A FAMILY day out can easily set you back over £100 for a family of four.
And with it being the summer holidays, just a few days out can quickly add up to the cost of a holiday abroad.
Many of the different offers include tickets to theme parksCredit: HandoutIf you travel by train, you can get 2-for-1 or discounted tickets to UK attractionsCredit: Alamy
Instead of watching your wallet empty of cash, there are actually a number of ways to get free and cheap attraction tickets.
Here’s our round-up of the best options and what days out you can get for less:
Sun Club promotions
As a Sun Club member, you have access to loads of free and discounted days out across the UK.
Currently, these include free tickets to the races, 50% off Horrible Histories Live, savings on theatre tickets and 2-for-1 tickets to Diggerland theme parks.
LatestFreeStuff.co.uk always has different offers on attractions.
Some you might need to snap up quick, while others might have more availability.
Current offers on the website include a free National Trust pass and free bike hire.
Previous offers have included free Eden Project tickets as well as discounts on major UK attractions.
Promotional supermarket packs
If you are in the supermarket, look out for promotional packs.
On items such as Cadbury‘s multi-packs, Kellogg’s cereal, Heinz products, Carex soap and Robinsons squash, you’ll often find offers to attractions in the UK.
For example, Kellogg’s cereal boxes often have 25 per cent off online advance entry tickets for up to two people to Merlin attractions including the London Eye and Legoland.
Cadbury’s, on the other hand, often has instant 2-for-1 vouchers for top UK attractions.
National Rail
If you are heading out on a day out, taking the train could save you both hassle and money, because National Rail offers 2-for-1 deals, a third off savings, and other discounts for attractions when you travel via train.
Attractions include 2-for-1 tickets on City Cruises, 20 per cent off Frameless and 50 per cent off Thinktank at the Birmingham Science Museum.
Tesco Clubcard
Tesco Clubcard members can convert their Clubcard points into Reward Partner vouchers.
These vouchers cover major UK theme parks including Alton Towers and Thorpe Park as well as English Heritage sites and a number of museums.
Octopus Energy
If you are an Octopus customer and are signed up to Octoplus, you can redeem your points for a free National Trust pass.
02 Priority
If you happen to be an O2 customer, make sure you have the O2 Priority app as it is full of offers and giveaways.
Currently through the app, you can get discounted tickets to Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical, free kids tickets to Jurassic Oceans at the Natural History Museum (with one adult ticket) and 20 per cent off tickets to Up at The O2.
With MoneySuperMarket, you can get a free attraction pass worth £180 which includes English Heritage sitesCredit: AlamyAlso included in the pass are fun family activities such as as Go ApeCredit: Alamy
MoneySuperMarket
If you sign up to a MoneySuperMarket account and allow it to check your credit score, you can get a free days out annual pass worth £180.
The pass includes top attractions such as London Zoo, English Heritage Sites and Go Ape parks – you can redeem one ticket each time you visit an attraction, per account.
Vodafone
Via Vodafone‘s VeryMe Rewards, you can get a Kids Pass which offers between 10 and 56 per cent off entry to attractions across the UK, including Alton Towers and Go Ape.
To get this reward, you’ll need to be a Vodafone Pay Monthly mobile customer or a qualifying Pay As You Go customer.
Vitality Health Insurance
If you get moving, Vitality Health Insurance will reward you with discounts to top Merlin attractions, such as Thorpe Park and Alton Towers.
You are able to redeem four tickets at 30 per cent off each month.
Welcome Break
Welcome Break operates 31 hotels across the UK’s motorway network – such as Days Inn and Ramada hotels – making them ideal stops to split up a journey.
But more than just the hotels, Welcome Break has 62 service stations across the country.
If you stop off at one or stay in one of the hotels, make sure to set up an account when you use their Wi-Fi as you’ll get Road Trip Rewards.
Each time you log in to the Wi-Fi at either a hotel or service station, you’ll gain a point.
These points then go towards entering you into different prize draws.
For every three visits, you’ll go into a draw to bag a Merlin attraction discount, for every five visits a £50 Welcome Break voucher, and with 10 visits a Merlin Gold Pass. For every 15 or more visits, you’ll get a chance to win a family weekend away.
Lots of the different schemes can also get you cheaper tickets to the Eden ProjectCredit: AlamyAlton Towers is also available on many discount schemesCredit: Alton Towers
Blue Light Discount
If you work in the NHS, emergency services, or armed forces, you can get a Blue Light Membership, costing £4.99 for two years (so just under £2.50 a year).
This membership can then get you loads of discounts on days out and attractions, including 15 per cent off entry to Alton Towers, 20 per cent off English Heritage sites, and 10 per cent off Eden Project tickets.
There are loads of attractions with discounts as part of the membership, including local and regional attractions.
National Lottery Week
In March each year, the National Lottery hosts The National Lottery Open Week, with loads of free or low-cost days out.
These include castles, museums, sports venues, galleries and theatres across the UK.
Local resident/postcode discounts
It is worth looking up which attractions are in your area, and whether they offer discounted entry for you as a local.
For example, The Eden Project offers a discounted Cornish Residents Pass.
Similarly, Kew Gardens offers a reduced entry fee for local residents and young people, and Tower Bridge offers £1 entry to Southwark residents.
The best way to find this out is to search ‘attractions near me with resident offer’ online, and Google should pick up your location and find the attractions near you providing a discount.
Kew Gardens offers a discount for localsCredit: ReutersYou can get cheap tickets to events and activities through Groupon and Wowcher tooCredit: Ninja Warrior UK
Groupon and Wowcher
Groupon and Wowcher are both great sites for getting cheaper days out for the family.
You can search for things near you to do, and depending on your location, these can include things like the Ninja Warrior UK experience, bus tours and circus shows.
Karen Thomas, a detective constable investigating the murder of Joanna Yeates, has shared that she never thought Christopher Jefferies had a motive after he was wrongfully arrested, revealing the moment she knew the killer was Vincent Tabak instead.
Christopher Jefferies was wrongfully arrested for Joanna Yeates’ death
One of the police officers investigating the murder of Joanna Yeates has said that she “never thought there was a motive” for Christopher Jefferies, who was wrongfully arrested for her death. Jefferies, who was then 65, was arrested on suspicion of murdering Yeates, 25, on December 30, 2010.
Over 15 years later, Karen Thomas, a detective constable involved in the investigation, has recalled what she thought at the time – of Jefferies, the real killer Tabak, and of how her bosses reacted when she brought her suspicions to them.
Speaking in Disney’s new docuseries, Britain’s Most Notorious Crime Investigations, Thomas shared that she didn’t think Jefferies had a reason to kill Yeates, but could see why her colleagues were insistent that he had.
“I never thought there was a motive for Christopher Jefferies to kill Jo,” she said. “Having said that, we’ve sat with many people in custody who we thought maybe were the wrong people and were the right people, so as long as there was a reason to keep him in custody, it was justified.”
Jefferies was arrested just five days after Yeates’ body was discovered in Failand, Somerset, and 13 after she was first reported missing. The primary evidence against him was a speck of blood on one of his trainers, which police later discovered did not match Yeates’ DNA.
While he was in custody, Thomas was sent to Holland to take the witness statement of Vincent Tabak, Yeates’ neighbour, who claimed Jefferies had moved his car around the time that she went missing.
Thomas explained that Tabak’s statement troubled her. He claimed he had driven to an Asda in Bedminster for crisps and beer, even though there was a Tesco “down the road”. He asked questions about DNA and said he had knocked on Yeates’ door, despite having never offered that information before.
The detective said it seemed like Tabak was trying to “stitch up” the man they had in custody. “Inside, my heart was going ten to the dozen. I was sitting there thinking this could be our guy, this could be our killer.”
After flying back to the UK, Thomas took the statement straight to her bosses. She said: “In fairness, there was a lot coming from a lot of different angles and he’s trying to keep everything going, so I said ‘Boss, if you do nothing else, please prioritise his DNA’.”
But she later implied that she did think there was an issue with the investigation: “We took longer than we should have to catch Vincent Tabak. I think there’s always a danger that an officer can become fixated on a suspect and want the evidence to fit that.”
Tabak’s DNA was a match for the samples found on Yeates’ body. Jefferies was released two days after his arrest, and Tabak was taken into custody on 20 January.
He eventually pleaded guilty to manslaughter, saying he strangled Yeates whilst trying to silence her when she screamed after he tried to kiss her. He was found guilty of her murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
20/20: Britain’s Most Notorious Crime Investigations is available on Disney+ now.
Beth used Vinted to sell all her unwanted items – and thinks other UK households could also be sitting on thousands of pounds
Beth Hackman misses one thing in the UK after her move – and it’s probably not what you’d expect(Image: Jam Press/@physiofit.beth)
A Brit woman sold her unwanted things to start a new life abroad. But while she loves it, she misses one unusual thing about British life in particular.
Beth Hackman made £3,000 selling her unwanted clothes on Vinted to fund her dream move to Australia. She sold more than 600 items, including unwanted clothes, shoes and accessories on the app.
The 25 year old used the funds to pay for a flight, visa and accommodation in Sydney in March this year. Now she has started a new life as a physiotherapist.
But despite loving her new life, she does miss one aspect of life on the UK high street you perhaps wouldn’t expect. She said: “I’m loving Australia because of the work-life balance. I’m working fewer hours here than in the UK and making the same salary equivalent. I miss my family so much because I’m so close with them but I message and call them every day. Other than that I miss a Tesco meal deal.”
She decided to sell most of her clothes after realising she had far too many things. Beth listed everything from gym wear and occasion dresses to her brother’s prom suit and even a pair of Alexander McQueen trainers, which sold for £200.
“I’d just accumulated too much and hated how much was generally fast fashion,” Beth, from Windsor, Berkshire, said. “Moving to Australia has been a dream for around three years.
“I actually got to the point just before I went travelling that I sold all of my shoes so I just had my gym and running trainers or a random pair of heels left. I’d say I’ve sold at least 600 items and that much was just sat in my wardrobe.”
She believes many households are sitting on hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds worth of unwanted possessions without realising it. Beth said: “I would 100% encourage people to declutter if they’re saving for a major life goal. People don’t realise how much they could make.
“I think we’re all over consumers. Some of my friends have obscene amounts of clothes. Also, I feel better buying things second hand and also recycling my own clothes on Vinted. I wear a dress once and then sell it rather than let it sit in my wardrobe.”
Beth believes many people miss out on making easy money simply because they don’t present their listings properly. She also believes detailed descriptions and quick postage make a huge difference, helping her build positive reviews that encouraged more buyers.
Beth said: “Taking good photos with a clean background is key. I also used a mannequin sometimes. Good descriptions are important. I had a postage locker on my way to work so always posted things quickly so got lots of good reviews.
“I think people initially put things up for way too much. People on Vinted want a bargain and won’t pay normal resell prices. I will always negotiate. I’d rather it be sold and out of my house and lose out on 50p than be set on prices. Although some people do take the p***.
“Photos and descriptions really matter to me as a buyer and I wouldn’t buy from someone who looks like they don’t put effort in so I make sure my posts looks better.” Beth first downloaded Vinted around five years ago, but not with the intention of making money.
Instead, she used the resale platform as a savvy shopping tool, searching for designer pieces to see how they looked on real people before buying them new. She said: “I started to use it as a platform to double check a product.
“If I wanted a dress from House of CB, I’d search it on Vinted to see how it looked on real bodies and to compare sizes. I like to think I’m clever for this. It’s basically picture reviews.”
Under plans by the local authority, work on the link road was expected to finish this year and open to traffic in early 2027 – eight years after the junction was originally built
The M49 junction near Bristol(Image: National Highway (formerly Highways England))
The opening of a £50m ‘dead-end’ motorway junction near Bristol that was built seven years ago and has never been used could face further delays, it has been announced.
National Highways completed the bulk of the work on the two-bridge junction off the M49 – a stretch of road between Avonmouth and Severnside – in 2019. But plans to link the junction with a nearby industrial estate used by companies such as Tesco and Amazon stalled after a dispute arose over who was responsible for building the connecting road.
Now “defects” have been identified at the junction, National Highways has revealed. The body responsible for England’s roads said it was looking at options for remedial work following an engineering survey carried out by independent specialists.
“Discussions with our contractor are ongoing,” National Highways said in a statement. “We expect this will impact the opening of the South Gloucestershire Council link road, which is in construction.
“We remain committed to opening the junction as this will benefit the regional economy and communities. For safety reasons these defects must be addressed before we can connect it to local authority roads.
“We realise how frustrating this news will be to communities and businesses and we are working with the council and other partners on next steps.”
A spokesperson for South Gloucestershire Council said the news was “incredibly frustrating”.
“We share the anger and disbelief felt by local residents and businesses,” they said. “The council has committed to deliver the link road to connect to the M49 junction, and we remain on track to do so by the end of 2026.
“However, the opening of the junction once the link road is complete is solely a matter for National Highways.”
Under plans by the local authority, work on the link road was expected to finish this year and open to traffic in early 2027 – eight years after the junction was originally built.
But, according to South Gloucestershire Council, National Highways has not confirmed a programme or timeline for resolving issues affecting the junction and does not expect to provide an update until the autumn of this year.
“This uncertainty is deeply concerning for residents in nearby communities, who are affected by significant numbers of large vehicles using local roads,” the council spokesperson said.
“The delay is also a problem for businesses in Severnside, an area we all want to see grow and which needs to be properly connected to the strategic road network as soon as possible, in order to attract the investment to create jobs.
“We are pressing National Highways to provide as much information as possible, as soon as possible, about how and when they will make the junction ready for traffic and when we can expect the link road to be connected to the motorway in the way we have long planned. We will continue to press for answers and share updates as soon as further information becomes available.”
When the M49 junction was first proposed, it was hoped it would create an economic boost for the region and ease congestion on local roads by connecting the Port of Avonmouth and the Avonmouth and Severnside Enterprise Area.
But the project, which secured another £7m from the Department for Transport last year, has been hampered by delays, much to the chagrin of local residents and businesses.
Landownership issues, disagreements over responsibilities and navigating ecological challenges have all contributed to slowing up the opening of the so-called “ghost junction”, reports BusinessLive.
‘It is farcical’
The MP for Thornbury and Yate, Claire Young, has slammed National Highways for taking so long to disclose the issue.
“It is farcical that National Highways has waited until now to tell us there is a problem with the M49 junction they built,” she said.
Ms Young said National Highways was “unable” to reveal what the problem was.
“It means that the opening of this long awaited ‘ghost junction’ will almost certainly be delayed. My thoughts are with the long suffering local residents who will have to continue to deal with lorries thundering down their roads from massive warehouses that were located specifically to use this motorway junction.
“The surrounding roads are being ripped to shreds by lorries they were never designed to carry. Communication throughout has been poor; businesses and some local people are only now being told about the issue. I will continue to press National Highways and the government to sort out this mess as quickly as possible.”
Peter Tyzack, chair of Pilning and Severn Beach Parish Council, said it was “very disappointing and frustrating”. “Residents and businesses have waited a long time for the junction to open,” he said. “The parish council has made clear that, while safety must come first, the local community cannot simply be expected to absorb the impact of further delay without support.”
The land owner of the distribution park, Delta, has also been contacted for comment.
