thought I'd remind you about them, because they could be a great way to get the kids doing something in the summer holidays other than looking at a screen.  Some would be great to do if you're on holiday in a new environment where things might be different to how they are at home. 

No 23 - get up for the sunrise
When was the last time you've done this?  Listen to the dawn chorus at the same time!

There are 50 things, and a lot of them can be done without leaving your home, such as stargazing, keeping a nature diary (what can you see out of the window in the sky, or on a walk to the shops?)  and getting to know a tree.  

No 43 - help a wild animal
You could put out some water in a bowl for wildlife.
Please make sure you give wildlife a way out of the bowl, in case they are really tiny!

Many of the 50 things don't require any spending - such as get up for the sunrise, or go cloud watching - and they could be great for the kids to build up in a folder over the summer holidays so that that can look back and see what they've done with nature whilst they were off school.  

No 48 - keep a nature diary
You could do drawings, write poetry, do some fact finding about birds you've seen,
write about what you've seen, write your thoughts about nature and wildlife...
almost like a nature diary.  

The National Trust have put the list together - you can see it here - and they have also got safety information for you too.  

However old we all are, there are times when it's good to escape from adult life with its responsibilities, and just go back to things kids love to do.  The National Trust's 50 things to do before you're 11 and 3/4 is a good place to start, and create lots of connections to the natural world.

See the 50 things to do here.

The RHS has lots of different types of events, not just the world famous flower shows such as Chelsea and Hampton Court. 

For instance, there are courses and workshops.   There are all sorts of skills you can learn, not just gardening, but willow weaving, paper cuts, botanical painting, photography, floral arranging, Zarzo basketry, natural dyeing, rag rug making, needle felting, dry stone walling, creating stained glass flowers and calligraphy. Members can attend many of these (but not all) for free.

There are also a number of shows dedicated to a specific flower or plant, so here are some of them:

Alpine Garden Society Show

The Alpine Garden Society Show takes place on 29th June 2024 at RHS Wisley and this is a great opportunity to learn more about the varieties of alpines and get lots of advice from UK alpine plant growers!

RHS Botanical Art and Photography Show 

The RHS has partnered with the Saatchi Gallery in London for the RHS Botanical Art and Photography Show.which has some of the best botanical artwork and garden photography from global artists.  It's running from the 14th June to the 28th July 2024 - find out more here. 

RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival 

This Festival runs from 2nd to 7th July 2024, and what a day out it is!  I still remember treating my parents to tickets to the show;  we had an amazing day out (with plenty of stops for refreshment along the way) and left inspired and full of determination to work on our own gardens when we got home!    There's the Festival of Roses, you can build your own terrarium to take home, the Threatened Plant of the Year competition, a Master Grower who is passionate about Passiflora and lots of shopping to do!  Find out more here.

National Sweet Pea Show

Head to RHS Bridgewater for this show on the 9th and 10th July 2024. There’s nothing like the scent and sight of gorgeous sweet pea blooms!    Dig up more information. 

Take a look at the various events taking place with the RHS during 2024 here.  There’s lots going on!