Celebrate the end of exams with Kent’s top days out for teenagers
It’s a stressful time of year for teens. There’s looming exams, endless revision and lots of decisions to make about the future.
But it’s also a time to celebrate. Give your kids a pat on the back for getting through their GCSEs, A-levels and mocks with a day out that even the moodiest of teenagers are sure to love.
ESCAPE ROOMS
They’ve been around for a while now, and for good reason. Escape rooms are a great way to secretly bond with friends and family while screaming at each other for not figuring out the clues fast enough and taking too long to find the hidden key.
Kent’s newest escape room, Escape Hunt, opened at Canterbury’s Riverside in May and boasts four immersive rooms and three outdoor challenges. The experiences include uncovering ancient secrets in the Curse of the Pharaoh and capturing the lamp in Aladdin and the Magic Vault.
If you want something with a sharper theme, Mythologic Escape Rooms in Gillingham takes you from the tropical jungle to swashbuckling ships, deserted islands and hidden caves in a series of legend-inspired rooms.
There’s also Prison Island, in Maidstone, which has a whopping 23 cells, each with a different experience. Your prison guard will give you an electronic tag to get into the cells and you’ll need to complete challenges such as shooting basketballs and solving riddles to escape.
GAMING EXPERIENCES
You just can’t beat the arcades, and the Gravity Arcade at Bluewater, Greenhithe, has it all. There’s retro classics, cutting-edge gaming technology, simulators and more, with prizes and £10 bonus credit when you spend £20.
Pub chain Boom Battle Bar has made its way to Kent, bringing with it a great range of games, including shuffleboard and crazy golf. The Canterbury venue also augmented reality experiences, such as darts and axe throwing, and even a private karaoke booth. Just be aware, it’s grown-ups only after 7pm.
Get in the drivers’ seat at BattleKart in Sittingbourne, which offers go-karting with a gaming twist. The track has different challenges, such as BattlePool, where you need to use your kart to pot balls in the right pockets, and BattleColour, where you follow colourful tiles across a disco dancefloor.
If your teenager is more old school, why not take them out for an afternoon of good, old-fashioned board games? Playopolis is a board game cafe in Rochester that has a decent food and drink menu, helpful staff members and hundreds of games to choose from.
MUSIC FESTIVALS
Going to a music festival when you’ve finished your exams is a rite of passage, but there’s no need to fork out for Glastonbury tickets.
Dreamland, Margate’s trendy vintage fairground, is putting on a string of outdoor concerts all summer, with big name artists such as HAIM, The Libertines and Basement Jaxx set to appear. It’s got funfair rides, a cool atmosphere and plenty of Instagrammable spots.
For something with a chilled-out vibe, Blue Reef Festival returns to Linton, near Maidstone, this July. This festival, inspired by Californian surf culture, has workshops, DJs, street food, family activities and a headline set from Happy Mondays.
If your teen is going through a heavy metal phase, Maid of Stone is the place to be. The rock festival is back at Maidstone’s Mote Park for three days of hair-raising riffs and head-banging bands, including Black Stone Cherry and Sweet.
And, while they might need to do some growing up before they can enjoy every aspect of this one, the Sausage and Cider Festival is a great day out for all ages. There’s eating competitions, silent discos, axe throwing, tribute acts, live bands and more. The touring festival will stop in two Kent locations – Quex Park in Birchington-on-Sea and Eridge Park in Tunbridge Wells.
OUTDOOR CINEMA
It’s open-air cinema season, and there are some fantastic films showing on the big screen over the summer.
Your kids might be too old for the likes of Inside Out and Despicable Me, but classics such as ET, Dirty Dancing, Top Gun and Ferries Bueller’s Day Off stand the test of time, no matter your age.
Grab some food and watch free films at Folkestone’s Harbour Arm, book tickets to Curzon Riverside’s classy open-air cinema or cosy up under a blanket as Adventure Cinema returns to Cobham Hall, Gravesend, this August.
There’s plenty of places to watch blockbusters under the stars. You can find a full list of Kent’s open-air cinemas here.
SPORTS ACTIVITIES
If your teenager can drag themselves out of bed over the summer holidays, they might be up for some burning off some energy with activity-themed days out.
Bluewater is a great place to start. There’s Ballerz, the multi-million pound football dome where you can test your skills on the stadium-style pitch, and Hangloose, an aerial adventure that boasts England’s longest zipline and Europe’s biggest swing.
There’s even more ziplines in store at Go Ape. The outdoor challenge also includes high ropes and climbing walls where you have to swing, jump and crawl through the trees to reach the end of the course. It’s suitable for the whole family and has locations at Leeds Castle and Bedgebury National Pinetum and Forest.
If you prefer your feet to be firmly planted on the ground, you could take your kids along to Boonies, the exciting outdoor assault course at Betteshanger Country Park in Deal. There are 30 different obstacles to face, including tyre swings, climbing walls, tunnels and more.
Finally, your family can enjoy a whole range of water sports at St Andrew’s Lakes in Halling, near Rochester, ranging from the extreme to the relaxed.
Start the day by slipping, sliding and swinging from the floating obstacle course or learning to sail and paddleboard with instructors. Then, when you’ve had enough of the action, you can find a sunlounger and unwind on the sandy lakeside beach.
