Free Days Out

A holiday to Weston-super-Mare doesn’t need to break the bank. Several of the town’s biggest events are free of charge!

Events

The two-day airshow, regarded by many as the jewel in the crown in Weston’s event calendar, is a totally free spectacular enjoyed by around 100,000 people each year. This year’s event, on June 23 and 24, 2018 features the Red Arrows on both days and it won’t cost you a penny to watch it.The town’s annual carnival is another free spectacular where thousands of people from all over the country line the streets to watch scores of illuminated floats pass by.

There’s even the National Refuse Championships, where binmen race each other up and down the promenade in a series of whacky races.But as well as the big blockbuster events there are regular car shows and free family events along with plenty of things you can enjoy for free most days whenever you visit.

Weston-super-Mare Beach

The beach, with its miles of sand, is the most obvious choice and it comes complete with volleyball courts that are free to use. The north end of the beach includes the Marine Lake where people can swim and paddle in a safe man made cove where the tide is always in!

Walks

Weston-super-Mare is the gateway to the South West and it offers some fabulous walking. The Mendip Hills have some of the region’s best rambles and ambles for the super-strenuous and the strollers, while the coastline offers a surprising variety of walks. Weston’s promenade is forever popular and a wheelchair friendly meander where you can join roller bladers and strollers as you walk past many of the town’s landmarks. Just a stone’s throw away there are numerous picturesque walks at Uphill and Sand Bay. Meanwhile, only a short drive away from Weston, is the jaw dropping Cheddar Gorge. For more details on walking visit our walks section.

The Brean Down Way is both a walking and a cycling route which starts from the Grand Pier in Weston town centre. It’s an eight-mile route taking you out through nature reserves and onto Brean Down. At the tip of the Brean Down peninsula is Palmerston Fort which is another free attraction. The nearby Strawberry Line offers cyclists another good largely off road alternative.

Street Art

Teenagers particularly may enjoy a town centre walk with a difference taking in the works of Weston-super-Mare's street artist JPS. It is a mostly flat walk of around two miles. Maps can be downloaded here or collected from the Visitor Information Centre at the Tropicana.

Museums

The Weston Museum is another great freebie. Visitors can try on old-style clothes, they can even don a swimming cap like the one worn by the town’s four-time Olympic gold medal swimmer Paulo Radmilovic or the hat worn by Beatrice Page who became the first female tram driver in the country when she stepped up to the plate in the war years. Alternatively, you can sit back and watch the old television newsreels of Weston in days gone by or experience Victorian pier life by having a go on some of the original arcade games.

There’s bound to be something to interest you; whether it’s the old-fashioned Victorian bathing suits or the original onesie – an all in one siren suit – which was designed to be easily slipped on in case of an air raid.

With easy to digest captions, visitors will be able to turn back the clock and explore North Somerset through the ages. Visitors can discover how Weston developed from a small fishing village to a thriving Victorian seaside town and sample Victorian life by visiting the adjoining Clara’s Cottage.

The town’s Lambretta Museum is another free attraction, although donations are appreciated. It pays homage to the famous scooter and houses more than 60 of them. It’s a private collection and visitor times reflect this but if you’re a scooter fan wanting a ride down Nostalgia Lane then it is well worth a visit, although phoning first is advisable.

Parks and Gardens

Jill’s Garden is another stop-off where you won’t find any pressure on your purse strings. Situated in Grove Park it is a garden created by the BBC Television’s Ground Force team in memory of Weston’s favourite daughter and the former golden girl of the BBC, Jill Dando.

Meanwhile, Grove Park itself with, its scented garden and also its bugs and butterfly hotel, stages several free events throughout the summer including regular Sunday bandstand concerts, classic car shows and other free events.

The Prince Consort Garden which overlooks the disused Birnbeck Pier is another quiet retreat with ponds, a rockery and lawns while the Beach Lawns hold a variety of events throughout the year, many of which are free.

Bird Watching

Bird lovers flock to Somerset to take advantage of some of the country’s best birdwatching. There are two nature reserves on the edge of town at the Uphill end. The county also plays host to a real wildlife spectacular as well from October until March.

The starling murmurations, which are perhaps best viewed from the Ham Wall Nature Reserve, in the heart of Avalon Marshes, are an awesome wildlife spectacle where huge flocks of the birds gather together to fly in formation before roosting in the reed beds.