Our guide to what’s on during the Easter holidays for families in Oxford is everything you need to keep you entertained.
The first part is what’s on all through the Easter holidays, scroll down for your day by day guide:
🐰 Evenley Wood Gardens: Easter Egg Hunt
Evenley Woods Gardens always go all out for their seasonal trails: giant watering cans, frogs and ducks surfing along the river, bunnies, sheep, umbrellas, rain clouds, vegetable patches and more random brilliance! Collect your map and follow the arrows to find spring friends around the garden. Once completed collect your treat from the café. There’s even a golden egg to find on Easter Sunday for the chance to win a huge egg!
📅 On until Sunday 21st April ⏰ Morning or afternoon slots (10am or 1pm) 💴 Trail for children £7.50 (plus booking fee), Adults £9.50 🎫 Booking recommended ℹ️ Book via the website. Book for the children online and pay for yourself when you arrive. We went to this last year, check out our review here.
🥕Rectory Farm: Charity Easter Trail
A trail to raise money for local charity The Maple Tree – a place to meet other families, get involved with hands on learning and sometimes to get help with the tough task of parenting. There is no cost for the trail – which includes a chocolate reward for all finishers – but donations are welcome. There’s also a pretty sweet playground and sandpit to entertain the troops. Consider this a warm-up for summer strawberry picking madness!
📅 On until Saturday 19h April ⏰ 9.30am – 5.30pm (4pm on Sundays). Closed Mondays💴 Trail is free, with donations welcome 🎫 No booking ℹ️ More details on the Rectory Farm website.
🥚Oxford Preservation Trust Easter Egg Hunt
Find the eggs, spot the letters and unscramble the words! This year at Jarn Mound, Jarn Wild Garden & Jarn Heath (accessed via Jarn Way, Boars Hill, OX1 5JD) and Wolvercote Lakes (Godstow Road, Wolvercote, OX28NZ).
📅 Until Monday 21st April ⏰ Open all day 💴 Free 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ More details on the Oxford Preservation Trust website.
🐥Waddesdon Manor: Easter adventures
The Easter trail is jam-packed of lots of fun games and creative activities. Follow your map, get involved in each activity and don’t forget to collect your chocolate egg at the end! To guarantee a place, tickets must be pre-booked. £3.50 per child (one egg per trail).
📅 Easter trail runs Wednesday 9th – Sunday 13th April and Wednesday 16th – Monday 21st April ⏰ 11am – 4pm 💴Adults: £14, Children: £7 (grounds only)🎫 Booking essential ℹ️ More details on the Waddesdon Manor website.
🐰Waterperry Gardens: Big Easter Bunny Hunt
Join the Big Easter Bunny Hunt, a lovely jaunt around the ornamental gardens spotting carrots as you go. Return to the café with their location marked on your map and word unscrambled to claim your prize. The playground just beyond the café is worth a visit after, as is the Waterperry to Waterstock walk.
📅 On until Monday 21st April ⏰ 10am – 5pm 7 days a week💴 £4.50 per trail per child (includes prize), Adults £12.50 entry fee to the gardens 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ More details on the Waterperry Gardens website. Check out one of our many visits here.
🥚The Covered Market: The Great Covered Market Easter Egg Hunt
Hunt out pictures of eggs with letters in them inside or outside participating market shops. For each letter spotted, show the trader in that shop and they’ll stamp your card. Find all the letters on the card and then hand your card back in and be entered into the grand prize draw. Collect your card from iScream, Wicked Chocolate or The Garden.
📅From Sunday 5th – 19th April ⏰ 9am – 5pm 💴 Individual entry £2, Family £5 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ More details on the Covered Market website.
🐣High Lodge Farm: Easter Trail
The usual fun from High Lodge Farm trails! Follow the trail through the woods and find 10 decorated sheep then head to the Field of Fun to explore our woodland games, take a spin on the barrel train (£3), play on the farm tractor, climb the bales and then tuck into some food and drink. 9am – 10am are SEN sessions when visitor capacity will be reduced.
📅12th – 21st April ⏰ 10am – 4pm 💴 Adult: £6.50, Child: £8, Under 1: Free 🎫 Booking recommended ℹ️ More details on High Lodge Farm website.
🐑 Cogges: Spring at the farm
Love a farm visit in spring! See the farmyard animals, sheep and goats, ponies, lambs, chickens, ducks and turkeys, including many rare breeds. Follow the hidden fairy door trail and go on a fun egg hunt in the straw! Mini-farmers can ride the toy tractors, play on the zip wire in the adventure playground, dig in the sandpit or search for minibeasts with a Cogges Explorer Backpack!
📅 Open everyday⏰ 9.30am – 5pm 💴 Adult: £10.50, Child: £7.50, Under 3: Free 🎫 Booking recommended ℹ️ More details on Cogges website.
🥚Oxford Museum of Natural History: Eggstraordinary Easter Eggventure Family Trail
Eggsplore the museums with an eggciting egg-hunters trail! Find all of the hidden eggs around the museum to discover amazing animal facts. Pick up the free trail from the Welcome Desk.
📅 Friday 4th April – Monday 21st April ⏰10am – 5pm 7 days a week💴 Free 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ More details on the Museum of Natural History website.
🗺️ The Wandering Kitchen Trail
A café/ walk/ trail combo with dogs very welcome! The short jaunt around the lake is perfect for little legs – collect the letters as you go with a treat at the end. The food here is GOOD, especially the pancakes and the views overlooking the lake are 👌🏼
📅 Open daily ⏰Monday-Saturday from 9am to 4pm (Mondays until 9pm), and Sundays from 8:30am to 4pm 💴 Trail free with café spend 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ More details on our visit here
♥️ Thomley
This extraordinary and inclusive place is for children for all abilities and disabilities. Check the online calendar to see who each day is for and what’s on and book in. As well as loads of activities there’s also the huge bouncy pillow, soft play, dino area, splash pad, bikes and bike track, sensory and construction rooms and more! And if you fancy glamping there are even glamping pods too!
📅 Open everyday in the Easter holidays but generally closed Monday and Sundays ⏰ 10am – 3.30pm 💴 £15 per child (adults do not require tickets)🎫 Pre booking required ℹ️ See Thomley website for more information and booking.
📚The Story Museum: Enchanted Library Trail
If you have never stepped inside a book then this is your chance! Such a wonderful interactive museum and unlike any other museum you have been to before. The Enchanted Library Trail is free with Galleries tickets: pick up a trail and follow the rabbit’s footprints. Check out their video which shows the brilliance of the museum!
📅 Open everyday in the school holidays ⏰10am – 5.30pm 💴 Trail free but admission charges apply 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ More details on the Story Museum website.
🐲Oxford Castle and Prison: Adopt a dragon
This egg contains a dragon! Decorate your egg, make a mask and build your dragon’s nest. Each child will take home their decorated egg, nest, crafts and a cuddly soft toy dragon, and because a Dragon isn’t just for Easter, a certificate of adoption together with a fact sheet for them to fill in for their fiery friend.
📅 Monday 7th – Friday 18th April⏰10am and 12 noon 💴 1st child + 1 accompanying adult: £16, additional child: £14, per additional adult: £2 🎫 Booking required ℹ️ More details on the Oxford Castle and Museum website.
💦Hinksey Open Air Pool
Costa Del Hinksey is open for the season from the 5th April! I’m not going to lie, it’s too chilly for me but hey, there’s always some (mainly children, no coats in the dead of winter a case in point!) that get involved whatever the weather! We salute you. But we’ll wait until sunnier climes 🥶 You need a free More Membership to book and don’t forget the brand spanking new Splash Park and Mini Wheels Track next door which is open too!
📅 Opens for the season on Saturday 5th April⏰10am – 5pm, 7 days a week 💴 Adult: £5.70, Junior £3.60, Under 5: Free 🎫 Booking required ℹ️ More details on the Oxford City Leisure website and check out our visit here.
🛝South Oxford Adventure Playground (SOAP)
Open for the holiday playscheme this Easter. Children can enjoy being outside, climbing, building dens, Easter arts and crafts and more! There’s different rules for different days: Monday 7 & Friday 11 April: Everybody Welcome! Free play, Den building, Easter arts and crafts. Tuesday 8, Wednesday 9, Thursday 10 : 7+ Day! Free play, Easter Egg hunts, camp fire, marshmallows, egg & spoon Olympics (no parents/ carers/ under 7s)
📅 Monday 7th – Friday 11th April ⏰10am – 4pm💴 Free 🎫 Registration needed for over 7sℹ️ More details on SOAP website.
THURSDAY 17th APRIL
🥚Museum of Oxford: Oxford Eggs-travaganza
Explore the amazing objects as you search for the hidden eggs. Design your own egg decorations and handle real historical objects.
📅 Wednesday 17th April ⏰ 45 minute sessions: 10.30am/ 11.45am/ 1.30pm/ 2.45pm 💴£1.50 per ticket 🎫 Booking essential ℹ️ Visit the Museum of Oxford website to book.
🥽Radley Pool: Fun Sessions
With two large inflatable assault courses, pool toys and two diving boards, the sessions are action-packed and incredibly fun. The age limit for these sessions is 8-12 years old and parents are not permitted in the pool with the children. The session is fully lifeguarded.
📅8th/ 10th/ 15th/ 17th April ⏰ 2.30pm – 4pm 🧒8 – 12 year olds 💴£8 for 90 minutes 🎫 Booking required ℹ️ Book via Radley website
FRIDAY 18th APRIL
🐣Banbury Museum and Gallery: Easter bonnets
Make and decorate easter bonnets. Such a lovely Easter activity!
📅18th April⏰ 10.30am/ 1.30pm💴 £5 per child 🎫 Booking required ℹ️ Book via the museum website.
🐏Oxford City Farm: Family Friendly Day
Get your wellies on and get down to the farm to see the animals. There are chickens and goats and sheep. There’s also an area for free play and much to learn about farm to fork in the vegetable patch. Community farming – we love you!
📅 Saturday 19th April ⏰ 10am – 1pm 💴 Free 🎫 Booking only needed for parties over 10 ℹ️ Visit the Oxford City Farm website for more info. Never been to the farm? Check out our visit here.
SATURDAY 19th APRIL
🔬Science Oxford: Family Day
The UK’s first indoor-outdoor primary science education centre with a hands-on Exploration Zone and 15 acres of woodland and ponds. This is STEM on another level and the fun factor is off the wall! We’ve been here so many times for school trips and days out and there is always something new to learn.
📅 Saturday 19th April ⏰10am – 12noon/ 12.30pm – 2.30pm/ 3pm – 5pm 💴 £8 per ticket, Under 3s Free 🎫 Booking required ℹ️ Book via the Science Oxford website and check out our previous visit here.
🧀The Cheese Shed
Yes, your Easter holiday gift is you stuffing your face with cheese and then going on a walk. There’s not much more to say than that!
📅 Saturday 19th April ⏰ 8.30am – 3pm 💴 Free entry 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ Check out the website for the ridiculous toastie you need to get in your mouth. Read about one of our visits here.
SUNDAY 20th APRIL – Easter Sunday
🚌Oxford Bus Museum: Easter Chick Hunt
Go an an Easter chick hunt (they are cute!) and find the Easter bunny. Plus free heritage bus rides at 12.15pm and 2.15pm.
📅 Sunday 20th April and Monday 21st April⏰10am – 4pm 💴 Adults £8, Concession £7, Children £5, Family £17🎫 No booking required ℹ️ See website for more info.
🪖Combe Mill: Military Day
Combe Mill is in Steam! On Easter Sunday there will also be military vehicles on display with volunteers on hand to answer questions, plus a revamped tinkering area, BBQ, snacks, drinks, market stalls, and a gift shop. Children can also take part in the free Easter Egg Trail.
📅 Sunday 20th April⏰10.30am – 4.30pm 💴 Adults £5, Concession £4, Under 16: Free 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ See Combe Mill website for more info.
Monday 21st APRIL – Easter Monday
Have a lie down, you’ve survived two weeks of school holidays! 🙌🏽
Don’t forget all the FREE things to do and places to go:
🛝Playgrounds (click the links)
Upper Heyford
East Hanney Play Area (Fantastic Mr Fox)
Combe
Warborough
Exeter Hall
Tackley
Holton
South Park
The Leys, Stanton Harcourt
Sandford
🚶♂️Walks (click the links)
White Horse Hill – Wayland’s Smithy
Blenheim Community Path
Thrupp Lake
Warburg Nature Reserve
Farmoor Reservoir
Hinksey Height Nature Reserve
Blenheim Park Combe Gate
University Parks
Kingston Bagpuize Millenium Green Trail
Shotover Park
🐰Happy Easter!🐰
