Days Out Near Bromley With Children, Checked October 2026

For a day out with children near Bromley, most families start with Crystal Palace Park: the dinosaurs, the playground and the farm are all free. Next come Darwin’s Down House in Downe, the lamp-lit tours at Chislehurst Caves and, just over the Kent border, the birds of prey at Eagle Heights. Every entry was checked against the venue’s own website on 28 October 2026.

We have not visited these places for this guide, and nothing here is a review. Each entry sets out what the venue publishes: prices, opening days, what there is for children and the house rules. Several places cut their opening days from November, so the winter pattern is given where the venue lists it. Prices and hours change, and school holidays get busy, so check before you set off.

In the borough

Crystal Palace Park, Penge

The park’s thirty Grade I-listed dinosaur sculptures stand on islands in the lower lake on the Penge side, and are free to see. The park’s regeneration finished in July 2026 and took them off Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register. The dinosaur playground, opened by Bromley Council and the Crystal Palace Park Trust in March 2026, has a skeleton climbing frame, a footprint-shaped sandpit and accessible swings, slide and roundabout, with a Changing Places toilet nearby. The park farm is run by Capel Manor College and is free; it opens from 12pm to 3.30pm every day except Wednesday, and on bank holidays, Capel’s farm page says. The gates open by 7.30am, and there are toilets by the information centre near Penge Gate, according to the council’s record. Thicket Road, SE19 2GA. More from the park trust.

Down House, Downe

Charles Darwin lived and worked at Down House, and English Heritage runs it with its garden and grounds. Its prices and opening times say it opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, until 1 November. From 2 November to 20 December it opens on Saturdays and Sundays only. Over Christmas it opens on 27 and 28 December and from 1 to 3 January. Booked online the day before, a standard ticket is £17 for an adult, £8.50 for a child aged five to 17 and £42.50 for a family of two adults and up to three children. Off-peak weekdays are £15.38 and £7.65. On the gate it is £20 and £10. Under-5s and English Heritage members go free. Luxted Road, Downe, BR6 7JT. Call 01689 859119. Down House Tearoom in our directory.

Chislehurst Caves

Everyone sees the caves’ chalk passages on a lamp-lit guided tour of 45 to 50 minutes. Tours leave on the hour from 10am, the last at 4pm, the caves’ visit page says. You buy tickets at the ticket office on arrival for the next tour with space: £10 for adults aged 16 to 63, £8 for over-64s and £8 for children aged three to 15, with under-3s free. The caves open Wednesday to Sunday, on bank holidays except Christmas and New Year, and every day in the local school holidays. Children must be with someone aged 18 or over, and the caves say under-3s may find them “a little intimidating”. There is a fun facts sheet to download for children after the visit, and a café open 9am to 4pm. Caveside Close, Old Hill, BR7 5QX, near the Bickley Arms.

Biggin Hill Memorial Museum

The museum tells the story of RAF Biggin Hill, which it calls the most important airfield of the Battle of Britain, beside St George’s Chapel of Remembrance. Its visit page says the museum, chapel and Nightingale Café open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, from 1 November to 31 March. Tickets are £8.50 for an adult and £4.50 for a child (£9.35 and £4.60 with Gift Aid), with a family ticket at £21 for two adults and up to three children, and under-5s free. The ticket includes a Teddy Cooper activity pack for younger visitors, and the VR Spitfire Experience on the days it runs. You do not need to book. The café overlooks the airport runway. Main Road, Biggin Hill, TN16 3EJ.

High Elms Country Park, Farnborough

High Elms is 250 acres of woods and chalk meadow, once the Lubbock family’s estate and now a Site of Special Scientific Interest, says the council’s page. It is free. The High Elms Trail is about 3.5km, marked by 20 pale-blue posts, and can be muddy, with steps and some steep slopes. There are two car parks off High Elms Road, public toilets and baby changing, and the Green Roof Cafe at the BEECHE centre, which the council says opens 10am to 5pm on weekdays and 9.30am to 5pm at weekends. Two all-terrain Tramper wheelchairs can be booked through the rangers on 01689 862815, subject to staff. Shire Lane, Farnborough, BR6 7JH.

A short trip out

Horniman Museum and Gardens, Forest Hill

The museum and gardens are free. The aquarium (£2 to £16.80), the Butterfly House (£2 to £28.60) and Voyage to the Deep (£2 to £30) are paid, and booking ahead is recommended, the Horniman’s visit page says. Under-3s go free to the paid attractions but still need a booked time slot. The museum opens daily from 10am to 5.30pm, and the Butterfly House from 10.30am to 4pm. In the gardens there is the Kusuma Nature Play Area, with baby changing in the toilets nearby. The Nature Gallery and Nature Discovery Den are closed until 5 February 2027. Both bus stops outside are closed because of burst water mains, so walk up from Forest Hill station, five to ten minutes uphill. There is no car park beyond a few Blue Badge spaces. 100 London Road, SE23 3PQ.

Eltham Palace and Gardens, Eltham

English Heritage runs Eltham Palace, a medieval royal palace with a 1930s Art Deco house built beside its great hall. Its prices and opening times show the same ticket prices as Down House: £17 for an adult, £8.50 for a child aged five to 17 and £42.50 for a family, booked online the day before, or £20 and £10 on the gate, with under-5s free. It opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, until 1 November, then Saturdays and Sundays only until 20 December. It is open every day from 28 December to 3 January. Court Yard, Eltham, SE9 5NP. Call 020 8294 2548.

Hall Place and Gardens, Bexley

Hall Place is a house with nearly 500 years of history and gardens known for their topiary. Its own site says the gardens are free and open from 9am to 5.15pm in winter. The gate to the glasshouses and visitor centre closes at 4.30pm. Two paid attractions sit inside the grounds. The London Butterfly Gardens open daily (Monday to Friday 10am to 4.45pm, last entry 4pm). Jambs Owls Experience opens Friday to Sunday, and Wednesday to Sunday in the Bexley school holidays. The house itself opens only for pre-booked guided tours. The visitor centre and café open 9.30am to 4.30pm. Dogs, footballs, bikes and barbecues are not allowed in the grounds, apart from assistance dogs. Bourne Road, Bexley, DA5 1PQ.

Lullingstone Country Park, Eynsford

Kent County Council’s country park covers 460 acres of chalk grassland and ancient woodland, with four waymarked trails, a children’s play area, a trim trail, picnic tables and a visitor centre with a café and shop, its park pages say. Entry is free; parking is £2.50 a day on weekdays and £3.80 at weekends and bank holidays. The car park opens at 9am and is locked at 7pm or just after sunset, whichever is earlier. The café opens 10am to 4pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm at weekends, an hour earlier from 1 November to 31 March. Toilets are open whenever the park is. Eynsford station is 1.1 miles away. Castle Road, Eynsford, DA4 0JF.

Eagle Heights Wildlife Foundation, Eynsford

Eagle Heights is a wildlife centre with more than 30 species: birds of prey, meerkats, servals, rescued huskies and alpacas, its own site says. From October to March it opens Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 4pm, with a flying display at 12 noon, held in an undercover arena in bad weather. Admission is £16.95 for an adult, £12.95 for a child aged three to 14 and £14.95 for over-65s, with under-3s free. Short “mini experiences” can be booked on the day at weekends and in the holidays, and longer animal experiences, such as husky hikes, must be booked online. Parking is free. Lullingstone Lane, Eynsford, DA4 0JB, five minutes from Swanley interchange. Call 01322 866 577.

Worth the drive

Chartwell, Westerham

Chartwell was Winston Churchill’s family home, and the National Trust runs it. Its Chartwell page lists play areas in the woodland with a two-storey treehouse, swings, climbing and balance beams. The garden and studio ticket is £17 for an adult and £8.50 for a child aged five to 17. With the house it is £24 and £12. Under-5s and members go free. The house needs a timed ticket, and the rest can be bought on the day at the visitor centre. Parking is £6 a car. Dogs on short leads are welcome in the garden. On 28 October the garden opened 10am to 4pm. Christmas events run from 19 November to 3 January. Mapleton Road, Westerham, TN16 1PS.

Godstone Farm, Godstone

Godstone Farm is a children’s farm with animal handling, a reptile house, a dinosaur trail, bouncing pillows, an adventure playground, soft play and a sensory area, its own site says. Part of the outdoor playground is closed while equipment is upgraded, but the sandpits, swings, ziplines, jumping pillows and toboggan run stay open. It opens every day from 10am to 4.45pm except Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Prices are the same for adults and children aged two to 16: £16.95 off-peak and £19.95 at peak times booked online, or £2 more on the day, its prices page says. A one-year-old is £8.50 off-peak online. There is a £2 booking fee on each order. Tilburstow Hill Road, Godstone, RH9 8LX.

Hever Castle and Gardens, Edenbridge

William Waldorf Astor restored Hever Castle from 1903 and added its lake and Italian Garden, the castle’s site says. For children there is Tudor Towers, a nine-metre wooden play castle with a moat, drawbridge and three turrets. There is also a play area for younger children and the 100-year-old Yew Maze, open all year, the castle’s play and maze pages say. From 4 to 19 November it opens Wednesday to Sunday: grounds from 10.30am, the castle from 12pm. Booked online, castle and gardens is £25.50 for an adult, £14.05 for a child aged five to 17 and £66.60 for a family, with under-5s free, its prices page says. Christmas, from 20 November to 2 January, needs a separate ticket. Dogs on leads are allowed in the grounds but not the play areas or mazes. Hever, Edenbridge, TN8 7NG.

How we chose

These are the days out Bromley families search for. We chose them on the public record, not on taste. Each one had to publish its own prices, opening days and what there is for children, and each had to be open now. Places run by the council, English Heritage, the National Trust or Kent County Council were checked on those bodies’ own pages. A few places are not here. Crofton Roman Villa in Orpington is still closed for refurbishment. Bromley Council says visits are expected from late 2026. Lullingstone Roman Villa, next to Lullingstone Country Park, is free with a suggested £3 donation. English Heritage says its ruins can only be seen through a viewing window during conservation work, and warns people with mould allergies or respiratory illness to wait until the work is finished. Prices and hours are as published on 28 October 2026.

Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@bromleyonline.co.uk.

For rainy days, see our guide to soft play near Bromley. For more, see Bromley playgrounds, walks near Bromley, Bromley cafes, things to do in Bromley and what’s on in Bromley this month, and the businesses in our Bromley business directory.

Frequently asked questions

What free days out are there near Bromley for children?

Crystal Palace Park is free, including the restored dinosaur sculptures, the dinosaur playground and the park farm, which Capel Manor College opens from 12pm to 3.30pm every day except Wednesday. High Elms Country Park near Farnborough is free, as are the Horniman Museum and Gardens in Forest Hill and the gardens at Hall Place in Bexley. At Lullingstone Country Park near Eynsford you pay only for parking, £2.50 on a weekday and £3.80 at weekends.

Which days out near Bromley are open on winter weekdays?

The Horniman Museum, Godstone Farm, Crystal Palace Park (farm closed on Wednesdays), High Elms, Lullingstone Country Park and the Hall Place gardens open every day. Chislehurst Caves open Wednesday to Sunday and every day in the local school holidays, and Biggin Hill Memorial Museum opens Tuesday to Sunday. From 2 November, Down House and Eltham Palace open only at weekends until 20 December, and Eagle Heights opens Friday to Sunday until March.

Do under-5s go free?

At most of them, yes. Under-3s are free at Chislehurst Caves, Eagle Heights and the Horniman’s paid attractions. Under-5s are free at Down House, Eltham Palace, Hever Castle, Chartwell and Biggin Hill Memorial Museum. Godstone Farm charges £8.50 for a one-year-old booked online off-peak.