Get out in Nature with these family events & things to do this Summer
- Kelly
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
If there is one thing we love about Summer, it is getting out and about in nature more. In fact we all love to be outdoors throughout the year, but Summer is just so special plus you usually don't need those big bulky coats.
I have put together a list of nature friendly events running throughout Summer.
If you have an event you would like us to advertise, free of charge, please fill in this form HERE
This post has been updated for Summer 2026, but please do let me know if I have missed something you think should be included in this post.
WWT Washington
🐛Orchid & Wildflower walk - 6th June
🐛Grassland wild walk - 3rd July
🐛Moth Mornings 18th - 30th July / 1st - 15th July
🐛Pond Dipping - 20th - 29th July / 3rd-26th August
🐛Dragonfly Safari - 21st-28th July / 3rd - 26th August
🐛Mini Beast Hunting - 23rd-31st July
🐛Craft session Animal Mischief - 24th-27th August
🐛Build a big house - 25th July
🐛Dragonfly crafts - 6th-28th August
🐛Den Building - 7th - 21st August
🐛Face Painting 8th - 16th August
🐛Silent Disco - 22nd - 24th August
🐛Mini Beast hunting 25th August
RSPB Saltholme
🐛Moth Mornings 7th June, 4th July, 19th July, 16th August
🐛Summer eco fair - 25th July
Durham Wildlife Trust
🐛Rockpool stars - Whitburn Bents - 5th,19th June
🐛World Oceans day celebrations - Rainton Meadows - 6th June
🐛World Oceans day beach clean - Crimdon Dene - 7th June
🐛Seaton Carew Beach Clean - 11th June
🐛Charcoal Experience day - Low Barns Nature Reserve 13th June
🐛Beach Clean Red Acre Beach - 15th June
🐛Conservation Rangers - Rainton Meadows 18th June
🐛Beach Clean - Horden Beach - 26th June
🐛Nature Rangers - Low Barnes - 28th June
🐛Conservation Rangers - Low Barnes - 18th June
🐛Wildlife Watch - Rainton Meadows & Low Barnes - 28th June
🐛Hannah's Meadow Walk - 11th July
Northumberland Wildlife Trust
🐛Marvellous Moths - Hauxley Nature Reserve - 5th June
🐛Summer Solstice walk - Hauxley Nature Reserve - 20th June
🐛Big Wild Saturday - Northumberlandia - 20th June
🐛What a wonderful world festival - Hauxley Nature Reserve
🐛Young Rangers in the park - Leazes Park - 27th June
🐛Community Nature fest - Coleman field - 4th July
🐛Schools out for summer - Northumberlandia - 18th July
🐛North Sea Pelagic Cruise - Royal Quays Marina - 24th July / 28th August
🐛Summer nature celebration - The lighthouse project Newcastle - 14th August
Natural history society of Northumbria
🐛Badger watching - Gosforth Nature reserve - 2nd, 4th,9th June
🐛Wild web wildlife walk - walls end bowling club - 3rd June
🐛Ouseburn Way Butterfly walk- Pets corner Jesmond Dene - 5th June
🐛Urban Pollinator walk - Gosforth Nature Reserve - 9th June
🐛Ouseburn way Butterfly walk - Heaton Park - 11th June
🐛Ouseburn way Nature collage - Gosforth Nature reserve - 12th June
🐛Tyne Kittiwake walk - Baltic Centre - 13th June
🐛Ouseburn way community litter pick at Gosforth Nature Reserve - 14th June
🐛Ouseburn Bat Walk - Pets Corner Jesmond Dene - 18th June
🐛Ouseburn Bat Walk - Hi Grind - Gosforth - 25th June
🐛Young explorers - Gosforth Nature Reserve - ages 5-7- 28th June / Ages 8 - 11 28th June
🐛The Big Pond Dip - Woolsingham Parish Ponds - 28th June
🐛Ouseburn Bat Walk - Paddy Freemans - 6th July
🐛Urban Birding - 8th July - Pets Corner Jesmond Dene
🐛Butterflies of the North East - Gosforth Nature Reserve - 12th July
There's so many more events on the website HERE
North Pennines Nature fest
🐛Bird Trail Bowlees Visitors centre - Throughout June
🐛Naturefest through the magnifying glass - 4th June
🐛Campfire cooking and foraging - 29th July - Bowlees visitors centre
🐛Wild Wednesdays near & far - Bowlees visitors centre - 5th August
🐛Fantastic fossils - Bowlees Visitors centre - 12th August
There's lots of events on especially for adults.
National trust
🐛Beaver Safari - Wallington - 4th, 5th, 11th, 18th June
🐛Moth Mornings - Wallington 9th June
🐛Wild wonders - A ranger ramble - 9th June
🐛Seashore safari - 14th June
🐛National Meadows day - Crafts & Wildflower spotting - - 4th July
🐛Summer of play - Ormesby hall from 22nd July
🐛Summer of play - Pond investigation - Beningbrough - From 28th July
Other Events
🐛The Yorkshire Puffin Festival - Flamborough Cliffs
Usually kicking off early June, this festival features clifftop guided walks, a "Seabird City at Dawn/Dusk" experience, wildlife cruises to see the puffins, and family craft workshops.
🐛Peering at Puffins & Wildlife Cruises (Flamborough & North Landing): Weekly throughout June and into July. Hop on a traditional coble boat to view the towering chalk cliffs packed with puffins, guillemots, and kittiwakes.
🐛Extreme Rockpool Safaris (Living Seas Centre, Flamborough): Running mid-July through August. Guided by marine experts to find hidden anemones, crabs, and cryptic fish during extreme low tides.
🐛Dinosaur Footprints Guided Walks (Scarborough South Bay): Regular summer dates. Take a walk back in time with geologists to track genuine Jurassic dinosaur footprints uncovered by the tide.
🐛Fossil Fun Walks (Spurn National Nature Reserve): Weekly through the summer. Guided beach walks searching for fossils along Yorkshire’s unique, shifting peninsula.
🐛Osprey Watch (Kielder Water & Forest Park, Northumberland):
Running every Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday through to mid-August. Spot the magnificent Kielder ospreys hunting over the water from the Tower Knowe interactive hubs.
🐛British Falconry & Raptor Fair (Helmsley, North York Moors): Hosted at the National Centre for Birds of Prey. A spectacular weekend featuring incredible flying displays and conservation talks.
🐛The Big Butterfly Count (Region-wide): Running from mid-July to early August. Keep an eye out for guided identification walks hosted by the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors National Parks to help contribute to this vital citizen-science project.
🐛Wharfedale Three Peaks Challenge (Kettlewell, Yorkshire Dales): A brilliant annual summer fundraising event where you can run or walk the spectacular dales landscape, including a shorter family-friendly route.
🐛National Meadows Day (Yorkshire Dales): Early July. Celebrations of the UK's rare upland hay meadows, featuring guided walks to see globeflowers, wood cranesbill, and traditional scything demonstrations.
🐛Woodland & Wildflower Walks (Hawthorn Dene, County Durham): Mid-summer guided treks through one of the last remaining untouched magnesia limestone denes, packed with rare ferns and summer blooms.
🐛Herb & Foraging Walks (Stillingfleet Lodge Gardens, Selby): Specialized summer walks guided by herbalists to discover the medicinal and culinary uses of wild summer plants.
🐛Dusk Beaver Safaris (Cropton Forest, North York Moors): Running on select evenings throughout the summer. A rare opportunity to watch the wild beaver population engineering the landscape as twilight falls.
🐛Summer Solstice Sunrise Yoga (Scarborough Star Disk): Celebrate the longest day of the year right on the clifftop, watching the sun rise directly out of the North Sea.
🐛Charcoal Experience Days (Low Barns, County Durham): Spend a summer day learning the ancient, sustainable art of traditional woodland coppicing and charcoal burning.
🐛Inner Farne Landing Trips (Seahouses Harbour): Running daily from June through September. For the first time in years, the National Trust has fully re-opened landings on Inner Farne. You can step off the boat and walk the boardwalks right into the nesting colonies of Arctic terns (bring a hat—they will dive-bomb you!), puffins, guillemots, and kittiwakes.
🐛Puffin & Seabird Cruises (Coquet Island / Amble): Daily throughout June and July. While you can't land on Coquet Island (it’s a highly protected RSPB reserve), boat trips from Amble get you incredibly close to the UK's rarest seabird, the roseate tern, alongside thousands of puffins.
🐛Rockpool Safaris (St Mary’s Island, Whitley Bay): Regular dates across July and August. Led by local rangers, these sessions explore the deep limestone rockpools around the causeway to find velvet swimming crabs, brittle stars, and blennies.
A Quick Tip before you go: Many of these events require pre-booking as they limit numbers to protect the wildlife.
💡 Local Tips for North East Wildlife Spotting:
🐛For the Farne Islands: You must book your boat ticket in advance via independent operators (like Billy Shiel or Serenity) and secure your National Trust landing pass.
🐛The "Moorland Purple": If you head west toward the North Pennines (around Allendale or Blanchland) in mid-August, the heather comes into full bloom. The North Pennines National Landscape team frequently hosts guided photography and walking events to catch this brief, brilliant purple carpet.
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You could head out on a winter walk, lots of places are open during Winter and are worth the visit. CLICK HERE to read our favourite Winter Walks
Check out these other posts for more ideas
Spring walk ideas (Also nice during summer)
