< backActivities and things to do when you are in the UK
Look through a sample list of activities and excursions available to Stay & Study English guests. There are many more activities available to choose from, so please feel free to do your own research. The activities listed here have been chosen due to their proximity to Stay & Study English.
All information and prices are approximate only. Stay & Study English is not responsible for any misinformation or website content contained on these pages.
This information is organized into:
- Shopping
- Country Homes and Castles
- Places of Educational and/ or Historical Interest
- Outdoor Activities
- Sports & Leisure
- Amusement and Theme Parks
Shopping
Going shopping is always a great way to get a feel for a place.
You can learn a lot by walking around, chatting to people, buying bits and bobs and seeing what local people are really like close up.
Test your English – ask someone for directions, look at the shops and what they sell, practice using English money, read signposts, take a look around you… There is something to learn everywhere! England is waiting for you.
Additional Shopping information:
| Shopping in the City of Nottingham | free | Nottingham is an old market city with a range of shops and activities, an attractive and historical yet modern city centre built on sandstone, with the old Lace Market, castles, caves, football and cricket grounds, etc. www.westfield.com/broadmarsh/ourstores/ www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/entertainment/ |
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| Shopping in lovely Southwell, Nottinghamshire | Free | See the famous Minster from the outside, admire The Saracen’s Head, a beautiful oak-beamed 16th century coaching inn where Charles 1st once stopped over, see the original Bramley Apple tree, England’s most famous cooking apple. |
| Shopping in Newark market town | Free | |
| Shopping in Meadowhall, Sheffield | Free | A huge indoor shopping centre in the steel city of Sheffield. |
Country Homes and Castles
Britain is famous for it's beautiful country homes and castles. Explore Lord Byron's beautiful home down to the darkest dungeons under Nottingham castle! Beware!
English homes are so breath-taking and well-known that they have been used for movies and TV programmes all over the world.
Step inside and discover them for yourself...
Additional information:
| Tour of Nottingham Castle | Mon-Fri free Weekends £2 |
www.robinhood.ltd.uk/index.asp |
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| Tour of Nottingham Castle dungeons | £6.95 | www.robinhood.ltd.uk/index.asp |
| Wollaton Park & Hall, Nottingham | £1.50 | Visit Wollaton Park & Hall, a Elizabethan grade 1 listed building in 500 acres of open parkland where deer walk freely www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/wollaton_hall |
| Walking or cycling in Clumber Park and Rufford Park, Nottinghamshire | Free (£5.50 car park charge) | Here you can walk by the lake or cycle, enjoy the natural beauty of the park, visit the miniature Gothic cathedral, www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-clumberpark.htm |
| Belton House, Grantham, Lincolnshire | £4.50 | Film location for the BBC's 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Tom Jones' and children can both dress up in genuine Victorian clothing www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-beltonhouse.htm |
| Visit Tattershall Castle, Lincolnshire | £3.50 | Visit this 15th Century castle which has six floors – including dungeons! www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-tattershallcastle/ |
| Belvoir Castle | £4.00 | Ancestral home of the Duke and Duchess of Belvoir Castle for 1000 years www.belvoircastle.com/ |
| Visit Sudbury Hall, Derbyshire | £12.00 | www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-sudburyhall.htm |
| Visit Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire | £2.50 | Visit Newstead Abbey, former home of Lord Byron, founded as a monastic house in the 12th century www.newsteadabbey.org.uk/ |
Places of Educational and/ or Historical Interest
Do you like science, geography or history?
Whatever your interests, you will find plenty to see and do.
Einstein said "Imagination is more important than knowledge." Let us feed your imagination!
Additional Information:
| National Space Centre, Leicester | £7.95 | The national centre for space, science and astronomy. www.nssc.co.uk/ |
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| White Post Modern Farm Centre | £8 | A modern farm centre where you can learn about the animals and feed them plus enjoy the educational, interactive entertainment. Animals include llamas, donkeys, horses, sheep, rheas, ostriches, meer cats, and so on. www.whitepostfarmcentre.co.uk |
| The Caves of Nottingham tour | £3.25 | An interactive discovery experience info@galleriesofjustice.org.uk www.robinhood.ltd.uk/index.asp |
| Galleries of Justice, Nottingham | £5.95 (or £7.50 if combined with Caves of Nottingham Tour) | An award winning museum which looks at three centuries of crime and punishment; with real actors and true crimes www.galleriesofjustice.org.uk/visitor_attraction/ |
| The Tales of Robin Hood, Nottingham | £5.95 | The Tales of Robin Hood is an interactive medieval experience www.robinhood.uk.com/tourist_1.htm |
| Visit The Workhouse, Southwell, Nottinghamshire | £2.40 | This is the best-preserved 19th century workhouse in England, with workshops and dormitories (an institution for paupers) www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-theworkhouse/ |
| Southwell Minster and Abbey tour | Free but donation of £1 suggested | www.southwellminster.org.uk/info.htm |
| Horological Museum, Southwell, Nottinghamshire | - | This is in a late-Georgian manor house, it is dedicated to historic watches and clocks, including the Post Office’s original Speaking Clocks www.bhi.co.uk |
| Museum and birthplace of Nottingham’s novelist, poet and artist DH Lawrence in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire | free | Museum and birthplace of DH Lawrence, which has been restored to how it would have looked during his time there. www.broxtowe.gov.uk/index/tourism/tourism_dhl/tourism_museum.htm www.lawrenceseastwood.co.uk/ |
| Magna science adventure centre, Rotherham, Yorkshire | £4.50 | ”Magna is a complete educational resource providing an inspiring learning environment.” www.visitmagna.co.uk |
| Viking Museum at the Jorvik Centre, York | £8 | A popular interactive, educational Viking theme centre www.vikingjorvik.com/ |
Outdoor Activities
Walk through England's famous wild flowers, swing through the trees of Sherwood Forest or fly through the sky.
The sky's the limit!
Additional Information:
| Cycling on the National Cycle Network | Free plus £7/£8/£12 bicycle hire, depending on height | Britain has a network for cyclists to enjoy this environmentally friendly sports activity. www.sustrans.org/default.asp?sID=1090412763593 www.sherwoodpines-cycles.co.uk/hire.htm |
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| Ollerton water mill, Ollerton, Nottinghamshire | Free | An early 18th century water mill. |
| Naturescape Wildflowerfarm, Nottinghamshire | Free | A wildflower farm involved in the production of Britain’s wildflower seeds and plants. Includes country with www.naturescape.co.uk |
| Wonderland Pleasure Park and garden centre, Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire | - | A 30 acre park with a tropical house with butterflies and reptiles and an indoor play area. wonderland@btconect.com |
| Go Ape, Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire | £15 minimum height 1m 40 | Jungle action adventure in the trees www.goape.co.uk |
| Centre Parks, Sherwood Forest | Range of packages | A complex of temperature controlled domes with activities and bungalows – a range of packages and activities (for one day and short-term stays) www.centerparcs.co.uk/sf/sf_c1_intro.jsp |
| Sherwood Forest | Free | Walk in Sherwood Forest & visit the adventure playground and Sherwood Visitor Centre; see Major Oak, the tree where Robin Hood lived with his Merry Men www.sherwoodforest.org.uk/ |
| Microlight flying, Nottinghamshire | £139 17 years and over | Fly in a microlight aircraft. www.wowactivitygifts.com/Airborne/Take-The-Controls/71/ |
Sports and Leisure
Play football, go bowling, dancing, ice-skating, shooting, quad-biking, paint balling, go karting or even sky-diving or hot-air ballooning if you're brave enough – you choose!
Additional Information:
| Paintballing plus other games and activities, Nottingham | Various package options | This venue offers quad biking, karting, clay pigeon shooting, human table football, and so on. www.nottinghampaintball.co.uk |
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| Water sports at the National Water Sports Centre | Various package options | Water Sports at The National Water Sports Centre Nottingham, one of the largest providers of water sports in Europe www.nationalsportscentre.co.uk |
| Ice-skating at the National Ice Centre | £3.80 plus £1.50 skate hire | Ice skating in Nottingham’s Olympic Rink at the National Ice Centre nottingham-arena.com/nic_new/index.htm |
| Ten-pin bowling, Nottinghamshire | £2.50 plus £1.00 shoe hire | Traditional ten-pin bowling, like skittles. |
| Learn to dance in Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire | Minimal | Local dancing classes locally from a professional teacher |
| Sports and leisure centre, Southwell, Nottinghamshire | Various | Sports and leisure centre with squash and badminton courts, swimming pool, gymnasium, etc. |
| Football grounds and teams | - | www.nottinghamforest.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Home/0,,10308,00.html www.nottscountyfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Home/0,,10426,00.html www.mansfieldtown.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Home/0,,10325,00.html www.dcfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Home/0,,10270,00.html |
| Sky dive | £230 | Go tandem sky-diving at Langar Airfield, Nottinghamshire, an official British Parachute School. www.bpslangar.co.uk/index.htm |
| Hot air balloon ride, Wollaton Park, Nottingham | Price: £175.00 for one person. Price: £169.00 per person for two or more. Price: Book seven passengers, get one place free. |
www.dragonballoon.co.uk/booking.htm |
Amusement and Theme Parks
Do you want to know what a white-knuckle ride is?
Come on, we'll show you…
Additional Information:
| The American Adventure, Ilkeston, Derbyshire | £9.50 | A children’s western style theme park with rides and attractions. www.americanadventure.co.uk |
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| Alton Towers, Staffordshire | £23 (pre-booking) / £29.50 | Amusement park and gardens, Alton Towers is very large and is popular with young people; it has a range of both scary and gentle rides and entertainment. www.alton-towers.co.uk/themepark/openingpricing.asp |
| Gulliver’s Theme Park, Matlock, Bath | £8.99 | Theme park with rides and attractions in a beautiful hilltop setting in the Bath countryside. www.gulliversfun.co.uk/matlockbath.htm |
General links for tourist information
Historic parks and gardens - www.gardenhistory.org.uk/ukpg/PlacesByLA.asp?CountyName=Nottinghamshire
National Cycle Network - www.sustrans.org/default.asp?sID=1090412763593
National Trust - www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Maps of the UK - www.streetmap.co.uk
Information about Nottinghamshire
www.nottinghamshiretourism.co.uk/
www.nottshistory.org.uk/default.htm
www.visitmansfield.co.uk (Mansfield is a local town, 10 miles away)
www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/pp/gold/viewGold.asp?ID=1841
Information about some major English cities
London - www.visitlondon.com
Manchester - www.visitmanchester.com
Cambridge - www.cambridge-news.co.uk/lifestyle/tourism/
Oxford - www.oxfordcity.co.uk
York - www.york-tourism.co.uk
Leicester & Loughborough - www.goleicestershire.com/visit
Popular seaside resorts
Skegness (www.skegness.net)
Blackpool (www.blackpooltourism.com)
Weekend-long suggestions
Why not go camping in the beautiful Peak district of Derbyshire or visit Butlins for a day/ weekend on the Lincolnshire coast of Skegness, or try Centre Parcs’ holiday village in the heart of Sherwood Forest.