Saturday 3 April, 11am-4pm
Once you have decorated an egg (supplied), you construct a raft using a plastic boat-shaped mould and an improvised sail, then sail it down the Lode, the waterway that operates the abbey’s old mill. The progress of each vessel will be measured to establish a winner, and all entrants are rewarded by a chocolate egg. There will also be an egg hunt, face-painting, story-telling and crafts.
Quy Road, Lode, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB25 9EJ
nationaltrust.org.uk; 01223 810080 Photograph: PR
Friday 2-Monday 5 April, 10am-5pm
Your children are required to assist with inviting knights and squires to a banquet. This is an excuse for extended adventuring among the castle ruins, which are perched on a precipice above the Cheshire plain. Model figurines are concealed around the ramparts and the park and, once you have ticked them all off on your worksheet/“invitation”, you deliver it to the till. Royal gratitude comes in the form of a sticker. Afterwards you can take your pick from a box of medieval costumes and have your photograph taken.
Beeston, Cheshire CW6 9TX
english-heritage.org.uk; 01829 260464 Photograph: PR
Monday 5 April, 10.45am-12pm
The idea is this: hand-decorate a boiled egg, drive it to this beauty spot, line it up at the top of a slope and set it rolling. The egg that travels farthest wins. At this point, obviously, your artwork will be a little scrambled, so before push-off there is a beauty competition and the best decorated wins a prize. Everyone else gets a chocolate consolation. Beware, the car park fills swiftly, so take the No 77 bus from Brighton station.
South Downs Way, six miles north of Brighton
nationaltrust.org.uk; 01273 857712
Photograph: Alamy
Sunday 4-Wed 7 April, 10am-6pm
If you think you could be a jousting champ or a jester, you can travel back in time for confirmation. At knight school you will learn the skills required of a medieval hero before going into battle with fake swords. A court jester will explain the art of humour, there will be clown and circus skills workshops, a military drill, and drum-banging. Plus, members of the audience get to dress up and perform in three plays.
Castle Hill, Dover CT16 1HU
english-heritage.org.uk; 01304 211067 Photograph: PR
Sunday 4-Monday 5 April, 11am-5pm
Richard III was the last English king to fall in battle, but history is undecided about whether he was a hero or a tyrant. Fortunately, you can form your own opinion as the Battle of Bosworth rages once again and Richard III’s life story is re-enacted. Kids will be trained to take part in their own battle with hobby horses and toy spears. Meanwhile, medieval life will mill about you in full costume – quiz different households on their routines.
Kenilworth, Warwickshire CV8 1NE
english-heritage.org.uk; Pre-booking recommended, 0870 333 1183 Photograph: PR
Sunday 4 April, 1pm-4pm
Wanted: munchkins and magical creatures to help Dorothy find her way through the Enchanted Forest to the Wizard of Oz. Willing adventurers will accompany the Walking Theatre Company through the Italianate gardens. The flamboyant Gothic mansion stands in admirably for the Emerald City, where the Wizard lurks and where Easter treasure awaits discovery. To enhance the ethereal feel, arrive by speed boat from Largs in Ayrshire.
Near Rothesay, Isle of Bute PA20 9LR mountstuart.com; 01700 503877 Photograph: PR
Saturday 3-Sunday 4 April, 1.30pm
You have an egg – a real one – and a selection of different materials. After a little instruction, visitors aged seven to 12 have to design and create packaging that will shield their egg from life’s slings and arrows. Their skills will be proven when the eggs are launched off the museum’s balcony. There is also an easter egg hunt on 2-5 April with live ducks and chicks. Workshops will teach townies how to rear their own.
Oystermouth Road, Maritime Quarter, Swansea SA1 3RD
museumwales.ac.uk; 01792 638950 Photograph: PR
Wednesday 31 March
At 10am a map will appear on golakes.co.uk showing the location of 100 Peter Rabbit eggs made by a local potter. At this point you race for the car and travel the Lake District searching for clues. This is the biggest Easter trail in the north of England. Every egg finder gets free family entry to the World of Beatrix Potter, and if yours bears one of 10 lucky numbers you win additional booty – the top prize being a two-night family break at a Lake Windermere hotel.
01539 822222 Photograph: PR
Sunday 4 April
Finding the chocolate is the easy bit; making off with it is the challenge. The hunt is contained within one of the largest hedged mazes in Scotland: half an acre of mischievous confusion. Five thousand mini-eggs are hidden and the hunts, aimed at under-10s, are divided into three age groups. Meanwhile, you can construct an easter bonnet and musical shaker, then flaunt both in a grand procession. Plus there will be an egg painting competition.
Innerleithen, Peeblesshire EH44 6PW
traquair.co.uk; 01896 830323
Photograph: PR
Friday 2 April, 11am-4pm
Make your own hot cross buns using flour ground at this 18th-century corn mill. Stir the mixture and mark your own cross on the top – on-site bakers will see to the hot stuff. As you leave, you’ll be given your own hot cross bun and recipe cards. The mill, which has served the city since medieval times, is powered by the River Itchen, which flows beneath, and you can watch flour being milled the traditional way.
Bridge St, Winchester, Hampshire SO23 0EJ
nationaltrust.org.uk; 01962 870057 Photograph: PR
