Grasmere Sports, Cumbria
If the prospect of roller coasters or new-fangled activities (canyoning, anyone?) leaves you cold, introduce the family to some more traditional fun. Among the events on offer at the 161-year-old Grasmere games are wrestling, sheep dog displays and a family tug of war. Proper, wholesome fun! There's also a beer tent, so dads can drink a manly pint of ale while watching the terrier dog show.
• Adult £8.50, child 5-14 £2.50. The Showfield, Stock Lane, Grasmere, grasmeresportsandshow.co.uk, 26 August, 10am-5pm
Time Travellers Go … Gruesome, Salisbury
Disease, hideous punishments, nasty surgery – a good dose of ghoulishness awaits visitors to Old Wardour Castle in Wiltshire, a 14th-century luxury country pad. Once you've had enough of gruesome medieval practices you can wander the peaceful grounds or, if you have the stomach for it, picnic by the lake.
• Adult £4, children £2.40, English Heritage members free, 01747 870487, english-heritage.org.uk, 23 August, 11am-5pm
The Island Steam Show, Isle of Wight
There's more old-fashioned fun to be had at this steam railway festival – the 37th, no less. As well as traction engines (woo hoo!) and working steam demonstrations (yay!) there will be sheepdog shows, fairground rides and Mr Alexander's Travelling Show, featuring juggling, balancing, uni-cycling and lots more silly skills. What's not to like? As with most traditional days out, there will be real ale, and of course plenty of snacks for kids.
• Adult £14, child 5-15 £7, family £35. Havenstreet Station, iwsteamrailway.co.uk, 26-29 August, 10am-6pm
Canterbury Tales, Holkham Hall, Norfolk
This may sound a little too educational for anyone under 16, but threatre group Pantaloons promises its version of the Cantebury tales – an ambitious performance of all 23 Canterbury Tales with six actors playing more than 70 characters – will be fun, fun, fun. Expect puppetry, masks, music, farce, horror – even a bit of Shakespeare in the lovely setting of Holkham Hall's courtyard.
• Adult £11.50, child £8, book through Holkham ticket office, 01328 713111, Holkham Hall, near Wells-next-the-Sea, thepantaloons.co.uk/shows/tct2011.asp, 24 August, 6.15pm
Herne Bay Festival, Kent
Running over nine days, this community knees-up is packed with live music, street theatre, dancing, workshops, parades and lots of free fun. Take part in Herne Bay's Got Talent, go roller-skating, test your sandcastle-building skills or have a go at ballroom dancing.
• Free, hernebayfestival.com, 20-28 August, see website for times
Graffiti workshop, London
Got a budding Banksy in your family? Let them loose on Leake Street, a passage running under Waterloo Station, where they can spray to their heart's content at an organised workshop. It's part of a whole day of spray-painting with graffiti artists, creating works that will be judged by the folk at paint supply specialists Chrome & Black.
• Free, aerosolplanet.com, youth workshop open to under-12s, 20 August, 1-5pm, come early to avoid disappointment
Paddling Llandysul, Carmarthenshire
If your brood need to burn off some energy pack them off on a play day with Llandysul Paddlers. Until the end of August the club is offering all sorts of water-based activities from kayaking, river swims and canoe slalom coaching. There are also plenty of land-based activities including mountain biking and rock climbing for those who don't want to get wet. Though if this week's downpours are anything to go by, they will get a good soaking even if they are on dry land.
• 10 a day. The Wilkes Head Square, Pont Tyweli, 01559 363209, llandysul-paddlers.org.uk, 10am-4pm, call to book a place
Outdoor cinema, Manchester
This one really does depend on good weather. If the sun's shining you might want to hotfoot it down to Manchester's Spinningfields Centre for free family screenings of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (20 August) and Wall E (27 August)
• Free, Hardman Square, Spinningfields, screenfields.eventbrite.com, both films screened at 11am
Labyrinth show, Eden Project, Cornwall
Running until the end of the month, you can still catch the spectacular circus show, Labyrinth, by No Fit State. Aerial acrobatics, live music, dance against the backdrop of Eden's alien-like biodomes. Performances take place in three different locations so you can "walk" through the show – pick your route and watch beautiful displays of swinging trapeze, flying trapeze, cradle, strops, hula hoops, tightwire and Chinese pole.
• Adult £30, child £17.50, 01726 811972, edenproject.com/labyrinth-circus-cornwall, Until 29 August, Friday-Monday 6pm, Tuesday-Thursday 6pm
Young farmers, Chatsworth House, Derbyshire
Muck in on the Chatsworth House farm, helping the team care for the animals. Young Farmers day gives kids the chance to join handlers as they go about some of their daily duties, while Young Farmers Plus has added extras such as grooming, milking, taking animals out to the field and collecting eggs. These are one-off, and rather pricey, events but there are animal handling sessions every day, plus an adventure playground, water play and slides.
• chatsworth.org/whats-on/events/chatsworth-young-farmers, Young Farmers: 10.30-2.30pm, 30 August, child £21, adult £11. Young Farmers Plus 1-5.30pm, 25 August, £30 a head
