Join Ransome trail in Lakeland
The Lake District is celebrating the seventieth anniversary of the publication of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons with a special Swallows and Amazons Forever! exhibition at the Museum of Lakeland Life in Abbot Hall, Kendal.
Other sites along the Ransome Trail, including the Windermere Steamboat Museum (01539 445565) and the Ruskin Museum on Coniston (01539 441164) have decided to join in.
Ransome fans can find out more about Kanchenjunga, Octopus Lagoon, Secret Harbour and Wild Cat island, all Lake District locations, at the Museum of Lakeland Life: exhibits include Ransome's sketch books. Swallows and Amazons Forever! reveals other parts of the author's life. Before he started writing his famous books he worked as a war correspondent in Russia, played chess with Lenin and married Tolstoy's secretary.
Abbot Hall Art Gallery is also hosting Ruskin and the Light of Nature featuring works by Turner and Rossetti as well as Ruskin, until 1 October. There are workshops for children at both venues throughout August; activities include print-making, T-shirt design, still life and pinhole photography. Pre-booking is recommended (£3 per place).
Abbot Hall is open daily from 10.30am-5pm. Tel: 01539 722464 for details about both exhibitions and the workshops.
Find the treasure
Young pirates, explorers and adventurers should make their way to more than 80 National Trust properties this summer if they want the chance of finding hidden treasure. There are prizes at the end of each outdoor clue-strewn trail, as well as extra activities such as 'pirate workshops', raft-building and face-painting.
Venues include Chedworth Roman Villa, near Cheltenham, on 6 August (01242 890 256); Tattershall Castle, Lincoln, on 13 August (01526 342 543); and Petworth House on 18 August (01798 342 207).
On 30 August children can follow in the footsteps of Swallows and Amazons characters at Calke Abbey, Derbyshire (01332 863822). A complete list of treasure hunts and a leaflet, Events for Children and Families, is available from the National Trust's information service (020 8315 1111 or www.trusty.org).
The treasure hunts are part of the charity's Neptune Coastline campaign, which aims to safeguard stretches of Britain's coastline.
Card offers cut-price entry to attractions
Good news: you can now enjoy cheap days out at family attractions around the country and benefit charity at the same time. The Powerpass card is an initiative from Yorkshire Tourist Board and Northern Electric & Gas which allows two-for-one entry at over 150 attractions, from Warkworth Castle in Northumbria to Adventure Island in Essex. The passes cost a minimum of £1, which Yorkshire Tourist Board will donate to Childline, but larger donations are welcomed. You can use the cards as much as you like for the rest of the year.
The passes are available from tourist information centres in Yorkshire, or send a cheque or postal order for £1, or preferably more, to Yorkshire Tourist Board, 312 Tadcaster Road, York YO24 1GS, and it will send you a discount card and a leaflet of participating attractions.
