This weekend is a hot one, don’t forget our list of free splash parks and outdoor swimming pools. It’s where you need to be!
Saturday 11th July
🥳 The Leys Festival
In it’s 3rd year! A celebration of people and place where everyone is welcome. Family fun includes bouncy castles, spacehoppers, cardboard city and traditional games including a Tug-of-War. Make a carnival mask, make a memory and hang it in the trees, or make yourself a Festival Blackbird. There’s also rugby, basketball and football coaching. All the food is £5 or under for a main meal, and all the activities are free.
📅 Saturday 11th July ⏰ 12 noon – 7pm 💴 Free 🎫 Drop-in ℹ️ More info on the Leys Festival website.
🚴🏼Kidical Mass
A bit different – the bike train is off to the Leys Festival! It will pick up from Rose Hill Primary School (10.30am), John Henry Newman Academy (11am), Windale Primary School (11.30am) and Blackbird Leys Park and arrive at 12 noon, followed by ride around the park. There will be free bike repairs at the Cyclox stand if your bike needs a bit of TLC.
📅 Saturday 11th July ⏰First pickup at 10.30am💴 Free 🎫 Just turn up ℹ️ More info on Cyclox website.
🧱Oxford Brick Festival
An Oxford stalwart since 2018. There’ll be speed building competitions, large scale displays, activities, traders selling loose bricks, new LEGO sets, retired LEGO sets, minifigures & accessories plus a dedicated building area.
📅 Saturday 11th July ⏰ 10am – 4pm 💴 Early admission: £13 (incl. Lego gift), Adult: £8, Child: £6, Family ticket: £20 (2A, 2C) 🎫 Booking essential ℹ️ More info on Oxford Brick Festival website.
🧭 Thames Valley Orienteering Club Saturday Series: Oxford Brookes and Headington Hill Park
Big fans of this Saturday series and easy access to orienteering for all the family. Short 1.7k route suitable for beginners and family groups. Worth a try if you haven’t given it a go before! This is one of the first ones we tried as a family and we’ve been hooked ever since!
📅 Saturday 11th July ⏰ Start times between 10.45am – 11.45am. Course closes at 1pm 💴 From £3.50. Different prices for different routes, see website 🎫 Booking up to 11am on the day ℹ️ Visit Thames Valley Orienteering Club website for more info.
🦋Waterperry Gardens: Butterfly Trail
The summer trails are beginning! This kicks off and runs until September. Find all the butterflies and mark them on a map to win a prize. Disclaimer: you do not have to find all of them to win a prize – we’ve all been there, the fear is real. Lovely playground on the green for a final run around, grab an ice cream from the tea shop to cool down. We have been annual pass holders (£40) here for donkeys years – worth it if you visit regularly like us.
📅 Until 6th September ⏰ 10am – 5.30pm 💴Adult: £12.95, Under 16: Free, Trail: £5.25 (includes prize) 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ Visit Waterperry Gardens website for more info.
🌍 Cornerstone Arts Centre: Didcot Festival of Cultures
Am here for events like this that celebrate ALL the cultures! A day of live music, dance, family activities and delicious street food. Enjoy free workshops including Turkish marbling, African drumming and performances from the Military Wives Choir. All free, some events require booking.
📅 Saturday 11th July⏰ 10am – 3pm 💴 Free 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ More info on Cornerstone website.
🌳 Chiltern’s Discovery Weekend
This weekend brings together 30 Chilterns experiences designed to celebrate the landscapes, heritage, food, wildlife and communities. From stargazing and trail walks plus family-friendly attractions, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
📅 Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th ⏰All weekend 💴 See individual experiences 🎫 Booking required ℹ️ Full programme on website.
Sunday 12th July
🚂 Pendon Museum
The Pendon Museum is such an interesting place and if your little one loves trains then it’s HEAVEN! It’s a glimpse of rural life through extraordinary display scale models and large scenes of the rural countryside. We absolutely love following the railway around; especially as it passes so many places that we recognise! These miniature worlds really do fascinate children (and adults!).
📅 Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th July ⏰11am – 4pm 💴 Adults: £9, Children (5 – 16 years old): £7, Under 5: Free ℹ️ Visit the Pendon website to see what it’s all about.
💨 Wheatley Windmill open day
A lovely local windmill experience! One of only two working windmills in Oxfordshire – don’t miss this opportunity to climb to the top and savour the views! The mill is dated to at least 1671 and was left in various states of ruin before being restored by a dedicated group of volunteers: Wheatley Windmill Restoration, then Preservation, Society. Come hungry because fundraising coffee, tea and cakes are on offer! Donations will keep the windmill open so please dig deep!
📅 Sunday 12th July ⏰ 2pm – 6pm 💴 No entry fee but donations welcome 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ Details on the Wheatley Windmill website and more info and pics on our post here.
🐝 Combe Mill: Wildlife by the Evenlode
Bugs, birds and all things wild. Meet local wildlife experts including beekeepers, butterfly conservationists, bird enthusiasts and our local Wildlife Trust BBOWT plus wildlife photography and market stalls.
📅 Sunday 12th July ⏰ 10.30am – 4.30pm 💴Adults: £9.50, Under 16: Free 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ More on Combe Mill website.
🐷 The Wild Pig
Sweet little farm and farm shop. Previously the Crazy Bear. Pigs (and usually cute piglets!), goats (including scary eyes), llamas (very rude) and sheep. You can walk from here through a little woodland (with so many fairy doors!) and then onto the Stadhampton playground. Easily half a day adventure. Do visit the Farm Shop and buy something if you can, it helps keep the little farm open and free.
📅 Open everyday ⏰ 9am – 6pm 💴 Free 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ More information on their website and pictures from our visits here.
🎥 Cinema offerings
Just in case a movie, indoors with aircon is what you need, there’s a veritable banquet to choose from in the cinema: Minions & Monsters, Moana Live Action Thriller, Toy Story 5 and for the nostalgic amongst us…Busgsy Malone!
