Days Out Near Dartford With Children, Checked October 2026

For a day out with children near Dartford, the free answer is Central Park and its Buccaneer Bay play park in the town centre. Beyond that, most families head up the Darent valley to Lullingstone Country Park and the birds of prey at Eagle Heights, or east to Shorne Woods and the warships at Chatham’s Historic Dockyard. 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 or its operator publishes: prices, opening days, what there is for children and the house rules. November is when many of them change pattern, so the winter hours are given wherever the venue lists them. Check the venue’s own page before you set off, especially in the school holidays.

In the borough

Central Park and Buccaneer Bay, Dartford

Dartford Borough Council’s main park, a few minutes’ walk from the High Street, is home to Buccaneer Bay, the pirate-themed play park the council describes as having separate areas for under-5s and over-5s, plus water play that runs in the summer months only. Around it are picnic benches, a wildflower meadow, a community orchard and a cafe and visitor centre serving breakfasts, snacks and main meals (01322 229949). Entry is free and nothing needs booking. Gates open at 6am; in November the council starts locking them from 5.45pm. Entrances off Market Street, Lowfield Street and Princes Road, DA1 1EU (Dartford Borough Council). The play equipment is set out in our Dartford playgrounds guide.

Hangloose Adventure, Bluewater

An outdoor adventure park in the old chalk quarry beside Bluewater, open all year. Its headline is the Skywire, which it bills as England’s longest zip line: 720 metres long, more than 100 metres up and up to 50mph. Riders must be at least 8 and weigh 35kg to 120kg, and anyone aged 16 or under needs an adult on site. Its price list gives the Skywire at £49.99, the giant swing at £34.99 and the Aerial Trek high ropes at £29.99, or £14.99 for the lower level, which is five metres up (minimum age 8, height 1.2m). The indoor skydive machine is £44.99 for children. A £3 booking fee applies to each order. The car park and lockers are free. Its October calendar showed opening at 10am and closing between 2pm and 4.30pm depending on the day. The Domes, Greenhithe, DA9 9SW (Hangloose, prices).

Up the Darent valley

Lullingstone Country Park, Eynsford

Kent County Council’s country park along the River Darent covers 460 acres of chalk grassland and ancient woodland, with four waymarked trails, a children’s play area, a trim trail and a visitor centre with a cafe. It is free to walk in. Parking is £2.50 a day on weekdays and £3.80 at weekends and bank holidays, and the car park opens at 9am and locks at 7pm or just after sunset, whichever comes first. KCC says the cafe opens 10am to 4pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm at weekends, and closes an hour earlier from 1 November to 31 March. Next door, English Heritage’s Lullingstone Roman Villa holds free open days from Thursday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, with a suggested £3 donation; the site is partly closed for conservation work, so read its notice before going. Castle Road, Eynsford, DA4 0JF (Kent County Council, English Heritage).

Eagle Heights Wildlife Foundation, Eynsford

A wildlife centre on the hill above Eynsford, home to birds of prey, meerkats, servals, rescued huskies and alpacas. From October to March it opens on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only, 11am to 4pm, with a flying display at 12 noon. Admission is £16.95 for adults, £12.95 for children aged 3 to 14 and £14.95 for over-65s; under-3s go free. During half term, from 23 October to 1 November, it runs short “mini sessions” on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, at an extra charge starting at £1.50. Parking is free. Lullingstone Lane, Eynsford, DA4 0JB; 01322 866577. It is five minutes from the Swanley interchange on the M25 (Eagle Heights).

Bexley and Eltham

Hall Place and Gardens, Bexley

A house with nearly 500 years of history, just over the borough boundary in Bexley, with award-winning gardens known for their topiary. Its own site says garden entry is free, and from October to March the gardens open 9am to 5.15pm. The gate through to the glasshouses and visitor centre shuts earlier, and the visitor centre, cafe and toilets open 9.30am to 4.30pm. The London Butterfly Gardens in the glasshouses charge separately. The house itself opens only for pre-booked guided tours. Dogs (apart from assistance dogs), bikes, footballs and barbecues are not allowed in the grounds, and the site asks visitors to keep away from the trees in very windy weather. Bourne Road, Bexley, DA5 1PQ (Hall Place).

Eltham Palace and Gardens, Eltham

English Heritage’s medieval royal palace has a 1930s Art Deco house built beside its great hall. Booked online by the day before, tickets are £17 for adults, £8.50 for children aged 5 to 17 and £42.50 for a family; on the gate they are £20 and £10. Under-5s go free. It opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, until 1 November, then at weekends only until 20 December, and every day from 28 December to 3 January. Court Yard, Eltham, SE9 5NP; 020 8294 2548 (English Heritage).

Gravesend and the Medway towns

Shorne Woods Country Park, Shorne

Kent County Council’s other big country park near Dartford covers 292 acres of woodland, wetland and meadow off the A2, with three adventure play areas, a trim trail, waymarked trails, fishing lakes and Tramper mobility scooters for hire. The visitor centre, opened in 2006, is built from local sweet chestnut. KCC lists the cafe as open 10am to 4pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm at weekends. Parking is £3.50 a day on weekdays and £4.60 at weekends and bank holidays, with a 2m height barrier; the car park opens at 9am and locks at 7pm or just after sunset. It is signposted from the Cobham and Shorne junction of the A2. Brewers Road, Shorne, DA12 3HX; 03000 41 47 47 (Kent County Council).

The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Eighty acres of the old Royal Navy dockyard, with three historic warships to go aboard (HMS Gannet, the destroyer HMS Cavalier and the Cold War submarine HM Submarine Ocelot), a working ropewalk, galleries and playgrounds. Booked online at least a day ahead, tickets are £29 for adults, £18.50 for children aged 4 to 15 and £78 for a family; on the door they are £32.50, £20.50 and £87. Children aged 3 and under go free, and every ticket is valid for a year. Mind the dates: it opens 10am to 4pm from 2 to 15 November, is shut on 9 and 10 November, and then closes for the winter until February 2027, apart from selected Mission Christmas dates. For sat navs it gives ME4 4TY; 01634 823800 (The Historic Dockyard, opening times).

Rochester Castle

The castle keep above the River Medway in Rochester. Visit Medway, the council’s own tourism site, lists it as open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, with last admission 45 minutes before closing, and closed on Mondays except some bank holidays. Prices listed are £9.50 for adults, £4.50 for children aged 5 to 17, £6.50 for concessions and £24.50 for a family of two adults and three children; English Heritage members and under-5s go free. A Halloween trail, Castle Crumb Snatchers, runs from 24 October to 1 November. Castle Hill, Rochester, ME1 1SW; 01634 335882 (Visit Medway).

Towards Sevenoaks and the Weald

Knole, Sevenoaks

The National Trust’s 600-year-old house sits in Kent’s last medieval deer park, which the Trust lists as open from dawn to dusk. The Outdoor and Tower ticket, covering the courtyards, the Gatehouse Tower and the car park, is £6 for adults, £3 for children aged 5 to 17 and £15 for a family; under-5s go free. The Trust asks everyone to pre-book, and the car park is only for ticket holders, with tickets released each Thursday for the next four weeks. The showrooms ticket is £19 for adults, but from 2 November only six showrooms stay open and the Trust says the price is reduced. Last entry to the tower and showrooms is 3.30pm. There are roadworks on the A225 at the entrance, and the Trust asks visitors to keep away from the deer. Sevenoaks, TN15 0RP; sat nav TN13 1HX (National Trust).

Chartwell, Westerham

Winston Churchill’s family home, run by the National Trust, has woodland play areas with a two-storey treehouse, swings, climbing and balance beams. The garden and studio ticket is £17 for adults and £8.50 for children aged 5 to 17, or £24 and £12 with the house; under-5s go free. The house needs a timed ticket, and parking is £6 a car. Dogs on short leads are welcome in the garden. On 28 October the garden was open 10am to 4pm, and Christmas events run from 19 November to 3 January. Mapleton Road, Westerham, TN16 1PS (National Trust).

Hever Castle and Gardens, Edenbridge

The castle William Waldorf Astor restored from 1903, adding its lake and Italian Garden, its own site says. For children there is Tudor Towers, a nine-metre wooden play castle with a moat and drawbridge, a play area for younger children and the century-old Yew Maze. From 4 to 19 November it opens Wednesday to Sunday, the grounds from 10.30am and the castle from 12pm. Booked online, castle and gardens costs £25.50 for adults, £14.05 for children aged 5 to 17 and £66.60 for a family; under-5s go free. Christmas at Hever, from 20 November to 2 January, needs a separate ticket. Dogs on leads are allowed in the grounds but not in the play areas or mazes. Hever, Edenbridge, TN8 7NG (Hever Castle).

How we chose

These are the days out Dartford families search for, within about half an hour’s drive. We picked them on the public record, not on taste: each had to publish its own prices, opening days and what there is for children, and each had to be open now. Places run by Dartford Borough Council, Kent County Council, Medway Council, English Heritage or the National Trust were checked on those bodies’ own pages. A few are not here. Lullingstone Castle’s World Garden closes for the season after 31 October. Diggerland at Strood publishes its opening dates only in a calendar we could not read, so check its site before going. Tilbury Fort across the river shows its prices only in a booking form. Indoor ideas for wet days are in our soft play guide. 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@dartfordonline.co.uk.

For more ideas, see things to do in Dartford, what’s on in Dartford this month, walks near Dartford and Dartford playgrounds. For somewhere to eat afterwards, try our guides to Dartford restaurants, Dartford pubs, brunch and Sunday roasts, or browse local businesses in Dartford in our directory.

Frequently asked questions

What free days out are there near Dartford?

Central Park in Dartford, with the Buccaneer Bay play park, costs nothing, and so do the gardens at Hall Place in Bexley. Lullingstone Country Park near Eynsford and Shorne Woods Country Park near Gravesend are free to walk in; you pay only for parking, £2.50 to £4.60 a day depending on the park and the day. Lullingstone Roman Villa has free open days from Thursday to Sunday with a suggested £3 donation, and Knole Park in Sevenoaks is open on foot from dawn to dusk.

Which days out near Dartford close for the winter?

The Historic Dockyard Chatham has its last day of the season on 15 November 2026 and reopens in February 2027, apart from selected Mission Christmas dates. Eltham Palace opens only at weekends from 2 November to 20 December. Eagle Heights opens Friday to Sunday only from October to March, and Lullingstone Castle’s World Garden closes after 31 October.

How old do children have to be for the Skywire zip line at Bluewater?

Hangloose Adventure says riders on the Skywire must be at least 8 years old and weigh between 35kg and 120kg, and anyone aged 16 or under needs an adult (18 or over) on site. A single ride is £49.99, plus a £3 booking fee per order.