School holidays this summer are one long adventure thanks to great new activities like exploring a Gibbon Forest. Or maybe you prefer to picnic with Shakespeare or take a foodie break. Find your favourite moments for a summer visit to the National Forest & Beyond from this delightful dozen and download a Visitor Guide for many more!

1. New free-range family adventures

Make the school summer holidays one big, exciting, boredom-busting, energy-burning outdoors adventure thanks to lots of new activities:

Opening in July, the new High Ropes course at Conkers is a daredevil must with thrilling 70ft zip wire, while younger visitors can tackle the Low Ropes through ten different challenges. Re-wild the kids at Calke Explore! (11 July–6 September) as natural play installations transform the woodland: grubby knees are all part of climbing into a giant bird's nest or swinging on a log.

This year's ten-acre maize maze at the National Forest Adventure Farm is a fiendishly intricate design of a giant JCB digger that will have you puzzling your way around three miles of paths, viewing towers and bridges (11 July–6 September). And there's different play every day at Rosliston Forestry Centre, from the Out & Active Holiday Camp to drop-in archery.

2. Turn a safari into a family break

Imagine walking through an Asian rainforest, hearing gibbons calling and swinging overhead. From this summer you can immerse yourself in just such an exciting experience, with the opening of Gibbon Forest at Twycross Zoo. Follow paths through a four-moated islands complex and rise right into the heart of the gibbon habitat. Add to that the new Giraffe Savannahwith viewing platform to eyeball the world's tallest animals and you've got a full-blown safari underway.

And why stop there, when the whole family can Stay Play Explore with overnight accommodation and entry to three great attractions, including Twycross Zoo, at just £129 for four? Grab a family fun short break and explore Conkers and Snibston Discovery Museum too.

3. Celebrating country life

Rub shoulders with the farming world atAshby Show, Heather (12 July): now celebrating its 101st year, it's a traditional agricultural show par excellence with competitions for cattle, sheep and horses, and prize-winners' Grand Parade. Make a full day of it watching displays and grazing scrumptious food from hog roast to strawberries and cream. Be sure to save money on advance tickets.

The National Forest Wood Fair (31 August) at Beacon Hill Country Park offers further rural fun for all the family on Bank Holiday Monday. Catch lumberjack action and chainsaw carvers, have a go at eco art or hitch a ride on a tree lift. Book by 31 May and you will save 1/3 on your tickets.

4. Generation games

Father's Day, 21 June: time to show you care – and see if Dad's up for a challenge! Free his child within at Stoneywell, the Arts & Crafts woodland cottage hideaway in The National Forest at Ulverscroft: it was created for just such golden fun. Play games of bowls, discover family table tennis with a difference, laze over picnics and raid the laundry tearoom for cake. (Please book your visit in advance for this small but perfectly formed National Trust property.)

Alternatively, cheer Dad on at Conkers, Moira, at the first-ever Father's Day Triathlon Challenge (21 June). Go-kart racing, canoeing and bike riding – it's all included in the general entry fee to the 120-acre woodland adventure world and there are excellent prizes up for grabs.

5. Picnic with Shakespeare

Enjoy a picnic under the stars with family and friends while you are whisked away to the most magical of forests. Shakespeare'sA Midsummer Night's Dream is the original 'rom com', brought to life in the atmospheric ruins of Bradgate House (21 June). The evening of outdoors theatre, featuring a new musical score, beautiful period costumes, wistful lovers and playful fairies, is the perfect way to mark the solstice and beginning of summer.

Find more fabulous al fresco summer theatreat Bradgate  Park, Donington le Heath Manor House and Melbourne Hall.

6. Foodie breaks

Fancy a foodie escape? There are plenty on the menu around the Forest: try for starters Derbyshire Sausage & Cider Family Festival (4–5 July) at Catton Hall. Come for the day or enjoy a great value camping weekend – with mounds of gourmet sausages and real ales to sample, live music and a Children's Paradise Area, there's a feast of entertainment.

Catton Hall is also home to Seasoned Cookery School – check out the Malaysian and Thai Cuisine course on 7 July and maybe stay on after the festival. Other summer courses with an expert chef range from One Pot Wonders to Baking Showstoppers. How about a gourmet getaway that also includes a tour and tasting at nearby Sealwood Cottage Vineyard, Linton, relaxing afterwards over a bottle in comfy Sealwood Cottage or staying on the peaceful campsite. (Tour dates: 21 June, 19 July, 9 & 30 August, 13 September, 11 October.)

7. Marina life

Indulge in the laid-back marina lifestyle: sun glinting off water is enough to brighten any day and Mercia Marina at Willington, the largest inland marina in Europe, has 24 acres of mood-enhancing lake. Plus countryside walks and boat trips – spot wildlife as the water swishes beneath the hull – a boardwalk promenade of boutiques, relaxing sensory garden, bar and dining with fabulous waterside views. Get in buoyant mood too at Barton Marina, Barton under Needwood.

8. All that jazz... pop and folk

Shake out your jazz hands and fancy footwork as music festivals take summer in the Forest up tempo. The Burton Real Ale and Jazz Festival (17–18 July) gets things swinging with a brilliant weekend featuring eight great bands and a range of fantastic beers. Then Strawberry Fields Festival, Heather (7–8 August), provides a perfect storm of comedy, DJ sets and live and electronic music across five stages – come camping for the total experience.

Round off with ceilidh, concerts and singarounds, great food, real ales and local camping at Moira Furnace Folk Festival (14–16 August).

9. Bosworth and beyond

There's never been a more compelling time to visit the spectacular Battle of Bosworth re-enactment over the anniversary weekend (22–23 August). Now King Richard III's bones have been finally laid to rest, relive the fateful day in 1485 when he lost his crown and life to Henry Tudor, changing the course of history at a stroke. Colourful living history camps, falconry displays and guided walks evoke the times of this most enigmatic of kings. Book early online for discounts up to 30%.

Also this summer, Great Central Railway's 1940s wartime weekend (5–7 June) brings to life the roaring 40s, while Ashby de la Zouch Castle throws down the gauntlet with a dramatic Civil War Fighting Knights re-enactment including plenty to enthral children (25 & 26 July).

10. Get arty and crafty

The best thing about memories is making them: quite literally on The Mug Tug moored at Barton Marina, where you can paint-a-pot (over 250 different shapes) and explore a range of art mediums. The twice-weekly Krafty Kids Summer Holiday Craft Clubis the ideal way to keep fidgety fingers busy over those long weeks away from school. For more arty and crafty activities check out the Ferrers Centre and Paint a Pot Craft Studio at Staunton Harold.

For a late splash of summer colour and energy get on the Art & Architecture Trail (19–20 September) of Melbourne Festival of Creative and Performing Arts when over 70 doors open to reveal work by nearly 100 artists.

11. Walk away from the madding crowd

Sometimes, only a walk, nature, peace and quiet will do to refresh the spirits – with a welcoming pub or restaurant to refresh the body too. Find plenty of inspiration for gentle saunters and exhilarating escapes along theNational Forest Way.

Wander 'there and back again' across rolling farmland and through woodlands between the two pretty villages of Hartshorne and Ticknall,

for example: a jaunt of just under ten miles with plenty of time for lunch. Midway, Foremark Reservoir is a haven for wildlife including butterflies, while Carver's Rocks loom to the sky full of craggy beauty. Lunch in Ticknall at The Wheel Inn, or The Staff of Life where walkers are welcome 'muddy boots and all' and local walks might tempt you to stay the night. Or ramble back to Hartshorne to eat and sleep at The Mill Wheel Inn.

12. Naturally uplifting

Also enjoy those special moments of tranquillity at the National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, where over 300 memorials stand in harmony with 50,000 maturing trees, rivers, wildflower meadows and ponds. Honouring those who serve their country, it's a moving place of reflection; uplifting, too, as you wander trails through shady avenues of trees and maybe catch riverside glimpses of kingfishers. Picnic where the rivers Tame and Trent come together, share tea in the Arbour Restaurant or Pavilion Tea Room.

The National Memorial Arboretum is located at the start/finish of theNational Forest Way and admission is free.

Download a Visitor Guide for many more special moments to enjoy on a summer break in the National Forest & Beyond, including family accommodation and romantic getaways.

Ends

Media contact:  Carol Rowntree Jones, Media Relations Officer, National Forest Company, on 01283 551211; email: crowntreejones@nationalforest.org or Richard Drakeley, Tourism Development & Promotions Officer, 01283 551211 email: rdrakeley@nationalforest.org

For more information on The National Forest see www.nationalforest.org

Digital images are available. Contact media@nationalforest.org

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The National Forest & Beyond is a partnership of East Staffordshire Borough Council, North West Leicestershire District Council, South Derbyshire District Council and the National Forest Company, brought together to promote The National Forest and the surrounding area as a destination for short breaks and days visits.

The National Forest area covers 200 square miles of the counties of Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire.  Its objective is to increase woodland cover within its boundaries from an initial six per cent to about a third. No multi-purpose forest on this scale has been created in the UK for one thousand years. To date the proportion of woodland cover in the Forest has more than trebled to 19.8 per cent and in 2012 HRH the Duke of Cambridge planted the eight millionth tree in the Forest. 

Year by year, The National Forest has been steadily turning what was once one of the least wooded areas of England into a multi-purpose, sustainable forest.  The National Forest provides environmental, social and economic benefits, including landscape enhancement, creation of new wildlife habitats and major new access and leisure opportunities. It is an excellent example of sustainable development – with environmental improvement providing a stimulus both to economic regeneration and to community pride and activity.

To achieve these objectives, the National Forest Company leads the creation of The National Forest, working in partnership with landowners, local authorities, private business, voluntary organisations and local communities and has strong support from Government, politicians and the public.  The Company receives grant in aid from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The National Forest Company's Triennial Review by Central Government in 2013 stated: “Many [stakeholders] stressed the need for the continued role of the NFC to maintain momentum and ensure that the long term aims for The National Forest are achieved. The importance of a 'truly sustainable landscape scale project' was stressed, with the need for continued objectives across a wide agenda including economic growth, woodland culture and habitat networks.”

In 2008, the National Forest Company and partners won the inaugural Sustainable Development UK Award, for their work in Ashby Woulds, at the heart of The National Forest.