It’s hard to believe that in one week our home learning journey will be over. I’m really hopeful that my children will be able to go back to school in September, be with their friends and pick up some of the clubs they enjoy so much. I’m happy that some of their classes have moved online but I would love for some of their sporty activities to start up again soon.

This Summer holiday will not be normal. In previous years the children have attended the local Youth Club for organised activities and enjoyed events at the library, amongst others. This year we will be making our own fun with friends. Ruislip has a lot to offer families so I thought I would make a list of our top 10 fun things to do in Ruislip this Summer!

10 fun things to do in Ruislip this Summer

The Summer holidays is always our opportunity to read the pile of books we seem to amass over the year. We always sign up for the Summer Reading Challenge which really helps to motivate the children. This year the Reading Challenge is online but I’m thankful our local library is open so we will be able to reserve and collect books if we need them!

We’ve enjoyed lots of lovely walks over the last few months. We’ve walked large chunks of both the Hillingdon Trail and the Celandine Route which both run through Ruislip and Hillingdon. We are looking forward to exploring more of these routes with our little pup come rain or shine!

The local Duck Pond Market is a firm favourite on a lazy Sunday morning and we were so excited when it re-opened last weekend. Unfortunately we went in the afternoon when all our favourites stalls had sold out! We can’t wait to carry on going during the Summer and buy some tasty treats! The Manor Farm location is perfect, you can buy some lunch and sit in the shade of a tree in the orchard.

We noticed that the blackberries are already changing colour from green to red to black! It seems so early but my daughter has already stared picking up conkers too! We love blackberry picking and have spotted several sites all over Ruislip. My son loves blackberry and apple crumble and we actually made one last week we had so many blackberries in the freezer!

You won’t be surprised to hear that we will be geocaching this Summer. Although we’ve done quite a few local geocaches there are still plenty more to be found. We’ve also hidden a few trackables and the kids love seeing where they end up. Geocaching is a really low-cost Summer activity and one which we’ve been recommending too all our friends.

Decorating and hiding painted rocks is another favourite activity. There was a rock snake in Churchfield Gardens in Ruislip but every time we go looking for it the rocks seems to have been moved. Luckily my daughter loves to make new painted rocks so we take a few out with us every time we go to the park.

There are some quirky places in Ruislip. Did you know you can find the remains of a pet cemetery in Manor Farm? My children love to read the little stones. Let me know if you find it!

Speaking of quirky places, another is the ruins of the Battle of Britain House in Ruislip Woods. We wanted to explore this place for years and lockdown gave us the opportunity. In fact we’ve been back several times now as it is a lovely walk. We also hid a geocache at the back of the site so why not go and explore and learn more about this fascinating bit of Ruislip history.

If you’re out and about at this end of Ruislip then you will probably want to head to Ruislip Lido. We try to steer clear of it in the Summer as it’s too busy but there’s a miniature train, a splash park, cafe and toilets. The children love the beach but it does tend to get busy quickly.

If you like a little more peace and quiet then you could try den building in Ruislip Woods. The woods are managed really well and there are loads of place to play. We went den building with Beavers a few years ago and now we love it. There are lots of den sets up or you could start your own!

I hope I’ve given you a few ideas of fun things to do in Ruislip this Summer. Let me know if you have any I haven’t listed!