February Half Term Capers in Herefordshire
From creative modelling to forest zip wires and animal experiences
Make the most of half term week in 2024 with fun family activities, indoors and outdoors.
Activities & Events
Hideous Histories of Herefordshire – a daily dose of darkness
Perfect for roving families, these four family road trips can be downloaded and enjoyed as self-guided adventures by families, aimed at 6 to 12 year olds, plus plenty for younger or older kids to enjoy too with themes perfect for exploring Key Stage 2 and 3 topics including Prehistoric Britain, The Tudors, Plague, Medieval Times and the Civil War. The trails feature a total of fifteen places to visit and explore over four different pockets of Herefordshire, with the guide helping to fully uncover the deadly detail of the history combined with fun crafts to inspire imaginative play and treasure hunts to keep kids engaged with each location and most importantly off their screens.
Clay Modelling Experiences
At the heart of CUP Ceramics Community in Hereford is a drive for social, economic, and environmental sustainability. They provide space and facilities for Herefordshire communities to develop practical skills and gain therapeutic benefits through creating ceramics. During half term they are running special sessions where children will design, create and decorate your creations using techniques taught. The £15 fee includes materials, glaze and kiln firing. The session is running on Monday 12 February from 11am - 12.30pm. Book online. Read more.
Or, head over to Eastnor Pottery near Ledbury for clay modelling on 13 February where families can try out a whole range of skills. Get rolling, pinching and flattening the soft clay to creature something and there’s the opportunity to paint creations with a palette of brightly coloured underglazes. Lasts 1.5 hours and is priced at £25 per person. Read more.
Gnome Trail at Croft Castle
Thought to be small guardians of the natural world, garden gnomes like to spend their days caring for wildlife, lounging in the tall grass, and perhaps doing a spot of fishing. The National Trust’s Croft Castle are putting on a special Gnome Trail this half term as a great way to tire out kids and encourage them to get out and about in the fresh air as they grab a trail sheet from visitor reception and see what Croft’s garden gnomes have been getting up to this half-term trying to find where eight of them are hiding. Croft is a quiet, ancient place steeped in British history and politics with a picturesque castle and medieval parkland re-fashioned during the 18th century with over 1,500 acres of woods, park and farmland to explore. It is also the perfect place to enjoy the changing seasons, with daffodils and blossom in spring.
The trail will be running from Saturday 10 to Sunday 18 February. Trails cost £3 per person and include a bag, colouring sheet, colouring pencils, and a prize. Normal admission prices apply. Read more.
Or, check out the other Herefordshire properties including a Wassail Trail at Brockhampton and a Fairytale Trail at Berrington Hall. These curated days never disappoint and are a treat for the whole family.
Farm Trails and Camp Fire Experiences at Drovers Rest Farm
Drovers Rest Organic Farm near Hay-on-Wye is open over half term for fun farm visits that are also educational. There is plenty of space for the wildlings to run wild and free, climb trees, build dens, feed the farm animals and build campfires in the woodland. They have a Wild Play Area and a DIY hands-on Farm Trail.
Throughout half term they are also running Educational Guided Animal Safaris (at 9.00am Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday ) and Epic Camp Fire Experiences where you are given everything you need to create your own campfire located in secret spots around the farm, including S'Mores ingredients!
What’s more there is a Farm Kitchen serving delicious brunches and lunches, Guided Safaris, Farm Trail and the Camp Fire experience cost £5pp or £20 for a family. Read more.
Theatre Trip to Hereford
The Courtyard in Hereford has a mesmerising puppetry performance of The Little Prince on Saturday 10 February. The boy who fell to earth teaches his friend the Aviator about love, life and real happiness in this adaptation of one of the best-selling children’s books of all time. Tickets are £8.50pp which includes a free pre-activity from 10.30am. Recommended for ages 4+. Read more.
Paintballing or Holiday Club Adventures at Oaker Wood
Oaker Wood is perfect for children over 7 years who want thrills and freedoms in the forest, all 175 acres of it! If the grown-ups fancy a hike and the kids aren’t keen, then why not book them on to a half term holiday club day (13 or 16 February) where each day is different and children participate in up to four different activities. In groups of ten to twelve they experience high ropes challenges including the 100m zip wire, gladiator climbing challenge and monkey climbing, together with the low ropes assault course, outdoor pizza making, target shooting and woodland games. There is also a teen paintballing session for 11-16 year olds.
The holiday club sessions for 7-12 year olds cost £32.50 per child and runs from 9am-3pm on Tuesday 13 and Friday 16 February. The teen paintballing session costs £20/half day £40/full day. Read more.
Climb new heights at Green Spider Hereford
Green Spider is Hereford’s biggest indoor roped and bouldering centre. Join the Green Spider crew for one of their fun-packed climbing adventure half term days. As well as climbing on a variety of walls, your children will also take part in a wide range of fun climbing and non-climbing based activities. Read more.
There’s no such thing as the Gruffalo… or is there near Leominster!?
The Gruffalo Trail at Queenswood Country Park and Arboretum near Leominster features five, larger-than-life sculptures of characters from the ever-popular books created by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler: Mouse, Fox, Snake, Owl and the Gruffalo. An activity pack with added extras to complete along the trail and do at home is available from the Queenswood gift shop. The trail is open all year-round and is less than 1.5 km long so manageable for little legs. Visiting Queenswood is free of charge but parking and the activity pack are extra. Read more.
Meet the Animals - Visit the Small Breeds Park & Owl Centre
Half term sees the reopening of this attraction and a fresh chance to see the animals and owls at this well laid out farm park and owl centre. There are always plenty of youngsters to meet – perhaps a goat kid or two, a baby donkey and some owlets. Get in the pens with the friendly pygmy goats and feed them, watch the red squirrels scurry around and gaze at the 30+ species of owl. There are lots of open spaces for a picnic and a small café for takeaway food and drink.
Open daily until from 10.30am to 5pm. Entry is £11 for adults, £7.50 for children with under twos going free. No need to pre-book.
Meet Andreas the African Hawk Eagle with a Private Falconry Experience
Luke at Wye Valley Falconry will be back out sharing his wonderful private bird of prey experiences for all dates over half term. The experiences are hands-on, interactive and offer participants the chance to fly the birds and watch their unique techniques that make them some of the world’s most incredible hunters and predators. Flying locations are located in the beautiful countryside of Herefordshire with stunning views of the River Wye and distant Brecon Beacons.
Prices start from £120 for two people for a 1 hour owl or hawk experience. Read more.
Release your inner Viking – all half term
Home to an exhilarating range of Viking inspired group activities The Viking Games is the place to channel Nordic gamesmanship outdoors with the family. Take part in one or all of six traditional games - Axe Throwing, Archery, Bullrings, Kubb, Molkky or Stige- adapted for twenty-first century fun and guaranteed to bring out the Viking warrior in all of us!
Several packages are available, from £10pp for an hour activity. There are options from those 8 years and upwards. Read more.
Available Accommodation
The Green Dragon Hotel
The Green Dragon, in the heart of historic Hereford, is one of the UK’s oldest hotels and in the perfect spot for visiting the Cathedral and Mappa Mundi Museum. This gorgeous boutique hotel has eighty-three en-suite rooms, a fabulous lounge and the superb Hereford Restaurant. Plus, there is a great dining scene for food loving families – from Leaven pizza round the corner to Beefy Boys burgers a few minutes’ walk away.
The Family ‘Apartment’ room sleeping four people is available from £162.90 a night including breakfast and there is still some half term availability.
Drovers Rest Farm, near Hay-on-Wye
Drovers Rest is a 16th Century organic farm with cottages and safari tents (all dog friendly). As well as feeding the animals, there is plenty to explore nearby including Hay on Wye and one of the Hideous Histories of Herefordshire stops - the sacred Neolithic burial chamber, Arthur's Stone, which inspired C.S. Lewis' writing of the stone table in The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe.
A three night stay for four people in one of their self catering cottages commencing Friday 9 February costs from £590.
Monkhall Cottages, near Hereford
Just south of Hereford, Monkhall Cottages are set in idyllic countryside with stunning Black Mountains views. The Stables, (sleeps 7) has its own outdoor hot tub, White Lodge has a beautiful garden (sleeps 8), and The Granary sleeps four. Local highlights include Hereford itself with its indy food scene and rich heritage, the literary town of Hay on Wye and castles such as Eastnor on the edge of the Malvern Hills.
A 4 night stay from Monday 11 February is available from £572 for the two bedroom Granary, based on a family of four on a self-catering basis.
White Heron Properties, near Kington
This collection of properties is set within an idyllic 700-acre historic landholding. Options including Field Cottage, Gardeners Cottage and The Lodge are all ideal for families sleeping 4-6 guests with private gardens, lots of space, and welcome dogs. Guests are in easy reach of Hereford and the walking hub town of Kington. Active families will enjoy Oaker Wood - a woodland adventure land offering quad bike trekking, high ropes and zip wires. The estate grows blackcurrants which are used in White Heron British Cassis, and guests can book a fascinating British Cassis tour and tasting too.
7 nights from 9 February for £845 for a two bedroom cottage, based on a family of four on a self-catering basis and there’s 20% off if you book before 31 January- just quote JANUARYBLUES.
