Easter trails and egg hunts are a great way to get children active at a time of year when they’re usually guzzling chocolate on the sofa. Head down to one of these events and make your children work for their sweet rewards: these family-friendly walks, hunts for chocolate eggs and bunnies, and Easter parades will all work up an appetite.

DEVON

Pull on your wellies, grab the dog, and head to Haldon Forest Park for an Easter trek through the forests of Devon. Follow the clues to find the wooden Easter eggs hidden in the undergrowth and solve the puzzle to claim your prize from the ranger. Also, check out the play trail: an all-ability trail with traditional play features for more Easter fun.

Where Haldon Forest Park
When April 6 to 9
Cost £2 per clue sheet (available from the ranger)
Contact 01392 834251
Getting there Turn off the A38 at Exeter racecourse and follow the signs for Haldon Forest Park.

MERSEYSIDE

For a chocolate-free afternoon head to Speke Hall, where an Easter bonnet workshop, with the resulting creations proudly displayed in the grand parade, will take place this year.

You can also add on a family walk along The Bund, a near-by high bank, offering magnificent, panoramic views of the Mersey basin and leading into local woodland.

Where Speke Hall
When April 8 to 9
Cost Adults £6.70; kids £3.70
Contact 08457 585702; nationaltrust.org.uk
Getting there A5300, on the north bank of the Mersey, just off the A561 near Liverpool airport

WILTSHIRE

A special Easter walking trail for families leads around the medieval cloisters and woodland gardens of Lacock Abbey. Find all the clues and decipher the password and you’ll receive an Easter egg for your hard work. As part of its Easter celebrations, Lacock is also hosting a circus day on April 1 where you can learn to juggle and try your hand at other circus skills.

Where Lacock Abbey
When Easter walk, April 9, 11am to 4pm; Circus skills, April 1, 11am to 4pm
Cost Entry adults £8.30, children £4.10; Easter walk £1 per person; circus skills free
Contact 01249 730459, nationaltrust.org.uk
Getting there 3 miles south of Chippenham. Get off the M4 at exit 17, signposted to Chippenham (A350). Follow signs for Lacock, which lead directly to the main car park.

PETERBOROUGH

Drop in on the Easter bunny at Sacrewell Farm, where children can learn how to care for newly hatched chicks and bottle-feed the first lambs of the season. Head off to the enchanted wood for a spring stroll and discover where our floppy-eared friend has hidden his clutch of Easter eggs, or tackle one of the longer walks around the local countryside.

Where Sacrewell Farm
When March 24 to April 9
Cost Adults £5.50; children £4; under3s free
Contact 01780 782254; www.sacrewell.org.uk
Getting there Take the A47 Peterborough to Leicester road, the farm is where the A47 crosses the A1 at Wansford.

ABERDEEN

Creative pursuits at Drum Castle, including making bonnets, and Easter posies and painting eggs, are perfect for keeping idle hands busy. Outside in the castle grounds join in the Golden Egg treasure hunt and burn excess Easter calories with a family walk around the Old Wood of Drum, a national site of special scientific interest.

Where Drum Castle
When April 8; 12.30 to 4.30pm
Costs Adults £8, children £5. Some activities cost 50p
Contact 01330 811204; www.drum-castle.org.uk
Getting there On the A93, 3 miles west of Peterculter, 10 miles west of Aberdeen.

CARMARTHENSHIRE

Why settle for the meagre offerings of the Easter bunny when you can find a dragon’s egg at Dinefwr Castle? Follow the Easter trail through the castle’s parks to reveal the history of the Welsh dragon, culminating with a trip to a dragon’s nest. A number of other scenic walks take in the deer park and the wooded boardwalk is suitable for buggies.

Where Dinefwr Castle
When April 8 to 9
Cost Adults £5.45, children £2.72, plus £1.50 per child for the dragon-egg hunt
Contact 01558 823902; nationaltrust.org.uk
Getting there On the A40 west of Llandeilo. Access to the castle is through the park.

SURREY

The Easter bunny and his extended family will be on the loose at Kew Gardens this year leading young explorers along the spring trail to an animal farm and Easter egg hunt. For older children the habitat trail, which takes about two hours to complete, takes you to some of the wilder areas of the gardens and introduces the animals that live there.

Where Kew Gardens
When March 31 to April 15
Cost Admission for adults £9; children free
Activities Free for children. The habitat trail is suitable for children aged 7 to 11, parents welcome
Contact 020-8332 5655; www.rbgkew.org
Getting there District Line to Kew Gardens station, then a short signposted walk.

KENT

The romantic, flower-filled gardens at Scotney Castle are the perfect start to a spring stroll, with walks leading through parkland, woodland and a local hop farm. The Easter bunny has also left a trail around the garden, and the castle has opened additional rooms to the public this year.

Where Scotney Castle
When April 4 to 9; 11am to 5pm
Cost Adults £5; children £2.99, plus £2 for activities
Contact 01892 893868; nationaltrust.org.uk
Getting there It is 1 mile south of Lamberhurst, just off the A21

To find details of more Easter egg hunts in your area visit www.soilassociation.org and click on Easter eggs or log on to www.nationaltrust.org.uk and click on events Additional research: MELANIE OETTING

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