Summer Holiday Activities for the Rainy Day

It's a beautiful day in Eastbourne today and we hope to see the sun everyday. However, we do know that sometimes the sun can be a little shy and so he sends his friend, Rain Cloud out to greet people instead.

Rain Cloud isn't quite as friendly as Sun, so we've put together some great ways to escape him during his visits to Eastbourne this school holiday!

Summerdown Camp is a very fascinating exhibition currently on display at the Pavilion Tea Rooms on Royal Parade. Summerdown Camp was the largest WW1 convalescent camp of its kind, when it opened in Eastbourne one hundred years ago. The exhibition uncovers what life was like for the thousands of soldiers who recovered at the camp, and also for the women who took care of them and nursed them back to health. The exhibition is free, and children with a thirst for history will love it! Why not try a delicious cream tea whilst there?!

The Observatory Science Centre in Herstmonceux has some really fun and interesting workshops this Summer, to keep children's brains ticking whilst away from school. 'Colour Kaleidoscope' on 4 August, 'Captivating Chemistry' on 13 August and 'Be an Astronaut' on 18 August, are just a few of the many great workshops to chose from. Be quick though, they do book up fast!

The David Lloyd Leisure Centre in Eastbourne, is home to Lloyds Lanes; the prefect place for a game or two of tenpin bowling on a rainy day! It's very child friendly too, with bumpers to put up on the lanes for those that need a little help, as well as Laser Quest, pool tables and lots more entertainment and games!

Newly refurbished and re-opened Fort Fun on Eastbourne's seafront has a fabulous Indoor Soft Play, with ropes, swings, tunnels, slides, a designated toddler area and lots, lots more. So, when Rain Cloud comes to visit, head to Fort Fun for an afternoon of super fun soft play!

When it's not quite the weather to take a dip in the sea, one of Eastbourne's large leisure centres, the Sovereign Centre will help in keeping the children active and having a whale of a time for hours! With a fun pool complete with water flumes, a baby pool for the really little ones, a bubble pool and lots more, the Sovereign Centre makes for a great value family day out!

When Annie comes to the Congress Theatre from 10-15 August, it's the perfect time to introduce the kids to the most famous and lovable orphan from 1930's New York! With two matinee shows, on 13 and 15 August, the theatre is a great place to entertain children if Rain Cloud decides to come out to play. Children will love the classic songs from the show, 'It's a Hard-Knock Life', 'Tomorrow' and 'You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile', plus many more!

To find out lots more ways to keep your children occupied this Summer, whatever the weather, head to VisitEastbourne.com!

Eastbourne Extreme Speeds Into Town!

This weekend (18-19 July) Eastbourne Extreme, which is one of the biggest free extreme sporting events on the South Coast will return to Eastbourne's Eastern seafront. The two day event features many dazzling displays and demonstrations from some top land, sea and air extreme sports display teams!

The variety of extreme sports on offer at the event is incredibly diverse this year, with awsome displays from the World Slalom Series inline skating team, Zero Gravity freestyle mountain bike team and the MBE BMX team, along with a brand new bike tour of over 100 riders on retro 1980's BMX bikes!

The bike tour, which is run by Brighton Riders BMX, starts on Sunday morning (18 July) and ends at Eastbourne's Eastern seafront where the rest of the days action will begin. The festival is not only a site of amazing displays, but also a chance for visitors to safely try out some new sporting activities in safe hands and with tutored guidance!

A brand new feature of Eastbourne Extreme this year, sees amazing and inspiring athletes demonstrating human strength as part of the Calisthenics Federation World Cup. The incredible body-building athletes stop off in Eastbourne ahead of the World Cup final in Moscow at the end of the year!

There will be windsurfing and paddleboard action with tutored sessions and competitions run by Buzz Active RYA Centre (formerly Spray Watersports), taking place on Eastbourne beach.

Eastbourne's Bourne Bombshells will be challenging teams from all over the country in the only outdoor roller derby tournament in Europe, and the World Slalom Series will see freestyle skaters battle for the top spot in the hope of representing Great Britain in future championships.

Get your skates on and head to the extreme sport festival where they'll be a freestyle skate park takeover for practicing stunts and a packed-out programme of freestyle demos, roller hockey, street skating, roller disco and tuition for new skaters!

Visitors can expect all of this and more, plus live entertainment all weekend on the music stage at the beach! Find out the full details of Eastbourne Extreme, here! 

So Much to See and Do in Eastbourne this Summer Holidays!

Eastbourne is not only the UK's sunniest place, but it also has a whole host of activities to keep children entertained during the school summer holidays! With free activities like rock pooling or a picnic in one of Eastbourne's many parks, as well as Pirate School at the Redoubt Fortress and magic in the sky at Eastbourne's free air show, Airbourne, no child could possibly get bored in Eastbourne this summer!

Every Tuesday evening between 28 July and 1 September, Eastbourne's well-loved Bandstand is home to the rockin' Kids Party Nights, where children's entertainers such as 'AKA' and 'Frankie Says', blast out chart and musical favorites for children to sing and dance to. 

Whilst some of the popular tribute concerts this season are more familiar to older generations, there's one which will definitely have flocks of young girls (and boys too) heading in 'one direction' to Eastbourne Bandstand! One Direction tribute act will belt out 'What Makes You Beautiful', 'Live While We're Young' and other hit songs from the world-famous boy band, on Friday 21 August!

Regular school might be out, but Pirate School is in at the Redoubt Fortress! A drop-in style activity programme open every day from 23 July until 1 September, Pirate School allows your little scallywags to release their inner pirate! Dressing-up, dancing and singing the songs of the sea, walking the plank, digging for treasure and learning the lingo, are all ways in which children can 'graduate' from Pirate School this summer!

Little Treasures week from 24-30 August makes for unbeatable value for family fun at some of Eastbourne's best attractions! For just £99 for a family of four, a Little Treasures family pass includes two shows at the Royal Hippodrome Theatre, 'Treasure Island' and 'Hooray for Hollywood', entry to Pirate School at the Redoubt and entry to Treasure Island theme park!

For children wanting to learn many all-important life-saving skills, Tyro Lifeguard courses taught by Eastbourne's Lifeguards run throughout the school holidays! The courses for able-swimmers aged between 8 and 14 teach skills such as basic first aid, paddle board training and more!

'50 Things to Do Before You're 11 3/4 Explorer Week' from 25 July to 2 August provides adventurous children with the opportunity to try raft building, learn navigation skills and explore rock pools, in various courses run by the National Trust at Birling Gap!

Eastbourne's annual international air show, Airbourne is the perfect reason to make a flying visit to Eastbourne from 13-16 August, with a packed-out flying programme complete with a superb live music line-up that all the family can enjoy!

For more information on all the ways to keep children having fun on the Sunshine Coast this summer go to VisitEastbourne.com!