This is the Milton Keynes Kids epic guide to Easter egg hunts and cheap activities to do with the kids during the Easter holidays 2018. These are specific Easter activities. I will add more as I find them so keep checking back. I’ve done a separate post for lambing days but mention them briefly below. There’s loads of other places you can also go, depending on the weather. If it’s raining here’s our guide to cheap indoor days out instead of soft play. If it’s not too cold here are ten really cheap days out  that are mostly outdoor country parks and if you want to stay more local then these are ten of the best parks in Milton Keynes. 

24th March, Easter Family Event, Alban Hill Nurseries

10am – 1pm. Easter egg hunt and goodie bag, £2. Craft activities, face painting, visit from the Easter bunny. Raising money for Sherington pre-school.  We’ve been to one of their Christmas events before. Alban Hill Nurseries is a garden centre and activities were dotted around it. We had a good time. It’s definitely worth taking more cash with you though as they charged a small amount for each additional activity. There’s a cafe there. The best postcode is MK16 9QP – it’s the garden centre you’re going to not the pre-school. More details on their facebook event. If the weather is nice then it’s worth visiting Emberton Country Park which is only a couple of minutes away in order to make more of a day out of it.

25th March, Easter egg hunt, Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre

Easter egg hunt around the grounds of Bradwell Abbey. Cut and colour activities in the medieval Cruck Barn. Homemade cakes and hot drinks available.1-3pm, £1.50 entry to the hunt. Tickets available on the day. All profit goes towards the upkeep of one of the historic sites. We’ve not been before but seems like a relatively cheap option. More details on their facebook event.

26th March – 5th April, FREE play sessions across Milton Keynes

Throughout the Easter holidays the Milton Keynes Play Association in conjunction with parish councils run loads of free play sessions across Milton Keynes. Activities may include bouncy castles, sports, crafts etc. Just turn up. Below is the latest timetable I have. Please, please, please do keep an eye on their facebook page for any changes though particularly if you’re travelling.

30th March, Emily’s Star Easter Egg Hunt, Secret Garden, Wolverton, Milton Keynes

Easter egg hunt. £3 per child. Adults & Under 1’s are FREE. Children receive an egg or non-chocolate alternative. 10am – 2pm. Pay on the day until they run out. Some of the track will go off road so please wear suitable footwear & clothing. Selling stall and tombola. Approximate postcode is MK13 0DY although you’ll probably need to find somewhere to park nearby. More details on their facebook event.

30th March – 2nd April, Rushmere Country Park, Easter Eye Spy Trail

Rushmere Country park in Bedfordshire is one of our favourite cheap days out. It has fairy doors hidden in the woods, a giant chair, spider and toddler play area. The big slide re-opens 24th March. Over Easter they have an Easter Eye Spy Trail. You need to book in advance. Details on their facebook event. It’s £3.50 per child and they get an egg at the end. Turn up any time between 10am and 3pm. LU7 0EB. All proceeds go towards supporting the work of The Greensand Trust at Rushmere Country Park. If you’ve not been to the park before do read our review before going. It costs £3 in cash to park which is payable on exit. We did their bunny hunt last year and it was great fun although one of the bunnies was down a steep hill so it was an effort getting back up again with a buggy.

30th March – 2nd April, Cadbury’s Easter Egg Walk, Dunstable Downs

*** UPDATE 30th March – Dunstable Downs have said that due to heavy rain Chute Wood is under water so they have had to move the location of the trail as they had to no choice. They will be using the multi user path Sat 31st March and are trying to make it as enjoyable as possible. Do bear that in mind before travelling as it won’t be the same as last year.

Most of the National Trust sites do Cadbury’s Easter Egg hunts, but unless you’re a member you’ll have to pay an entrance fee as well as the cost of the Easter Egg hunt. However there is a cheaper alternative. You don’t pay an entrance fee to Dunstable Downs, you just pay to park – which from memory was £3 the last time we visited – and they also do an egg hunt. Last year it was in Chute Wood – a wooded area which is great fun and contains natural play equipment for the kids to play on. There was a number of clues last year – eight I think – which the children had to solve before collecting a chocolate treat at the end – I believe it was a bunny rather than an egg. We always like to take kite to fly whilst we’re there and enjoying watching the gliders take off. The Easter Egg hunt costs £2.50 per child which you pay on the day. It takes place between 11am and 3.30pm. LU6 2GY. More details on their website.

30th March – 15th April, Easter hunt, Irchester Country Park

6th April, Dino Easter Egg Challenge, Irchester Country Park (ONE OFF EVENT)

With its dinosaur bones in the woods and big quarry themed play area, Irchester Country Park in Northamptonshire is worth a visit at any time of the year. If you go on a Sunday they also have a small railway museum that is also open. Throughout the Easter holidays they have an Easter hunt where you can hunt around the park for hidden Easter animals – that costs £2.50. For one day only they also have a dinosaur egg hunt. Drop in between 10.30am and 12.30pm or 1.30pm and 3pm. That one costs £2 per child. NN29 7DL. We haven’t done either trail before, but assuming the weather is good then it’s worth visiting the park anyway. Here’s our previous review of the park if you want to see more pictures and read about what it’s like.

30th March – 2nd April, Easter egg trail, Stanwick Lakes

Hands down Stanwick Lakes in Northamptonshire is one of the most fun, best value days out for kids. It has a huge climbing frame, sand and water area, adventure trail and assault course and is worth a visit at any time. During the four days of Easter they have an Easter egg trail on in which you can follow the clues to win a prize. They say it’s a 2km walk which is accessible. The trail costs £2. Whatever you do, make sure you take changes of clothes for the children and wellies, they will get soaked if there has been wet weather or if they go in the sand and water area. You do pay to park. I believe it’s £3.50 a day during Easter which you pay on machine so take your ticket with you. NN9 6GY. If you haven’t been before do read our review and watch the video before you go.

30th March – 2nd April, Easter Egg Hunt, Milton Keynes Museum

Regular followers of this blog will know that one of our favourite days out is to Milton Keynes Museum. It has a cool hands-on telephone gallery, as well lots rooms full of old toys, musical instruments, farm equipment and different forms of transport. You pay once to visit and then you can go free for the rest of the year. As I write this it’s £9 per adult, £6 per child and under 5s are free. Over the four days of Easter they also have an egg hunt – children search for eggs and can exchange them for chocolate. More details of the event on their website. Otherwise they’re open throughout the year Wed – Sun 11am – 4.30pm. Have a read of our previous review before you go. Definitely a good option particularly if the weather isn’t great.

1st and 2nd April, Easter trail, Forest of Marston Vale

We’ve been to the Forest of Marston Vale quite a lot over the last few years as being just off the A421, it’s an ideal place for meeting friends in Bedfordshire as you can get there pretty quickly from Milton Keynes and it’s free to park. There’s a play area with wooden play equipment as well as a small sand pit. My sons absolutely love the wooden train as it has a bell on. We like walking around to the wind turbine which looks huge close up. Worth wearing wellies. There’s a nice, large cafe there. MK43 0PS. You can read one of my first ever blog posts about it here. The Easter trail is on between 11am and 4pm on the two days. £2 each, no need to book. Everyone gets a chocolate treat. More details on their facebook event.

3rd April, Planting, nature walk, leaf masks, Fred Roche Gardens in Milton Keynes, 11.15am – 2pm

10th April, Easter egg hunt with a difference, North 11th Street Community Gardens, 11.15am – 2pm

The Intu Green Gym in Central MK is a volunteering group that improves community gardens in CMK. They meet every Tuesday 10.45am to 2pm  and complete outdoor activities like tree planting, gardening and building bird boxes. All equipment and instruction is provided and it’s completely free. Under 18s can go normally go although they do say activities would be better for children over 5 in which case most are in school. Anyway, specifically for Easter they’re putting on activities for children. All the details are in the flyer below. You will need to book in advance by emailing emma.eteen@tcv.org.uk.

7th April, Thrift Farm, lambing day

**** CANCELLED *** This event has now been cancelled due to the amount of heavy rain we’ve had. Do look at their social media pages for details on visiting.

We’ve visited Thrift Farm a lot over the last couple of years. It’s much less commercialised than some of the bigger farms aimed at children – and also a lot cheaper. There are quite a few different animals to see including pigs, lots of chickens, goats, guinea pigs, ponies and rhea. On the lambing event there will also be talks from the farmer, hog roast, BBQ, face painting and a bouncy castle. You can see pictures and read our previous review of Thrift Farm here. £5 adult, £2.50 child or £12.50 for a family of 4. It’s on 9.30am – 4pm.