acres

A BRAND new aquapark is coming to a UK town just in time for the summer holidays.

The attraction spans 150 acres and will be open until the autumn.

The massive new attraction features everything from slides and climbing walls to balance beams and splash zones.

Opening from today (Saturday, July 18), the inflatable waterpark will be running until autumn.

It is located at Hinchingbrooke Country Park in Cambridgeshire and is set to open daily for the rest of the summer.

Visitors aged six and over can pre-book online, with tickets costing £19 per person.

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This price includes entry, as well as a buoyancy aid, helmet, and wetsuit hire.

Helmets and wetsuits are optional, however, participants must wear a buoyancy aid regardless of swimming ability.

Ticket-holders can visit the park anytime 10am to 5pm, with each session lasting an hour.

The new inflatable is part of a larger ongoing investment into Hinchingbrooke Country Park, improving its leisure activities and encouraging more visitors to the park’s large natural surroundings.

Executive member for Parks and Countryside, Waste and Street Scene, Cllr Julie Kerr, said: “We’re thrilled to be bringing this exciting new attraction to Hinchingbrooke Country Park.

“It’s a fantastic addition for residents and visitors alike, and part of our ongoing commitment to improving and evolving the park to enhance leisure and outdoor opportunities for users now and in the future.”

SUMMER has officially arrived with a sea of fragrant flowers, as the UK’s largest lavender farm opens its gates this week.

Get ready to stroll through 110 acres of picture-perfect purple fields, with an array of summer activities on offer for all the family.

Castle Farm Lavender Fields are opening for the summer season this week, with the public now able to enjoy its purple blooms once again.

Nestled between Eynsford and Shoreham in Kent, this sprawling lavender paradise will welcome visitors from Friday, June 19, remaining open until the end of July.

Opening in 1998, Castle Farm’s enterprise has bloomed into the UK’s largest lavender field, receiving five consecutive gold medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Visitors wanting to indulge in the delightful flowers can take part in a variety of different activities, including a one-hour stroll though its most famous field, Darenth Valley.

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A whole host of workshops and events are also on offer across the season, including lavender wreath-making and breathwork sessions, and lavender picnics.

Castle Farm also is home to an award-winning farm shop and dedicated Lavender Barn, where visitors can choose a fresh bunch of purple flowers as the ultimate souvenir from the day.

The farm shop also offers an array of Kent-based produce, including apples from the Castle Farm orchard and even lavender-flavoured gin.

This sprawling lavender field is only a short, one-hour drive from London, where citygoers can go relax and enjoy the beautiful countryside scenery.

Previous visitors have raved about their day trips, with one saying: “It’s so beautiful here, it’s well worth a visit”.

Others praised the “stunning views” and “beautiful scent” in the fields.

Tickets for the lavender field walks are priced at £7 for over 16s, and £4.50 for children, with infants under three able to visit for free.

Dogs are welcome for the one hour lavender walk and guided field tours, but not for lavender picnics, wreath workshops or breathwork classes.

Castle Farm is opening to the public again on June 19, with tickets for its various activities on sale now.

THE UK’S biggest strawberry-picking field that spans more than 150 acres is an affordable day out.

A trip to a pick-your-own fruit farm is a wholesome activity that should be on everyone’s summer checklist.

And a Surrey farm, 19 miles from London, boasts Britain’s largest strawberry picking field, with acres of plants to harvest your own fruity treats from.

Garson Farm in Esher has been growing crops for over 155 years and now welcomes visitors to have a field day picking strawberries every summer.

Open now for the season, guests can take to the expansive greenery and help themselves to the tunnel-grown strawberry plants.

Open rain or shine every day of the week, the farm costs just £2.50 per person to enter, while under twos go free, with bookings limited to eight tickets.

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The farm is open from 9am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 5pm on Sundays and the ticket price does not cover any crops picked during the outing.

While fruit fans can expect supplies of strawberries in the field to be booming in the height of summer, the farm warns that crops can be limited during the early season.

“The 2026 PYO season has begun with delicious early-season strawberries,” the Garson Farm website states.

“During the early season, crops may not yet be available in abundance. In this phase, we may need to rest the crops to allow them time to grow and produce more fruit.”

Typically, the UK’s strawberry season is between June and late August, with mid-July being peak time.

The farm also offers its pick-your-own deal for plenty other fruits and veggies when they are in season, although it’s just strawberries up for grabs right now.

There are apples, blackberries, carrots, broccoli, cucumbers, cherries, onions, plums and more growing in the fields – but the farm states that “these crops need more time to grow” for now.

A BRAND new aquapark is coming to a UK town just in time for the summer holidays.

Featuring slides, climbing walls and a splash zone, the inflatable waterpark will be open until the autumn.

Located at Hinchingbrooke Country Park in Cambridgeshire, the brand new aquapark will be open to the public from July 18.

The inflatable park promises a day out of full of water-based fun, including slides, balance beams, climbing walls and splash zones.

Aimed at visitors aged six and over, the temporary water attraction will be open in time for the summer holidays and remain in place until September.

Visitors are able to pre-book online now, and the park expects demand to be high throughout the summer.

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Tickets cost £19 per person and include a buoyancy aid, helmet and wetsuit hire.

From mid-July, the aquapark will be open from 10am to 5pm, with each session lasting an hour.

The new inflatable is part of a larger ongoing investment into Hinchingbrooke Country Park, improving its leisure activities and encouraging more visitors to the park’s large natural surroundings.

Executive member for Parks and Countryside, Waste and Street Scene, Cllr Julie Kerr, said: “We’re thrilled to be bringing this exciting new attraction to Hinchingbrooke Country Park.

“It’s a fantastic addition for residents and visitors alike, and part of our ongoing commitment to improving and evolving the park to enhance leisure and outdoor opportunities for users now and in the future.”

Hinchingbrooke Country Park even wants the community to get involved in an important aspect of the opening of the park.

In a post on Facebook, the park called upon residents to submit ideas for a new name for the aquapark, with the winner receiving a free visit for the entire family.

“Think adventurous, fun, family-friendly or inspired by Hinchingbrooke and the local area – we can’t wait to see your ideas,” read the post.

Entries for the competition close on Friday, June 5, and the winner will be announced shortly afterwards.

Some concerns were raised on the Hinchingbrooke Facebook post regarding the local wildlife of the area, but the park revealed they had worked “closely with an independent ecologist to understand how this could impact the wider park”.

An Ecological Impact Assessment was conducted and the park confirmed that their project team is now “working closely” with park rangers to “ensure all recommendations and any appropriate ecological mitigation is completed”.

The park will also be designating specific lake zones purely to wildlife and “adding an additional tern raft”.

The nearby car park is also currently undergoing works, but the park has confirmed this is expected to be complete by the time the aquapark opens.