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Brilliant things to do at Whiteley this summer

Days out ideas, kids’ entertainment, menus and more

Planning days out this summer? From kids’ menus, fun character meets, a brand new sandpit for summer, doggie pop-up, artisan market, wildflower garden, climbing and a tiny village of imaginative play, sweet treats, shopping and toys to the biggest movie blockbusters, special seasonal events, offers and discounts, here’s how to get inspired at Whiteley.

Meet your favourite fun characters this summer

From a sleeping princess and amazing action heroes, we’ll host meet and greets and selfies with all your favourite characters from fairy tales, comics and beyond. Come to Whiteley on the following dates:

• Friday 30th May – the Snow Queen and Bubble Witch are coming to Whiteley (find out more here)
• Sunday 27th July – meet magical fairytale princesses
• Saturday 2nd August – a brave girl warrior adventurer and mischievous fairy with her own little bell
• Saturday 9th August – two beautiful and fun fairies
• Sunday 17th August – a would-be princess who has to be home by midnight and a Scottish princess warrior
• Sunday 24th August – amazing action superheroes
• Saturday 30th August – inspiring characters from lands far away
• Saturday 6th September – a feisty secret princess and her funny friend

 

Don’t miss Doggie Day on Saturday 31st May

We’re bringing back the ever-popular Doggie Day with a dog agility course, competitions (is your pet the cutest? Yes is the answer), children’s colouring activities, dog treats, amazing guide dogs and a caricature artist to capture your pooch’s image. Plus, there are free Whiteley dog frisbees for all. Find out more here. You’d be barking to miss it.

Head to the welcoming sandpit this summer

Whiteley’s much-loved free sandpit has had a refresh for 2025! Now featuring a brand-new decking area, accessibility ramp and umbrellas to provide plenty of shade alongside new toys, buckets and spades, it’s open to everyone.

 

Enjoy wildflower gardens

Enjoy a summer of blooming prettiness as April’s wildflower seeds spring into life. With a fun-to-spot chainsaw-carved owl sculpture, the wildflowers promise to be a gorgeous sanctuary for bugs, insects, bees and butterflies with a host of insect houses to keep them protected. Watch together as nature works its magic – even for humans as some research has revealed that wildflowers may reduce stress and increase happiness…

 

Independent pop-up artisan market

 

Discover independent brands bringing beautiful, crafted wares to Whiteley on the following weekends in 2025:

• Saturday 3rd/ Sunday 4th May
• Sunday 1st June
• Saturday 5th/Sunday 6th July
• Saturday 2nd/Sunday 3rd August
• Saturday 13th/Sunday 14th September
• Saturday 4th/Sunday 5th October
• Saturday 8th/Sunday 9th November
• Saturday 6th/Sunday 7th December

 

See the biggest movies

This summer, it’s all about the blockbusters with the arrival of live-action Lilo & Stitch and Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (23 May), live-action How To Train Your Dragon (13 June), Jurassic World: Rebirth (2 July), Superman (11 July), The Fantastic Four: First Step (25 July), The Bad Guys 2 (1 August) and Freakier Friday (8 August). Phew!

Cineworld is the place to see them all with child tickets for £5 or family tickets for two adults, two children. They offer Movies for Juniors for £2.50, Cinebabies and autism-friendly sessions. There’s also 2-for-1 tickets with Meerkat Movies and 30% off discounts with Frankie & Benny’s. Book your seats here.

 

Explore Little Giggle Street

Little Giggle Street is an inspired destination for kids featuring a world of immersive play for children aged 7 and under. Open Monday to Sunday 9.30am until 3pm, they have a whole village featuring a hairdressing and beauty salon, vets, cafe, fire station, jail, green grocer and construction site to investigate. Sparking their imaginations and creative play – with a tasty cafe for you – book ahead because it gets busy.

 

Discover the best kids’ menus

• Indulge in tacos and quesadillas at Baja Mexicali, breakfast, Sunday roasts and steaks at Bar + Block Steakhouse (their kids’ menu has starters, mains of fish and chips, burgers and pasta plus desserts for £8) or dim sum and noodles at Dim t (crispy duck pancakes, mini chow mein and bento boxes for kids).
• Prezzo is amazing for kids with pizzas, pastas, sorbet, chocolate dippers, cloudy lemonade and plenty more to choose from with lunch and dinner menus for adults including calzone, ravioli and burgers and grills. Wildwood has minute steaks, peri-peri half chicken, artisan pizzas and burgers with a kids’ menu of two courses and a drink for £7.95.
• Harvester has two sides and a dessert for just £7.29 (smaller bites), £8.29 (bigger bites) and £9.29 (biggest bites) with a pledge to Peas Please ensuring all kids’ menus feature two of their five-a-day. Choose from fish fingers, meat-free meatballs, grilled and mighty chicken, monster burgers and more. They’ve also got excellent lunch and brunch menus for every age.
• Head to wagamama for special kids’ menus for £7.70. Choose from one of their mains made mini (yaki soba, ramen, chicken katsu) with drinks and desserts of chocolate brownie, tropical fruit lolly or vanilla ice-cream.
• Frankie & Benny’s has brunch for £4.70 (mini classic breakfast or pancakes with a juice or milk), saucy bowls of pasta, crispy omega-3 fish fingers, baked salmon and chicken wraps across £6.80 Small Eaters or £8.30 Big Eaters menus. Desserts include jelly and fruit for just £2. Book here.

Get climbing at Rock Up

Rock Up’s indoor climbing arena and soft play is built to help everyone take part and have fun! There are 26 climbing walls, a high-ropes course, towering vertical drop slide and an amazing soft play with free briefing sessions so everyone knows how to stay safe. Children can climb without adults (with free access), family passes are priced from £69.95 with soft play sessions only £3.95-£7.95. With classes, parties and tonnes of welcoming packages, don’t miss out this summer. Plus, there’s a cafe too. Find out more here.

 

Book them into Explore Learning

Explore Learning provides supportive learning for ages four to 16 with maths and english support that’s tailored to them. Perfect to keep them engaged and confident over the summer holidays. Find out more.

 

Grab some food on the go

Make it a quick and easy meal for everyone with some of the best food-on-the-go favourites. We’ve got Burger King, Five Guys, Greggs (perfect for bacon sandwiches before 11am),

Marks & Spencer (a main, a snack and drink for just £4), McDonalds and Nando’s (sign up to the app to easily order at your table and build up loyalty points with Nandino meals of a main, two sides, a drink or dessert).

 

Keep tweens happy…

Pick up fun accessories, nail art and beauty at Accessorize and Claire’s while Superdrug is a great place to find travel minis, face masks and a host of beauty brands and perfumes.

 

Get crafting

Unleash their creative imaginations with plenty of pens, paints, paper, glue and DIY projects from Flying Tiger Copenhagen and Poundland.

 

Go shopping for kids’ (and pets) bits and pieces

Whiteley is home to some of the best places to find toys, new summer wardrobes, holiday packing and entertainment. For little ones, head to Mamas & Papas, Marks & Spencer and Tesco and, for older children, there’s amazing stationery at Smiggle, toys galore at The Entertainer and Waterstones will give you plenty of boredom-busting books, games and activities. If you’ve got pets, swing by Pets Corner with the kids and choose everything from cosy beds to fish food.

 

Go for a sweet treat

All that shopping and exploring can leave you feeling wiped out so take the kids to Kaspa’s Desserts for artisan Italian gelato, incredible giant American waffles topped with oreos, peanut butter and berries, sundaes including bubblelicious and speculoos, tutti frutti shakes and and much, much more. Book here.

It’s easy to get to Whiteley via car and public transport (find out more here) plus we have easy parking and family-friendly facilities. Follow us at @whiteleyshopping; sign up for the latest news here

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last updated Monday 9 June, 2025