Games for the road

ROAD TRIP BINGO

Download and print our Road Trip Bingo card so you have fresh copies to take on your journey (one for each player). This game is all about looking out of the window and seeing what you can spot. The first person to spot an item from the card and shout “BINGO!'“ gets the points for that item. Continue until everything on the card has been spotted, then add up the points to see who has won.

What you need: a printout of the Road Trip Bingo card and a pen/ pencil.

The Road Trip Rule Game

Make a list of silly ‘rules’ for your family road trip: for example, when you go under a bridge, you have to bark like a dog. You get points for being the first person to follow a rule, and the person with the most points at the end of the journey wins.

What you need: a sheet of paper, a pen / pencil, and a few minutes to make up the rules (including how many points each rule is worth).

Walk behind a waterfall (Brecon Beacons)

The Brecon Beacons is basically one big adventure playground. Caving, canoeing, wild swimming, glorious mountains, plus an extra-special bit called Waterfall Country, which offers loads of opportunities to get happily soaked. Go in search of the secret hideout hidden behind Henrhyd Falls. It’s the perfect spot for a game of hide and seek. 

More waterfall hideouts: Janet’s Foss (N England), Sgwd yr Eira, Brecon Beacons Four Falls Trail (S Wales).

Ski / snowboard down a mountain (The Cairngorms) 

What d’you mean ‘you can’t ski in Britain’? You can too, and in a particularly mountain-stuffed part of Scotland called the Cairngorms there are three thrillsome ski resorts, with loads of snowy slopes to whoosh down. This is Britain’s biggest national park, and it’s bursting with oodles of things to do. You might even see the country’s only free-ranging reindeer herd bumbling around these peaks.  

More special skiing and snowboarding spots: Glencoe (N Scotland), Nevis Range (N Scotland), Snozone (Central England).

Look down on a city from an ancient volcano (Edinburgh)

Climb an extinct volcano and feel a king or queen surveying your kingdom. Get spooked in a haunted underground street. See an ancient coronation stone known as the Stone of Destiny. Sounds pretty epic, for a stone! Loads more to see in Scotland’s capital, like unicorn statues and a museum packed to the rafters with amazing toys.

More extinct volcanoes to climb up: Snowdon (N Wales), North Berwick Law (S Scotland), Ben Nevis (N Scotland) 

Ride the Hogwarts Express (Fort William)

You know that bit in the Harry Potter films where the Hogwarts Express goes over that amazing viaduct? Well, you can experience the same journey aboard the Jacobite Express, which steams into the Highlands, over the famous Glenfinnan viaduct and past magical lochs. Sadly (or thankfully, depending on your point of view) there’s no school at the end of the line. But you can jump on a boat to the equally magical Knoydart to feast on fish ‘n’ chips at Britain’s remotest pub. 

More steam train rides: Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways (N Wales), Bluebell Railway (S England), North Yorkshire Moors Railway (N England).   

Catch some waves (North Cornwall) 

Pack your board shorts, because North Cornwall is one of the best places in Britain to try surfing. There are sooo many sandy beaches here to choose from, and all sorts of beach-based fun to get up to. Legend has it that King Arthur and his pal Merlin used to hang out in these parts (maybe they liked surfing), and there’s a great bike ride along a river that’s a lot less humpy than it sounds. 

More cool places for super surfing: Isle of Lewis (N Scotland), Saltburn (N England), Rest Bay (S Wales). 

Wobble across Britain’s highest wire Bridge (Lake District)

Can you believe that Infinity Bridge at Honister Slate Mine is over 600 metres high? That’s higher than some of the mountains you might climb in the Lake District, like Helm Crag or Cat Bells, although not higher than the highest mountain in England, which as you know is… Scafell Pike. There’s an over-12 age limit, so this is one for the big kids.  

More high wire walking: How Stean Gorge (N England), Via Ferrata Scotland, Kinlochleven (N Scotland).

Slide down a ginormous sand dune (North Devon)

Sand dunes look a bit like land waves, so it makes sense that you can surf on them. Try sandboarding at Britain’s biggest sand dune ‘system’, Braunton Burrows. There are great beaches that’ll make your eyes pop all around this stretch of coast, not to mention super cycling (Tarka Trail) and whale watching (Lundy).

More stand-out sand dunes: Lindisfarne (N England), Kenfig (S Wales), Forvie (N Scotland).

Step in a dinosaur footprint (Skye)

Around 165 million years ago, a family of gigantic dinosaurs trooped across An Corran beach in the north of Skye. How do we know? Because their footprints are still there! Fitting your own foot into a fossilised ornithopod print is just one of the magical things to do on this most magical of islands, where fairies dance in the glens and the scenery comes straight out of a storybook.  

More dazzling dinosaur encounters: Natural History Museum (S England), Compton Bay (S England), Keates Quarry (S England). 

Dangle from a cliff edge (PEAK DISTRICT)

Don’t panic, parents! Learning to climb with a qualified instructor makes difficult things seem possible, even stuff that seems a little scary. The cliffs of Stanage Edge in the Peak District are where many of Britain’s great climbers first learned their skills, and there are so many adventures nearby, it’ll make your head swim... wild walks, monster hunting, biking through railway tunnels, exploring caves.   

More exciting climbing: High Weald (S England), Glen Coe (N Scotland), Snowdonia (N Wales).

Spot whales from Britain’s most northerly bit (Shetland)

Shetland is way up at the top of Britain, beyond its protruding nose. The Shetland Islands are actually closer to Norway than to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. There are many magical wonders to be seen here, from frolicking killer whales and tough-as-old-boots Shetland ponies to crumbly Viking ruins, amazing beaches, a world-famous fire festival and, maybe, if you’re really lucky, the Northern Lights. 

More wondrous whale-spotting: Outer Hebrides (N Scotland), Orkney (N Scotland), Cornwall (S England).

Zoom down the world’s fastest zipline (Snowdonia)

The buttock-clenchingly fast zipline at Penrhyn quarry will propel you through the air at over 100 miles an hour. While we’re on the subject of record breakers, the highest mountain in Wales (Snowdon), Britain’s longest steam railway (Welsh Highland Railway) and the country’s steepest road (Ffordd Pen Llech) are all in this amazingly adventure-filled national park.  

More zany zipwire rides: Adrenalin Quarry (S England), BeWILDerwood (East England), Go Ape (lots of places).

Go island-hopping (Isles of Scilly)

Commandeer a kayak, board a boat or swipe a snorkel to explore these storybook islands where the sky is often a brilliant blue and the beaches are so satisfyingly sandy. Great boat trips, loads of wildlife (seals galore) and almost no cars to cramp your cycling style. 

More magical islands to hop between: Orkney (N Scotland), the Outer Hebrides (N Scotland), Mull (N Scotland).