It’s hard to remember what children did for fun in those dark, godless days before the Xbox arrived, but I have a vague, sepia memory of forest walks and rock pools, ponds and plastic nets, badger-watches, I-spy check lists, nature trails — of hedgehogs not called Sonic. It’s possible that too much Johnny Morris has gone to my head, but didn’t wildlife used to be cool? The good news, if you’re keen to prise your children away from the telly and into the great outdoors this summer, is that it still can be. Street Fighter III might be all well and good for a rainy afternoon, but nothing stirs their little souls like the call of the wild. Badgers are still wicked, puffins still rock, and even lowly bugs hold a strange fascination for mischievous young minds.

So sort out some sandwiches, pack their macs and choose from our list of the most gripping wildlife encounters on the British map, from otter-spotting in Northumberland to worm-watching in Sussex.

BUGS IN EAST SUSSEX

Why? Earwigs, earthworms, slugs and snails ... not exactly the Who’s Who of British wildlife, but for some reason, kids just love them. On a bug hunt at Wilderness Wood, 60 acres of creepy-crawly heaven outside Uckfield, your budding entomologists will go after the full gamut of Sussex woodland insects.

Wilderness Wood also offers rufty-tufty forest survival courses, where they’ll get to build their own shelter, then kip down in it; and nights out in the wild looking for glow-worms, owls and moths. A love of camp-fire songs and roasted marshmallows is obligatory; nyctophobes need not apply.

Child-friendliness: 9/10 — it’s just like I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, but without the childish egos.

The details: bug hunts cost £4.80 (£3 for adults); survival courses £6.25 (ages 8-13); and nights in the wild £14 for adults and £10 for 8- to 15-year-olds, who must be accompanied. Contact Wilderness Wood (01825 830509, www.wildernesswood.co.uk.

Where to stay: Boship Farm Hotel (0808 144 9494, www.boshipfarmhotel.co.uk, eight miles from Uckfield, has an outdoor pool, a tennis court, and individually decorated doubles from £106, half-board.

BATS IN LONDON

Why? It’s the vampire thing, and that spooky ultrasonic silence. Throw in the chance for your mini Attenboroughs to handle their own bat detector, and the guided walks at the London Wetland Centre in Barnes will have them dusting off their binoculars faster than you can say “To the Batmobile”.

Better still, pack them off on one of the centre’s sleepover sessions for kids — you’ll get a lie-in, they’ll get a dawn chorus of warblers, robins and blackbirds, plus all the tawny owls and pipistrelles their wildlife check lists can number.

Child-friendliness: 9/10 — late nights, superhero theming, what’s not to like?

The details: bat walks every Thursday evening between July 22 and September 14, £6.50; sleepovers for ages 8-14 on July 28 and August 4 and 25, £45. Contact London Wetland Centre (020 8409 4400, www.wwt.org.uk

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