Up in York, meanwhile, the entire city has become an outdoor gallery, with full-size facsimiles of 49 masterpieces - from Caravaggio to Constable - adorning the streets and squares. Download a tour at www.thegrandtourinyork.org.uk or call 01904 687687 for more details.

5 GO FOR GOLD

The Olympics needn’t just be on television. Cardiff’s whizz-bang technology centre, Techniquest, is staging its Science of Sport show on the waterfront until September 7, with loads of healthy, hands-on opportunities to stage a family mini Games of your own. Can you ski faster than mum? Kick a football harder than dad? Every activity’s an experiment, and the outdoor stuff is free (02920 475475, www.techniquest.org ).

6 GIVE IT SOME WELLY

The 80 best days out in the UK

It's been a great year for days out, but now half-term is over, we're winding down our listings. Come back next spring for some fresh ideas

• The UK's 30 best places for autumn colour

Britain's great steam days out

More and more steam trains are going back into service on mainline tracks as demand grows

BACKGROUND

• Britain's top 10 days out with disabled access

• Five perfect minibreaks in Britain

• Britain's 10 coolest seaside restaurants

• Britain's 10 best pubs with gardens

• Britain's 10 best dog-friendly beaches

It’s not just the ducks that are paddling down at the Slimbridge Wetland Centre, in Gloucestershire, this summer - you can, too. The new Welly Boot Land is a meandering water channel where kids are encouraged to dabble and dam to their heart’s content (a change of clothes is recommended). Elsewhere on the reserve, take a summer Land Rover safari and meet Carlos and Fernando, Slimbridge’s same-sex pair of flamingos who raised a chick together. It’s open daily and costs £7.95, children £4.35, under4s free (01453 891900, www.wwt.org.uk ).

For similarly squelchy fun, join next Sunday’s “mud safari” at the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s family fun day at the Montrose Basin reserve, on the northeast coast of Scotland. The safari costs £2 per person; adults pay £3.50 for admission (01674 676336, www.swt.org.uk ).

7 PLUCK A DUCK

It looks like being the maddest race of the summer: a quarter of a million rubber ducks will be launched into the river, then battle it out over a half-mile stretch of the Thames near Hampton Court. You’ll pay £2 to sponsor your own little quacker, and the aim is to raise cash for charity and break the world record for the largest duck race. Splashdown is at 1.30pm on August 31, with family entertainment on tap (01691 680468, www.thegreatbritishduckrace.co.uk ).

Some people doubtless prefer piglet racing. That happens daily at 4pm at Easton Farm Park, in Suffolk, and costs £6.50, children £5 (01728 746475, www.eastonfarmpark.co.uk ).

8 PICK YOUR PICNIC

Outdoor nosh tastes so much better if you’ve harvested it yourself. At Parkside Farm, in Enfield, on the doorstep of north London, you can challenge your family to find the fattest strawberry, plum or tomato, then make for nearby Trent Park for a super-fresh feed. Minimum purchase is £1.50 per person (020 8367 2035, www.parksidefarmpyo.co.uk ).

For a more feral forage, join the berry-collecting outing and picnic with Highland Council Countryside Rangers at Grantown-on-Spey, Highland, this Saturday. It starts at 11am and costs £5 (01479 873914, www.cairngorms.co.uk ).

Times recommends

• Overlanding then and now
• Live Q&A: ski fitness and injury
• Get the right payment card and deny Ryanair its hefty fee