Family activities at Dunstable Downs

A boy flying a kite at Dunstable Downs and Whipsnade Estate, Bedfordshire — Young visitor kite flying at Dunstable Downs | © National Trust Images/Arnhel de Serra

There are loads of different family activities designed to help you explore and discover Dunstable Downs. However you choose to spend your day with us, your adventure starts here.

October half-term

Trail: Witchsnade's school of magic

This October half-term, embark on another magical adventure with our resident witch, Witchsnade!

Dates: Saturday 26 October - Sunday 2 November.
Times: drop in between 10.00am-4.00pm.
Price: £3 per trail. Car parking admissions apply.
Booking: no pre-booking required.

Halloween: after-dark at Dunstable Downs

Calling all goblins, ghouls, and ghosts! Get ready for a frighteningly fun Halloween evening as we invite you to explore Dunstable Downs after dark – perfect for the whole family.

Date: Thursday 31 October.
Times: 5.00pm-7.00pm.
Price: £6 per person. Car parking admissions apply.
Booking: pre-booking required.

Kite flying

The elevated position of Dunstable Downs makes it a perfect location for flying kites. You can bring your own or you can purchase one from our shop with kites priced from £8 each.

Balance bikes

You can borrow a balance bike from our visitor centre free of charge. Perfect for pre-school children learning to ride a bike.

Sensory Bags

We are delighted to introduce our sensory bags, available to borrow from 22 July 2024. With a great selection of sensory items to provide stimulation, create calm, and engage with your senses, these can be curated and signed in and out from our Visitor Welcome Hub. They are to help visitors with autism, sensory processing disorder, or those who think they would benefit from them during their visit.

Build a den

Venture into Chute Wood and tick off no. 4 of our '50 things to do before you’re 11¾' at our new den building area! Castle, cave or pirate ship... let your imagaination run wild and build the hideout of your dreams using an array of specially placed deadwood!

Try geocaching at Dunstable Downs

Up for a challenge? We have hidden six camouflaged geocaches across the Downs, taking you to places you may not have visited before. Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunt which you can take part in using one of the free geocache apps, including one at geocaching.com. It will guide you to within a few metres of the geocache hiding place and once there, you will need to use your eyes to seek out the cache.

Get your free geocaching account and start hunting today.

Try Geocaching at Dunstable Downs with our geocaches hidden on the downs. Waterproof camo boxes with note pads, pencil and other knickknacks in — Try Geocaching at Dunstable Downs | © National Trust / Fiona Partridge

a building on the left with benches on the right. it is low light with a clear sky and frosty

Discover more at Dunstable Downs and Whipsnade Estate

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