Ten to try at home

Our pick of what's on in the UK for the bank holiday and half term
  
  


1. Make a waxwork
Got six months, hundreds of precise measurements, 2,400lbs of wax and about £30,000 to spare? Make your own waxwork. Otherwise, Madame Tussaud's is offering a series of Studio Secrets Workshops, three times daily from May 28 to June 1, where you can learn how the professionals do it and try out a bit of modelling for yourself.

  • Madame Tussaud's, Marylebone Road, London. Booking 0870 400 3000. Family ticket to exhibition costs £39.00; workshops are free but it is advisable to book a timed entry ticket for an hour ahead. Website: www.madame-tussauds.com

2. Dive with sharks
Tuna do it, plankton do it. Now it's your turn to take a dip with the dangerous fish. Deep Sea World in North Queensferry, Fife offers diving tuition with qualified instructors. Take a short diving lesson and then let the kids watch you swim amongst sharks, stingrays and hundreds of other species from the safety of the underwater safari tunnel.

  • 20-minute dive costs £75 (£50 for a qualified diver); £5/£3 to watch. General entrance £6.50/£5.50/£4.25 Deep Sea World, Queensferry, Fife, is just off the M90 north of the Forth Bridge. Booking: 0906 941 0077.

3. Do a Mersey tour
Three cups and eight national museums Try a trip round Liverpool and enjoy the Lord Mayor's parade, running through the city on Saturday June 2. Or enjoy music and a funfair this weekend at the Liverpool Show.

  • Liverpool Show, Wavertree Park, High Street. May 26-28, 10am - 6pm, free. Visit Liverpool

4. Relive the Blitz
Try on wartime uniforms, or get a feel of what it was like to spend the night in an air-raid shelter. A special exhibition - All Our Families at War - deals with emergency measures such as rationing and evacuation.

  • Leeds Royal Armouries. 10am - 5pm. £4.90/under-17s, over 60s and concessions free. 0113 220 1916.

5. Be a Victorian
Kids can try riding a penny farthing - or at least a scaled-down replica - at a vintage bicycle exhibition at the Ironbridge Gorge Museums. Or watch a traditional kiln all stoked up for a brick-firing demonstration.

  • Near Telford, Shropshire. Saturday-Monday, 10am - 5pm. £10/£6. 01952 432166.

6. Pretend to fly
You can try simulated rides in a Sea Harrier and a Lynx helicopter are part of the new £16m Action Stations, opening tomorrow at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Or use interactive technology to "pilot" a Type 23 frigate through a refuelling exercise at sea.

7. Watch some Roundhead action
Muskets will be fired by John Bright's Regiment of Foote as part of a recreation of life during the English Civil War.

  • Witley Court, Great Witley, Stourport, Worcestershire. Saturday and Monday. 12-5pm. £5/£3.80/£2.50. 01299 896636.

8. Choose a champion
Watch knights in chain mail charge each other on horseback in a jousting demonstration in Warwick Castle's tournament arena.

  • Saturday-Monday, 10am-6pm. Jousts at 12.30pm and 2.45pm. £11.50/£6.75. 0870 4422000.

9. See a Dickens run
Experience characters from Charles Dickens' novels take to the streets of Rochester, where the writer spent 18 years of his life. Grand parade with marching bands at noon on Saturday and another at 5pm. With street entertainment, music, talks.

  • Dickens Festival, Rochester, Kent. June 1-3. Mostly free. Full programme at www.medway.gov.uk

10. Try our quiz
"Overpriced and disappointing." Can you spot the popular British attractions from the new Lonely Planet guidebook's verdict? Find out here.

Find out more:
Interactive guide to UK coverage
United Kingdom: country guide
Holiday ideas for families and children

 

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