Summer Activities
Things to do this summer...
Here are a range of activities for the summer. Some are free to Hilltops Ukrainian Support Community members, others are discounted. Some activities have a specific date and can be done together, others can be done by yourself, with your host family or you might like to use the Guests WhatsApp Group to organise a trip together.
Transport is not included, so you will have to use a combination of your hosts, Lifts WhatsApp Group and public transport to get yourself there and back. We may be able to get groups of guests a minibus on certain days, so please do make a request on the lifts WhatsApp group and with enough advance notice we may be able to get one for free. Hilltops can usually access a minibus on a Monday and Wednesday.
Any questions please ask on the Guests or Hosts WhatsApp groups.
Free activities on a Specific Date Together
Weekly Coffee and Tea Ukrainian Meet Up
Every Wednesday morning 10 -12
Saint Mary’s Church, Ballinger
Weekly Ukrainian Meet Up- BBQ, Drinks plus for the children Kwik Cricket
Every Friday 6-8pm
https://theleecc.secure-club.com/pages/page_32494/Friday-Nights-2017.aspx
Lee Common Cricket Club, The Lee
Weekly Ukrainian only Meal
Days TBC 6-9pm
Ballinger Memorial Hall, Ballinger
Ukrainian Meet Up- Lee Flower Show
16th July 2-5pm
https://www.thelee.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/0128XX_v8_TheLee_FlowerShow2022_A5_LR.pdf
A very big village event- lots of activities for adults and children.
Lighthouse
25th – 29th Jul,
https://www.lighthousemissenden.org.uk/
Free camp. Lighthouse is very supportive of our Ukrainian guests and are happy to find space for all the Ukrainian children and all the plus 12s and adults who wish to register as helpers which is wonderful news! Some Ukrainian adult helpers are needed. They have suggested that the 11s go into the 10s age group and the 4s – 10s can stay in their relevant age groups.
Please would you register children and adults as soon as you are able to. On the application form for the children there is a section to add notes – just write in there that they are Ukrainian, and this will avoid them ending up on a waiting list. In the notes you also need to include their sponsor’s name and telephone number. Lighthouse GM website for information and registration is https://www.lighthousemissenden.org.uk/
Premier Education Summer Camp
1st – 25th Aug, Monday to Thursday only 9am- 3:30pm
https://info.premier-education.com/summer-camps-for-ukrainian-kids
Free camp for Ukrainian children, with a free voucher for lunch. Camp involves Team sports, fun games, and arts & crafts, mainly for under 12s. Many of us have booked the Chesham Camp for 4 weeks starting on August 1st. Book using the link above.
Bowling- Aylesbury
Friday 5th Aug 11am
https://www.rogueleisure.co.uk/
We have 29 free tickets for children – the activity is for all the children together at the same time, a parent or host for each family must be present. Rogue Leisure Bowling is a 20 minute walk from the Aylesbury station, trains leave from Amersham and Great Missenden. We will book together as a group.
Chiltern Open Air Museum
Wed 31st Aug
Complimentary admission for our Ukrainian guests to the museum on 31st. They also have another Ukrainian guest group visiting on the 31st August and have some volunteers who are going to put on some activities for us. If interested please confirm with them as soon as possible so they have enough volunteers onsite to support.
Bucks County Show
Thu 1st Sep – all day.
https://buckscountyshow.co.uk/
Offering 29 free child tickets to the Bucks County Show – adults who are accompanying them must pay. We think there will be a free shuttle bus from Aylesbury Station.
West Wycombe Caves
12th – 14th or 16th – 20th Aug
https://www.hellfirecaves.co.uk/
Children free and only adults attending with the children will have to pay. We will need to prearrange this beforehand and give at least a weeks’ notice. You could bring the children up in two smaller groups if that would be easier. It would also need to be a weekday not weekends.
Game on Sports Coaching
15th- 19th Aug, plus other dates through the summer.
https://gameonsportscoaching.co.uk/holiday-courses/
They can take any children aged between 5 and 11 years old. £3 per child per day up to a maximum of 5 days during the summer holidays. This is obviously heavily reduced. The camps closest are:
- Multi sports -Chartridge School, Chartridge – 17th – 19th August . 9am-3pm
- Football – Chartridge School, Chartridge – 15th & 16th August . 9am-3pm
There are also lots of other locations, and Street Dance and Tennis Days, but they are a little further away. To apply please complete a form via this link. In the additional comments please write Ukraine so the admin team know what to look out for with regards payment
Other Free or heavily discounted options that individual, families or groups of guests could organise together
Mead Open Farm
Guests can go at any time.
We have 29 free tickets for children – adults who are accompanying them must pay. We (HUSC) have the tickets. If you wish to go as a group we will need to give them advance notice so they can accommodate such a large group.
Legoland
Guests can go at any time.
Legoland Windsor are currently offering free tickets to Ukrainian guests and host families – they are happy to supply codes for FREE complimentary tickets for our Ukrainian & host Families for a visit. Use the codes up when you pre book before 31st October 2022. Kindly apply with your family’s details (names, ages, and evidence of right to stay (Residency card/Visa stamp etc) by emailing them at enquiries@legoland.co.uk and they will get back to you to make arrangements
BWCC – Ballinger Waggoners Cricket Club
Summer courses from 24th Jul – 19th Aug. Each course is 1 week.
2 places free of charge for 2 of our HUSC children for each week. Tends to be under 12s who attend the summer holiday courses and they run from 10am to 3pm each day. Please contact HUSC for more details.
National Trust
Anytime
The National Trust are offering free 6 months memberships for families that are staying with National Trust memberships. All they need to issue these are the membership number of the people they are staying with and the name of the adult that requires the pass and we can issue them for you. (enquiries@nationaltrust.org.uk)
Free days out
- Aston Clinton Park https://www.astonclinton.org.uk/community/aston-clinton-parish-council-15040/playpark–skatepark/#
- Natural History Museum Tring https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/tring.html?
- Wendover Woods https://www.forestryengland.uk/wendover-woods
- College Lake Nature Reserve https://www.bbowt.org.uk/nature-reserves/college-lake
- The Lee Flower Show 16th July
Other activities offering partial discounts
ZSL Whipsnade Zoo
https://www.zsl.org/zsl-whipsnade-zoo
Only able to provide reduced tickets to Ukrainian guests who are part of a Community Access Scheme organisation or sponsored by a Member, Fellow or Patron of ZSL. If you are eligible, please contact on 03442 251 826 (9am-4pm every day), providing them with the date of your visit to ZSL London Zoo and they will process your payment for you. You will then receive an email with your voucher, which you should then exchange for an admission ticket through their website. You then present your ticket at the Main Entrance on the day of your visit.
Go Ape
https://goape.co.uk/locations/wendover
Will offer their 15% charity discount, but please note this discount does exclude Saturday bookings. If you would like to book in with them then please call their bookings line on 01603 895 500 and a member of their bookings team will apply the discount.
Fit For Sport
Find Your Nearest Camp (fitforsport.co.uk)
30% discount – to receive this discount Parents/Guardians will need to register an online account, following the steps below. Once an account is set up, please let Suzanne know so she can respond to the email received from the company with the account details of the Ukrainian children who are entitled to this discount, and they will ensure this is setup on their accounts for bookings to be made online. All bookings are made via their online booking system. If you have not done so already, you can create an account by clicking here.