Children with welly boots and coats on on a rainy day. — *Photo credit: Ben Wicks / Unsplash*

Climbing the walls

For kids that like a challenge, head to an indoor climbing venue – the perfect rainy day activity to wear them out. Clip ‘n’ Climb have a large sites in Crawley (plus Tonbridge and Horsham if they’re closer for you), or try Volume 1 Climbing just over the Surrey border in East Grinstead which differs from the harness climbing and involves lower walls but nice soft mats to cushion any landings!

Have an adventure

The indoor playbarn at Hobbledown Heath, Hounslow — Indoor play at Hobbledown

You can’t go wrong with an adventure park on a showery day – there’s always loads to see and plenty of inside bits to jump into if the heavens open. Hobbledown Epsom and Hobbledown Heath near Heathrow are two brilliant family attractions with everything from high ropes to swinging lemurs. They’re great for ages two to 13. As well as animals there is also indoor fun at both sites with epic soft play areas – Hobbledown Heath is home to Great Barn, west London’s biggest indoor play arena where kids will love the nets and towers to climb, tunnels to wiggle through and slides to scoot down. That should wear them out on a rainy day.

Plan your escape

Lock ’em up and throw away the key. Just kidding. Older kids will love these cool escape rooms at Tulleys near Crawley. They’ll have 60 minutes to follow the clues to eventually lead to their escape. Do it in a super quick time and you could go down in Escape Room history. Lots of different rooms and difficulty levels. See the site for dates and prices.

Get arty

The Make Space kids' activity sessions at Watts Gallery - Artists' Village in Compton, Surrey. — Kids get crafty at Watts Gallery. *Photo credit: Chris Lacey*

Not every thrilling activity has to leave you hot and sweaty. For something that gets the creative juices flowing and injects a little bit of art to your rainy day head to the brilliant Watts Gallery in Compton just outside Guildford. There’s a wonderful gallery to mooch about with notable works from George Frederic Watts including paintings and sculptures plus seasonal visiting exhibitions. They also run workshops and crafting fun for the little ones.

Or you could visit Muddy award-winning Kate Tullet Art in Limpsfield who runs classes and workshops for all ages specialising in textiles and mixed media. Another great (but a bit messy) idea is to go potty with the kids and give a pottery workshop painting a go – try Muddy Awards finalist Apple Tree Studio in East Horsley or the Ceramics Café in Farnham and you’re guaranteed to come home with some wonderfully misshapen masterpieces.

Softly softly

A toddler in the play barn at Godstone Farm in Surrey. — The indoor play barn at Godstone Farm.

Little ‘uns climbing the walls? Save your home and your sanity and head to a soft play centre. Godstone Farm boasts the BIGGEST in the county, read our review here. Spanning an impressive 351.8㎡ it has a capacity for 200 children, (plus their grown ups), with a towering play frame four tiers high with no less than seven slides. There’s even an area for babies. Other great soft plays in Surrey include both Hobbledown sites (see above), Wacky Kingdom near Redhill, Lets Explore in Horley, and Rascals and Giggles both in Epsom.

Ninja Warrior

If they’ve watched it on TV and said: “I can do that”, well now it’s their time to prove it. Chris Kamara MBE himself opened the Ninja Warrior obstacle course in Guilford last year which is packed to the rafters with inflatable obstacles, tunnels, and battle towers for them to climb, balance and swing. They also have the famous Warped Wall and Mount Sasuke for every aspiring Ninja to conquer. Fitness never looked so fun. Suitable for 5+.

Make a splash

Who doesn’t love a tropically warm pool when the weather’s a bit meh outside? Surrey is home to some of the best. At Tandridge Leisure Centre in Oxted the pool has a waterslide, ‘bucket of doom’ and pirate shipwreck, they also run a parent-free session on Friday nights where 11-16 year olds can have fun in the water on inflatables, try martial arts or hit the gym. Other great swimming pools include Rainbow Leisure in Epsom, Donyngs in Redhill and Guildford Spectrum.

See the Light

Raining cats and dogs and you need to entertain the whole family? Look no further than The Light a huge new entertainment complex that opened last year in Redhill. With a whopping 11 activities under one roof there are six cinema screens, a 10-pin bowling, table games, axe throwing (yikes!) curling and mini-golf with a cool movie theme. There’s also a bar and café for parents to hang in. Sorted!

Laser fun

Siblings fighting on the sofa? Channel that energy into a laser battle – a great way to entertain older kids. If the weather is ok there is a large Go Laser Tag site at Whyteleafe near Caterham where the kids can get down and dirty in the woods. But if the heavens have opened try indoor laser at Woking Superbowl or Laserquest, Kingston.

Down on the farm

Little ones will love Bocketts Farm, a working family farm set in the beautiful Surrey countryside. The combination of animals and play areas, both inside and out, make it an ideal all weather attractions. Watch the pig race, hop on board the tractor and trailer and cuddle cute rabbits. Being a working farm, there are always baby animals to see including lambs, kids, piglets and chicks. Outside there are trampolines, giant slides, and a bouncy pillow but on rainy days there are 2 large indoor play barns plus a lovely Old Barn Tearoom for snacks.

Planes, trains and automobiles

Got a transport mad kid? Brooklands Museum near Weybridge has got it all. On the site of the world’s first ever purpose-built motor racing circuit it was previously a centre for aircraft design, construction and flight testing throughout most of the 20th century. It’s now home to Concorde (you need to book to do the tour), plus huge sheltered hangers with every type of car, motorbike, plane and bus you can imagine. It’s also next door to Mercedes Benz world which is free and worth popping into.

Jump to it

If they have more energy than the Duracell Bunny, hop, skip, and jump it over to a local trampoline park. where they can happily bounce off the walls. Oxygen have eight sites including Purley where there are 60 interconnected trampolines, a giant airbag, dodgeball, slam-dunk basketball and challenging reactions walls. Phew! Other great bouncy options include AirHop in Guildford and the Trampoline Play Park at Sutton Sports Village.

Burn some rubber

For the teen who’s keen to get behind the wheel, there are track driving and off-roading experiences for non-licence holders at Mercedes Benz World near Weybridge (next door to Brooklands, see above). Or what about Go-Karting? It’s not all outside – Team Sports have more than 40 sites including Farnborough, Mitcham and Crawley where they have a 750m multi level track suitable from age 8. More fun than you can shake a gear stick at!

The land of make believe

Little Street Frimley — Little Street in Frimley.

Have very small ones that need a change of scene (and you a decent coffee?), head to a role-play café. Play Town in Oxted and East Grinstead or Little Street which have several locations across the south including West Byfleet, Wallington and Frimley and are ideal for 0-6 year olds. Children can use their imagination whilst using role play in different places and situations from a real town to give them excellent sensory stimulation. The perfect rainy day spot!

Ice Ice Baby

It may not be your first thought on a rainy day but did you know you can ice skate all year round at Spectrum Leisure Centre, Guildford? Lace up some blades and earn to skate, enjoy an ice disco or see their website for upcoming shows on the ice. Who needs sun for fun?

Ballers

Got a football-mad kid with a water-logged pitch? Head to KickX in Addlestone the world’s first indoor hybrid football arena right here in Surrey. The huge site just outside Weybridge includes 11 indoor courts where players can try out micro-sided hybrid football formats including Padbol, Panna, Teqball and Jorkyball as well as immersive VR technology. It’s part of the new retail district in the area, so there are plenty of nearby restaurant options to carb up after the game.

The best rainy day ideas for kids, toddlers and teens in Surrey

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