The summer school holidays are here at last and stretching ahead is a whole month of freedom! Getting outdoors for fresh air and fun is a great way to spend time rather than money – read on for ideas of what to do and where to go!

Ringstead by Jane Woolley

The summer school holidays are here at last and stretching ahead is a whole month of freedom!

Getting outdoors for fresh air and fun is a great way to spend time rather than money – head to our Explore page for 50 free outstanding places to explore or follow our socials for a recommendation each Friday.

August offers some fantastic activities for both children and adults to make the most of the fabulous landscape in Dorset:

Explore the seashore – Dorset Wildlife Trust are marking National Marine Week (3-11 August) with some amazing activities such as seashore safari, eco-crabbing, rockpool rambles,  sea shell drawing, a day for budding Young Marine Rangers, and whale and dolphin watching. Or keep your feet dry and head inland to the Kingcombe Centre for creative summer nature activities!

Get into the Olympic spirit – The rangers at Thorncombe Woods near Dorchester have created an Olympics-inspired  FREE family friendly trail with hand-painted discs suggesting tree presses, log balancing and lots more activities to complete on your way round. Pick up a leaflet at the Visitor Centre.

Go wild at Durlston – Durlston Country Park rangers have created a Purbeck Pirates treasure trail this summer – a great way to explore the woods, meadows and cliff top walks of this beautiful country park. Or join in with their free ‘Wild Wednesday’ creative activities, minibeast safari and meet-a-moth session!

Snap up the last few places on the ever-popular Artsreach summer programme for young people. Join artist Sarah Butterworth to make shadow puppets or horse lanterns to take home and light up. Or step inside the StoryDen when it comes to Litton Cheney with Storyteller Emily Hennessey and sitar player Sheema Mukherjee to find out who took a bite out of the sun and much more!