Physical activities for families


We encourage families to be active together.

Research from Sport England tells us that families play a key role in shaping children’s attitudes and behaviours towards physical activity and sport. This is especially true of parents and carers.

We provide informal opportunities for physical activity and sport on Cambridge’s many parks and in leisure facilities.

There are also plenty of other organisations providing sport and leisure activities that families can use together.

Active family summer events

Join us for a series of free ‘active family’ events during the summer holidays! These exciting sessions offer a fantastic chance for families to enjoy sports and activities together.

Bring your family and friends along for a fun-filled day of games, fitness, and discovery. There’s something for everyone, regardless of age or ability!

There will be a fantastic range of structured activities led by local clubs. These will include archery, bouldering, crazy golf, dance sessions, football, orienteering, short tennis and much more. And in the family fun zone you can grab equipment such as a skipping rope, space hopper or hula hoop.

We’ll also have an on-the-day activity challenge with prizes to win, and helpful info about local ways to stay active year-round.

All events run from 10am to 2pm on the following Tuesdays:

  • Tuesday 29 July on Coldham’s Common
  • Tuesday 5 August on Trumpington recreation ground
  • Tuesday 12 August on St Albans recreation ground
  • Tuesday 19 August on Coleridge recreation ground

Bring comfortable clothing and shoes, plenty of drinks and snacks, and a picnic blanket to relax on in the sun!

More summer activities

The Active Family events are part of our fun-filled and free summer events programme, which also includes music, dance and more sport and activity.

We have also provided Summer Activity Grants to support local organisations to provide more free family-friendly physical activity opportunities. The grant-funded activities include:

  • nutrition workshops for families, delievered by Proformance
  • city walks for neurodivergent families, delivered by Expeditions for Everyone
  • multi-sports sessions at NCA, delivered by Phil Mullen Coaching
  • a family football tournament, delivered by Kinnerz Coaching
  • weekly ‘come and try’ sessions, delivered by Cambridge Gymnastics
  • climbing and laser tag for low-income families, delivered by Clip ’n Climb
  • local sports activities for local residents, delivered by Queen Edith’s Community Forum
  • weekly outdoor play in city green spaces, delivered by Woodcraft Folk
  • family martial arts sessions, delivered by Pencak Silat
  • foraging walks at Milton Country Park, delivered by Earth and Mind
  • swimming lessons, delivered by GLL
  • dance, yoga, and mindfulness, delivered by Stardust Dance Academy
  • enjoy learning different styles of dance, delivered by Summer Dance
  • fishing at Milton Country Park, delivered by Everybody Can Fish
  • fitness and games, delivered by Victoria Quirke Fitness
  • nature sessions for low-income families (‘wellies in the woods’), delivered by the Red Hen Project
  • ‘Freebie Fridays’ with a variety of summer activities, delivered by Cambridge Sports Lakes

Check our summer events page for full details of what’s on when and how to reserve your place on an activity.

Families Moving courses

All these activity courses are facilitated by qualified coaches, and we encourage all members of the family to take part together. They are funded by the county council.

Visit Bookwhen to find out more about these courses and to book your place. Minimum booking is 1 adult and 1 child, and you must attend all course dates.

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to receive regular updates about upcoming Families Moving Courses.

Love Exploring Adventure Trails

Take a visit to Cherry Hinton Hall, Coldham's Common, Jesus Green, Lamas Land/Sheeps Green, The Pulley (Kings Hedges) and Trumpington Meadows Country Park. To discover a number of different adventure trails through the new augmented reality app, Love Exploring.

As well as augmented trails with dinosaurs, tree fairies and planets, mini beasts are also now available.

Love Exploring appYou’ll need to download the free Love Exploring app to your phone and search for Cambridge – then be amazed as dinosaurs, planets or fairies appear in front of you!

There is also a tree trail, a mindfulness trail and a sensory trail to choose from too at Cherry Hinton Hall.

All of the trails are suitable for anybody aged 4 to 104, and you can enjoy them at any time.

Other family activities

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