We’re half way through week already, so if you’re looking for ideas for days out to keep the kids occupied during half term here are some suggestions.

If you know where to look you’ll probably find that there are lots of activities, relatively close by, where you can spend some great days out. Keeping the travel to a minimum reduces the cost of journey, never mind the expense of booking accommodation and the hassle of packing overnight bags with travel size toiletries for the family.

So once you’ve saved a few pennies by reducing the amount of travelling you are going to do, the next step is to save money on admission fees to attractions. Two of the best money saving offers for the discerning traveller or tourist are the “Kids go Free” or “2 for 1” offers. With some of these deals you can probably save the cost of the travel fare to the attraction itself!

“Kids go Free” Offers

There are a whole host of attractions that offer a “Kids go Free” deals ranging from Botanical and Zoological Gardens, Museums, Stately Homes, Science Centres and Boat Trips to good old fashioned swimming and playing. There is a fairly good list with a comprehensive search facility at www.enjoyengland.com where there is a section devoted specifically to “Kids go Free” offers.

“2 for 1” Offers

Click on the links below to go straight to the pages where you can print off your very own “2 for 1” coupons.
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The Nottingham City Pulse music festival returns with 3 days of retro mania from Saturday 23rd May to Monday 25th May in Nottingham’s market square.

This fantastic FREE festival runs over the Bank Holiday weekend features 3 days of rock, soul, samba, ska, jazz, blues and ballroom based around Nottingham’s market square – Nottingham City Pulse 2009 Map.

Headline acts include The Merseybeats, Dave Berry and the Cruisers, The Manfreds, The Neville Staple band, The Earl Jackson Band, Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, Eddie Floyd with Sounds Force 5, Todd Miller and the Joe Loss Orchestra, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, Pete Molinari and James Hunter to name but a few. For details of all dates, venues and acts visit www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk for more information, or download a programme below.

This Bank Holiday weekend is set to be a scorcher, so don’t forget your sun block! One of the best options is a “once a day” lotion like Riemann P20, which with one application, will provide up to 10 hours protection.

In conjunction with Nottingham City Pulse there are a host of city centre restaurants and bars with some fantastic special offers for the Bank Holiday weekend – so make the most of it! You can download the full Nottingham City Pulse 2009 Programme here.

Today saw the start of the Hay Literary Festival at Hay-on-Wye which runs from 21st – 31st May.

Attendance is already up on last year for the first afternoon of the Festival with the organisers expecting around 100,000 visitors for the duration of the Festival compared with the 80,000 attendees last year.

The Hay Festival has been running for 22 years and is hosted in the picturesque town of Hay-on-Wye on the border of Herefordshire at the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park.

Hay-on-Wye is affectionately known as the “Town of Books” and it’s easy to see why with over 30 bookshops tucked away in the town.

This year sees appearances from distinguished celebrities such as Sophie Dahl, Alan Bennett and Stephen Fry amongst many others. However, perhaps most notable, is the first public appearance of the new poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy.

With the primary focus being books, it is worth remembering how important reading glasses are to those that needs them. Therefore it is always worth carrying a spare pair of travel reading glasses for emergencies.

For more information visit the Hay Festival website, or download the Hay Festival Programme 2009.

Madness return to London’s Victoria Park on Friday 17th July as they bring Madstock back to the East End after an 11 year break.

As well as hearing the timeless unique Madness classics the crowd will be treated to tracks from the new Madness album, “The Liberty Of Norton Folgate” which marks thirty years since Madness released their first single.

Also appearing with Madness will be the Pogues, Man Like Me, Bjorn Again and Hayseed Dixie amongst a host of others.

Tickets are priced at £35 (subject to booking fee) and are available from the band site at www.madness.co.uk.

If you cannot make Victoria Park in London the other Madness gigs are:

30th May 2009 – Newbury Racecourse, Berkshire

13th Jun 2009 – Norfolk Showground, Norwich

26th Jun 2009 – Gatcombe Park, Gloucestershire

18th Jul 2009 – Broadlands, Hampshire

19th Jul 2009 – Splendour Festival at Wollaton Park, Nottingham

Make the most of it and go prepared with a Festival Day Survival Kit, full of some of the festival essentials for a day of music.

Madstock Victoria Park London 17th July

Australia’s government has announced a new conservation zone in the Coral Sea off the country’s northeast coast.

However, it rejected environmentalists’ demands for a fishing ban in the Coral Sea.

Fishing boats and cruise ships would continue to have access to the 375,000 square miles of Australian territorial waters east of the protected Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Although Charter Boats would require a free permit to use these waters.

The area has an extraordinary array of coral reefs and is very important to marine turtles, and humpback whales. An assessment is currently under way for more permanent protection which is due to be completed by the middle of next year.

Today the owners of the London Eye (Merlin Entertainments Group) has announced an investment of around £12.5 million to upgrade one of London’s most iconic attractions on the capitals South Bank.

Each of the 32 capsules will be removed for upgrading and replaced with a “dummy” capsule one at a time. Work will start this summer and will be completed in time for the London 2012 Olympics and will not interrupt the normal operation of the attraction. Each capsule will travel down the Thames to Silvertown in London’s docklands from where it will be transported by road to Worcester and upgraded before returning to the London Eye.

Changes include upgrading the heating and ventilation system to a more efficient, environmentally friendly one, cutting down the London Eye’s carbon footprint. In addition, the advanced capsules will include display screens, multi-media and Wi-Fi capabilities enhancing the whole experience for London’s tourists and visitors.

The London Eye has an average of 10,000 visitors a day and has already welcomed over 33 million tourists and visitors, providing them with unique panoramic views of London. The London Eye can carry 800 passengers per 30 minute “flight” and at 135m high is the world’s tallest cantilevered observation wheel, with views across London of up to 40km on a clear day, as far as Windsor Castle.

Don’t forget to come prepared with your London City Visitors Kit and an absolute must, just to get to the London Eye, is an iPod Tube Map for either your iPod Touch or iPod Classic.

Bournemouth – a town on the way up!

Traditional beach huts have been a part of the UK beach culture for over 100 years but today Bournemouth Council launches the 21st Century version – Super Surf Pods.

Designed by Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway, 50 units have been built as part of the £11 Million regeneration project of the Boscombe beach area.

The Overstrand was a 1950’s neglected wooden and concrete building although with some nostalgic architectural features. However, after the refurbishment of the complex, it now offers the most desirable beach huts in the UK, complete with all the mod-cons expected by the 21st century surfer and holiday maker.

Around 36 Surf Pods will be made available for purchase on a 25-year lease, with the remainder reserved for casual hire from Bournemouth Council. The single Surf Pods are £65,000 and the double Surf Pods are £90,000 but are for day use only.

Each fully equipped pod has a feature wall, using a vintage, coastal artwork from Wayne Hemingway’s personal collection. As well as coming complete with designer beach furniture, the Surf Pods feature mains electricity, hot and cold running water, and French doors leading onto private balconies with views over-looking the beach, the newly refurbished Boscombe Pier and Europe’s first artificial surf reef.

The Overstrand complex also features a Sorted Surf shop, a surfing academy and the glass-fronted Urban Reef restaurant, offering fantastic panoramic views of Bournemouth and the Solent. There is also take-away food from Reefside catering, along with changing rooms, toilets and hot showers, all contributing to the major transformation of Boscombe seafront.

Always remember to be Sun Aware! and use adequate sun protection when on or around the beach.

National Ferry Fortnight is taking place between Saturday 9th and Friday 22nd May 2009.

National Ferry Fortnight is a brand new initiative set up by the Passenger Shipping Association to celebrate the advancements made in ferry travel and highlight just how easy it is to take a ferry holiday. This is underlined by the fact that there are around 40 million passenger journeys made by ferry every year.

Living on a collection of islands, ferry travel is an integral part of our transport network just to visit the rest of UK, never mind channel hopping across to Europe. But when it comes to family holidays in Europe, loading up the car and using a ferry is quite often a cheaper alternative to booking flights and hire cars.

The Passenger Shipping Association represents leading ferry operators who run services to European and UK destinations and with a billion pounds of investment planned between now and 2011 for new services and ships, the expectation is that the whole “ferry experience” can only get better and better.

To celebrate the first National Ferry Fortnight, there are a whole host of great offers and discounts to both European and UK destinations. Visit sailanddrive.com for further information.

Just don’t forget your sun lotion!

Today sees the launch of US Airways summer flights direct from Birmingham to Philadelphia. The new nonstop service provides 5 flights a week departing from Birmingham up until September.

US Airways will operate a Boeing 757 ETOPS aircraft on the new route, with 12 seats in Envoy (US Airways trans-Atlantic business class) and 164 seats in economy.

The US bound flight (US727) departs Birmingham Airport (BHX) at 08:45 am arriving in Philadelphia at 11:05 am (daily except Tuesday and Thursday).

The UK bound flight (US726) departs Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) at 6:05 pm arriving in Birmingham the following morning at 06:25 am (daily except Monday and Wednesday).

Currently the only other trans-Atlantic carrier operating from Birmingham Airport is Continental Airlines which offers daily direct flights to New York.

Remember that when flying to the USA you must register with the US Electronic Travel System (ESTA) at least 72 hours before travelling.

Its also worth thinking about the “carry on” hand luggage restrictions in place and make sure that any travel size accessories or travel size sets you take with you comply with the current airport security regulations.

RockNess 2009 takes place at Dores near Inverness starting on Friday 12th June and culminates on Sunday 14th June 2009. The campsites will open at 10am on Friday 12th June for the hardened festival goers who want to get there early and start to soak up the atmosphere get the party started nice and early.

Tickets range from £45 for the Friday sessions right up to £160 for the full-on 3 day VIP camping tickets.

Don’t forget your sturdy shoes or boots to keep the mud at bay (if it turns that way), waterproofs and suncream (just to cover both eventualities) and some insect repellent (just in case) – that way nothing will get in the way of the music and the fun !