Family activities at Dunstable Downs

Planning your visit

The wide open spaces of Dunstable Downs make it an ideal location for a family day out, no matter your age! From kite flying and den bulding to admiring butterflies and orchids, alongside an exciting programme of events, there's plenty to do for a range of budgets and interests. 

Good to know

• We have baby changing facilities at our Visitor Centre and high chairs and kids menus are avaliable in the café.
• Multi-user surfaced path provides an easy walking route suitable for pushchairs. Step-free access to Visitor Centre, shop and café.
• Thanks to Cotswold Outdoor, we have a range of outdoor clothing avaliable to borrow for ages 2 - 12 so bad weather need never be an issue again!
• Free-to-access with £3.50 parking charge (members park for free)

Summer of Play

21 July - 31 August!

Visit our outdoor sports village for activities like football, cricket, hockey, tennis, table tennis, athletics, frisbee golf, mini croquet and Wednesday soft archery for you to get stuck into.

Accessible drop off points, sensory sports equipment and activities for under 5s are also available. 

Suggested £2 donation. Car parking charges apply, free for National Trust members.

Summer of Play is sponsored by Starling Bank.

Things to see and do

Big Camp

Big Camp is the perfect family adventure, offering you the rare opportunity to pitch your tent and camp overnight at the highest point in Bedfordshire. Spend the weekend exploring the Downs in a new light and admiring our vast night-time skies.

Date: 15 - 17 Aug
Price: £110 per pitch 
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.