Start With the Free Bits

Somerset is wonderfully generous with free days out. Between the Levels, the Mendips, the Quantocks and the coast, you can fill an entire summer without buying a single ticket. The skill isn't finding things to do — it's building the day around the parts that cost nothing and treating anything paid as a small addition rather than the main event.

Think about where the money actually goes on a typical outing. It's rarely the attraction itself. It's the car park, the mid-morning coffee, the lunch nobody planned for, the ice cream on the way back, the inevitable "I'm bored" shop stop. Get those under control and a family day out can cost less than a takeaway.

A good habit is to pick one anchor for the day — a walk up to a viewpoint, a paddle at the beach, a wander round a market town — and then let everything else orbit around it. If you're heading somewhere like Glastonbury Tor or the Exmoor fringes, the walk is the day. The only real costs are parking and whatever you carry in with you.

Pack a Picnic That People Will Actually Eat

Feeding four out of the house can easily run to £40 or more, and that's before anyone asks for a second drink. A decent packed lunch solves most of it, but only if you pack things your family genuinely enjoys rather than an optimistic bag of apples.

• Fill a flask with hot water in the morning — it makes tea, squash or instant noodles later at almost no cost.
• Take refillable water bottles for everyone and top them up at public fountains or café toilets rather than buying bottles.
• Wrap rolls, pasties or wraps individually so they survive the rucksack and don't need handing round.
• Freeze a couple of cartons of juice overnight; they double as ice blocks and thaw by lunchtime.
• Bring a bin bag and wipes. Cleaning up as you go keeps everyone relaxed and saves the panic at the end of the day.

If you know the weather will be warm, eat the picnic early — around 11.30am — while everyone's still fresh and the wasps haven't clocked on.

Hunt Down Free Museums and Open Days

Plenty of Somerset's smaller museums, galleries and heritage rooms ask for nothing at all, or simply suggest a donation. Village museums, local history rooms, church heritage centres and county archives are often run by volunteers, quietly excellent, and wonderfully calm compared with bigger attractions. A look at your local library noticeboard or parish newsletter will turn up more than you'd expect.

Cathedrals and larger churches usually welcome visitors free of charge, though a donation is polite and much appreciated. Country parks, canal towpaths, nature reserves and long-distance footpaths are all free to use, with only parking to budget for. Libraries also run free craft sessions, story hours and reading challenges through the summer holidays — genuinely useful on a grey Tuesday.

Keep an eye out for open days and community festivals too. Many run between June and August and offer free entry, free activities and a chance to see places that are normally closed to the public.

Travel Off-Peak and Rethink the Car Park

Travel is where a cheap day out quietly becomes an expensive one. Off-peak fares, which usually begin after the morning rush, are noticeably cheaper than peak tickets, and travelling as a group on one ticket often works out better than buying singles. Family and two-person railcards pay for themselves surprisingly quickly if you're planning more than a couple of trips.

Buses are the underrated option. Day tickets and family tickets on local routes cost a fraction of a tank of fuel, and you arrive without the parking argument. Park-and-ride schemes are worth checking for town-centre days out, particularly in the busier summer weeks.

If you're driving, look at whether the car park offers a season or annual pass. If you visit the same coastal spot or country park regularly, it can pay for itself within three or four visits. Check the payment method in advance, too — some places are app-only now, and it's an unpleasant surprise to arrive without a signal.

Have a Wet-Weather Plan That Costs Nothing

Somerset summers are lovely right up until they aren't. Rather than letting a rainy morning derail the plan, keep a few no-cost indoor options in your back pocket: a library visit, a board game afternoon, baking together, an indoor picnic on the living room floor, or a slow drive to a town you've never properly explored with a flask in the boot.

Going out earlier also helps. Arriving somewhere at 9.30am means better parking, quieter paths and a good chance of being home before the afternoon shower. Build the day around the forecast rather than fighting it.

Keep the Treats Small and Predictable

None of this means saying no to everything. Children remember the ice cream far longer than they remember the price of it. The trick is to set a modest spending limit before you leave — a few pounds each, in cash, spent on whatever they choose — and then stop.

Buying treats from a shop on the way rather than a kiosk at the destination usually halves the cost. One paid treat per outing is plenty. And if you make free days out the norm rather than the exception, the occasional bigger trip feels like a genuine event — which, in the end, is what everyone actually wanted in the first place.