Free school holiday train activities for kids
Printable scavenger hunts, station checklists, train spotting sheets and word searches that turn an ordinary train journey into the day out. Print one, hand it over with a pencil, and let them lead.
Print one, go exploring
7 sheets so far, and more on the way. Every one is a single page you can print at home this morning and use this afternoon.
Anywhere
The Great UK Train Word Search
Fourteen famous trains, stations and train companies hidden in the grid, for the journey or a rainy afternoon.
London
The Great London Scavenger Hunt
Twenty-four things to spot at the station, on the Tube and around the city, with points for each one.
Anywhere
London & Famous Stations Crossword
Six clues where every answer is a real UK station, from Paddington to Glasgow. For the car, the train or a rainy day.
York
The Great York Train Spotting Hunt
Eighteen things to spot at York station and inside the National Railway Museum, from Mallard to a cut-in-half engine.
London
London Stations to Tick Off
Twelve big railway stations, twelve famous Tube stops and six lines to ride, all on one printable page.
Weymouth
The Great Weymouth Scavenger Hunt
Twenty finds across the station, the town and the seafront, from Punch and Judy to Nothe Fort.
Cheltenham
The Great Cheltenham Scavenger Hunt
Twenty finds around Cheltenham Spa station and the Regency town centre, from the Wishing Fish Clock to the Gold Cup.
Make the journey the day out
The expensive part of a family day out is rarely the travel. It's the entry fees, the gift shop and the food court at the end of a long queue. These sheets are built on the opposite idea: that the station, the journey and the walk between things are the activity, and that a child with a job to do is a child who is not asking how much longer.
Book the train a few weeks out and the fares drop sharply. Under-5s travel free across Britain, a Family and Friends Railcard pays for itself in roughly one trip, and children under 11 travel free on the Tube, DLR and London buses with a fee-paying adult.
How it works
Print one each
One page per child, black and white is fine. Two sheets and a race works better than one shared sheet.
Go and explore
Start at the station. There are finds on the platform before you have even set off, which is when boredom usually strikes.
Count up and share
Add the score, write the date in the box, and try to beat it next holiday. Then send the link to another family.
When are the UK school holidays?
Dates vary by council, and academies and independent schools set their own, so treat these as the usual windows rather than the answer for your school. Scotland and Northern Ireland run to different terms again.
October half term
About a week in late October
Christmas holidays
About two weeks from late December
February half term
About a week in mid February
Easter holidays
About two weeks around late March or April
May half term
About a week in late May
Summer holidays
About six weeks from late July
Check your exact dates on your local council's term dates page before booking anything.
Questions from other parents
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