What to do this bank holiday weekend

With the second May bank holiday looming on the horizon like an enticing oasis of long-lies and left-field day trips, we lay down the groundwork for good times ahead… Our top ideas for how to spend the big weekend with your family.

Wild Wood Festival

Pearcelands Wood, Wakehurst, Sussex
26–28 May
Outdoorsy families will love the Wild Wood Festival in Pearcelands Wood. Explore the tremendous tree trail, let off steam in the Treetrunk Trek play area, and try your hand at archery – this is an ideal day out for those wishing to reconnect with nature. There will even be story-telling and live music throughout the weekend festival.

Tickets: general admission to the gardens for adults – £12.50. There are additional charges for some of the activities.
kew.org/wakehurst

Family Fun Day

Windsor Racecourse, Windsor
28 May
This is the ultimate day out for adults and kids alike, with seven horse races for the grown-ups to cheer on, a huge soft play area for little ones, a giant funfair and plenty of rides including dodgems, a bouncy castle and laser quest (the funfair and rides are all included in the main ticket price). There will also be face painting and arts and crafts to keep everyone entertained.

Tickets: adult – £14 in advance. Children under 18 go free.
windsor-racecourse.co.uk

Blenheim Palace Food Festival

Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire
26–28 May
Blenheim Palace’s fifth annual food festival promises to be bigger and even more delicious than ever. There will be over 130 food and drink stalls offering baked goods, craft beers, gourmet burgers, international cuisines, ice-cream, sweets and loads more… You and the family won’t be going hungry.

Expect live music and cooking demonstrations to inspire your inner culinary wizard too. Tickets include admission to the park and gardens, so do find time to walk off that gigantic lunch and take in the beautiful views and parkland that surround this quintessentially British stately home.

Tickets: adult – £22. Children – £12. Includes access to the palace, park and gardens as well as the food festival.
blenheimpalace.com

All Points East

Victoria Park, London
25 May – 3 June
In case you haven’t heard, Björk is coming to town. Yes, that’s right, the inimitable Icelandic prodigy that changed the face of pop music will be performing in Victoria Park for this cool new festival.

She’s not the only pioneering pop artist on the bill, either. Other headliners include LCD Soundsystem and The xx, who will be playing alongside Beck, Lorde, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and more.

Tickets: adult day tickets start at £59.95, with three-day festival passes coming in at £169.95. Kids aged two and under get in for free.
allpointseastfestival.com