1 Head to the beach

It’s a British summer! A trip to the coast has to be on our list! We Lincolnshire people are spoilt for choice when it comes to being beside the seaside. From the more laid-back beaches of Mablethorpe, Sutton-on-Sea and Anderby Creek to the high-velocity thrills and spills of Skegness, Ingoldmells and Cleethorpes, there’s something for every knotted-hanky afficionado! Last year’s Bathing Beauties competition saw the humble beach hut’s reputation undergo a long-overdue renovation. Mablethorpe’s Beach Hut Hire Office still has good availability for huts this holiday (daily or weekly terms), all except the first two weeks in August. Prices start from £20 a day. The perfect base for a day at the beach. Don’t forget the famous Sand Train! Further down the coast at Ingoldmells is Fantasy Island where it truly is all the fun of the fair! If it all gets too much, head to the beach with a bucket and spade and sample a marvellous waffle with fresh strawberries from the beach kiosk. Marvellous! If the rain descends, it’s hard to beat a Butlin's Day Pass day pass (01754 765567)!

2 Have a big day out...

Loafing about at home with your mates is all well and good – ace in fact, especially if you’ve got something to bounce about, like a new trampoline or treehouse. (Head to Outdoor Toy World at Ropsley near Grantham to see the latest TP range and grab yourself a 10 per cent off bargain and free local delivery.) But sometimes nothing can beat the excitement of an early start, a packed lunch and the promise of a great day at a theme park. With Drayton Manor less than 2 hours away, and with the Thomas Land now open, it’d make a memorable – if not stomach-churning – treat! Closer to home try Wicksteed Park, Sundown Adventureland, Sherwood Forest Visitors’ Centre, the National Space Centre or Twycross Zoo.

3...and an evening in the open! (Part 1)

It might sound like mid-summer madness, but an evening in the open makes the most of the long, long evenings where dusk doesn’t fall until 10pm or so in the run up to the longest day. Events like the theatre productions put on by the Stamford Shakespeare Theatre Company and Chapterhouse Theatre Company take place in the open, making for an extra-special atmosphere in already magical plays like Alice in Wonderland (Belton House, 9 August) and King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (Tattershall Castle, 27 August).

4...an evening in the open! (Part 2)

A night under canvas has to be one of the all-time great summer things to do! Seated round a campfire or a barbecue’s embers smoking gently, and the stars twinkling, it’s just the best way to get back to nature – and kids adore the adventure! (It can be great value for money too.) And you don’t have to go far this summer to pitch your tent or combine a brilliant day out with an excellent evening’s entertainment. Enjoy all the fun of Sacrewell Farm and Country Centre (01780 782254) during the day, then head for its family-friendly campsite for the night. The Stables restaurant, showers and loos are all on hand whether you want to bring your caravan or pitch a tent on its sheltered site. Sacrewell’s great location just off the A1 makes it a brilliant central meeting place for summer get-togethers with friends and family. The Dirty Duck at Woolsthorpe-by-Belvoir/The Rutland Arms (01476 870111), Thorntons Holt at Stragglethorpe on the A52 (0115 9332125) and Woodland Waters (01400 230388) are also family-friendly.

5 Fruit picking

Wimbledon is a matter of days away and, just in time, the strawberries at Syston Park Farm (01400 250000) are reading for picking, with raspberries, black and red currants, then blackberries all coming into season during the summer months.

Fill your punnet, horse around on the great play equipment then perhaps enjoy a lunch or snack at the coffee shop!

6 Summer schools

The next few weeks will be a whirlwind of school sports days, open days, visits, leavers’ parties, proms and school trips as we hurtle towards the summer holidays. It might seem a way off yet, but a great way to gently introduce routine back into the equation as the summer holidays start to draw to a close are summer schools. These help maintain the learning habit and, who knows, your 6–16 year old might be champing at the bit to get back to the text books, especially after a holiday and hard-earned break? Grantham’s Kip McGrath Education Centre (at 37 Swinegate, very close to St Wulfram’s Church and parking) is running its summer school sessions over a 3-week period from August 13–28 and is now taking bookings for this structured, fun and motivating programme.

For further details, pop in and see or call Richard Burrows on 01476 566583.