John Gay: Blackpool 1949. See this exhibition of seasiders in the 1940s at the Grundy Gallery in Blackpool until September 16. © English Heritage National Monuments Record.

The sky is blue, it’s shorts weather and the kids will soon be off school so it’s the perfect opportunity to enjoy some of the UK’s fantastic heritage.

Here’s the 24 Hour Museum’s guide to some of the things on offer during the summer holidays, grouped into categories with helpful links to museums and heritage organisations where you can find out more.

Lay Siege To A Castle

Take A Stroll In A Garden

Explore The Past With A Re-enactment

Discover Ancient Britain

TRY YOUR HAND AT ARCHAEOLOGY

Time Team certainly turned a lot of people on to archaeology, but you don’t have to wait for Tony Robinson and the crew to turn up in your neighbourhood to get a piece of unearthing action. Digs are always going on all over the country, and there are often days when the public can come and have a go, too.

The summer holidays kick off with National Archaeology Week, with simply tons of stuff going on everywhere until the end of July – read our story, or go straight to the Council for British Archaeology’s comprehensive listings to find out what’s on near you.

The Young Archaeologists Club (YAC) is also a goldmine for excavating activities – for example, the Fairfield Project in Somerset wants 13-15-year-olds to help out with a dig between July 26 and August 3. Youngsters will learn loads of techniques like landscape surveying and artefact collecting, while uncovering the vanished village of Fairfield – find out how to get involved here

Maybe you’ve found an old piece of pottery or an ancient coin by yourself – how do you find out whether it really is from the Iron Age or if it’s a rare Tudor artefact? Museums often have ‘finds days’ when you can turn up with your object and have it examined by an expert, who will also record it on a national database.

Wycombe Museum, Bucks, is holding such a day on August 5 from 2-4pm, Bayham Abbey in Kent on August 6, and Pevensey Castle, East Sussex, on August 20.

To see the database of finds that ordinary people have uncovered, get on to Pastexplorers or the Portable Antiquities Scheme website, www.finds.org.uk.

LAY SIEGE TO A CASTLE

Some are but ruins, others are so intact that people still live in them. Some have even been dismantled and the stones used to build new houses (eg Scotney Castle, Kent)!

Whatever your favourite kind of castle – one with ducks swimming in a moat, one with a thousand steps to climb up a Norman tower, or one with a grisly history, they make for a great day out.

The 24 Hour Museum castles trail has plenty of photos of and information about Britain's castles and forts, great and small, to whet your appetite. Or you could follow the trail of King Arthur from Tintagel to Pendragon Castle, to explore all of our castles that have at some time been touched by the myth of Arthur.

Some of Britain’s most famous Castles are explored in our Britain's Finest Castles Trail, which was developed for a History Channel prgramme and if you still don't find what your looking for, you can search the 24 Hour Museum database (input 'castle') to turn up your nearest castle, or events at castles.

Speaking of which – you can meet pirates and smugglers at Pendennis Castle, Cornwall from August 1-3, spot dinosaurs at Pickering Castle, North Yorkshire on August 6 and learn juggling with a jester at Corfe Castle, Dorset on July 30.

Many castles in England are looked after by English Heritage, and the National Trust has quite a few, too. Both websites have excellent search facilities

HOP ON A HISTORIC RAILWAY

Dad will be up for this one… There are miles and miles of railway in this country which no intercity express ever shoots along. Instead, these old lines are kept alive with trains from the early days of rail travel, the ones that run on coal and steam and make that satisfying choo-choo sound, and still have slam doors.

You can travel back to this golden age at Porthmadog’s Ffestiniog Railway in Wales, where trains run daily through the gorgeous scenery of Snowdonia National Park. The preserved North Yorkshire Moors Railway also passes through some stunning landscapes, while Leighton Buzzard Railway was built in 1919 for industrial use, and now carries passengers.

Darlington Railway Centre and Museum incorporates the birthplace of passenger rail. The Stockton & Darlington Railway was the world's first steam-worked public railway, built in 1825, and you can ride on a piece of this history at Locomotion: The National Railway Museum at Shildon, Durham, every Sunday in August 2006.

It was here that George Stephenson and Timothy Hackworth launched the first passenger steam train. Now the site is packed with child-friendly interactives.

Watch out for a forthcoming 24 Hour Museum Heritage Railways trail for more railway ideas, or learn about the man behind the Great Western Railway in our IK Brunel trail.

You may also wish to look at the UK Heritage Railways Association website, which includes a comprehensive map listing of the many heritage railways open to the public in the UK.

TAKE A STROLL IN A GARDEN

There’s nothing like an English country garden – the scent of roses, tall hollyhocks before a thatched cottage, a soft, lush lawn and a pond full of tadpoles... Fortunately, you can find these idylls in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, too.

For example, Powis Castle’s garden in Wales features in the 24 Hour Museum trail Britain’s Finest Gardens (disclaimer: this was tied into a television series which picked the ‘finest’ – there are lots of other very fine gardens!) The breathtaking grounds of Powis Castle are probably the closest you’ll get to an Italian Renaissance terraced garden in the UK.

The tranquil sound of a waterfall features in Geilston Garden, Dumbarton, Scotland, which has packed herbaceous borders in a walled garden as well as woodland paths. The National Trust for Scotland looks after Geilston – search its website for some more excellent places to visit in the country.

The National Trust maintains myriad gardens where you can retreat from the hustle and bustle. At Rowallane Garden, Saintfield, County Down, visitors can unwind in the informal planting from around the world, or wander through a wildflower meadow.

For a botanically educational experience, take children to Kew near Richmond, the Botanic Garden of Wales or Edinburgh Royal Botanic Garden.

On the August Bank Holiday (26, 27, 28), Wales’ Botanic Garden is holding special events including fire engine rides. At the Edinburgh garden, storytelling sessions for ages 6 and up are running throughout July and August (daily at 2pm and 3.15pm) with tales of one of the most biologically diverse and mysterious island chains in the world, Soqotra.

VISIT AN OPEN AIR MUSEUM

Going to a museum doesn’t have to mean leaving the sunshine at the gate – there’s a wealth of open air museums in the UK where you can enjoy heritage with the breeze in your hair.

At Blists Hill Victorian Town near Telford, Shropshire, you can promenade through streets recreated as they would have been 150 years ago, chat to the costumed locals and buy some sweets from an old-fashioned sweetshop. Don’t forget to get hold of some Victorian money in the bank first. In summer, visitors can ride on a horse-drawn cart through the fairground, and see the iron foundry in action.

Beamish, the North of England Open Air Museum (between Newcastle and Durham), also takes visitors back to the 1800s and early 20th century. Explore the 1825 manor, and go to the dentist in the 1913 town! For a vintage experience, take a restored tram ride between the different parts of the site, and check event listings on the 24 Hour Museum for everything going on at Beamish this summer, from quilting to clog dancing.

Both the Chiltern Open Air Museum and the Sussex Weald and Downland Open Air Museum have lots of rescued historical buildings –houses from centuries gone by that have been brought to the museums and preserved. Here, you can learn about building techniques of the past, enjoy the beautiful country settings, get involved in craft activities or immerse yourself in one of the special themed weekends.

It’s Medieval Pageant time on August 12 and 13 at the Chiltern museum and life on the Home Front over the 1940s weekend on August 19-20. Wednesdays are country craft days for children at the Weald and Downland Museum, until the end of August.

EXPLORE THE PAST WITH A RE-ENACTMENT

Men in tights, women in wimples, soldiers with muskets and knights in armour - summer sees historical locations really liven up with these sorts of characters let loose.

At West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village in Suffolk, Edith and Edmund will portray the life of a Dark Age couple on August 5 and 6, demonstrating everyday tasks and skills. Some wealthy Saxons from the 6th century will pay a visit on August 12 and 13, with servants and a monk in tow, while living history group Ancients Alive will celebrate the Harvest with feasting Anglo-Saxon style on August 19-20.

An English Heritage Knights’ Tournament descends on Scarborough Castle on July 29 and 30 – be sure to stay at a safe distance while Sir John Babbington and his cohorts joust! The tournament is on tour throughout the holidays, so check out www.English-heritage.org.uk/knights to find out where the action is, pick a team to support and download a banner to wave.

English Heritage has also organised the incredible Festival of History, which will include a huge number of events at Kelmarsh Hall, Northamptonshire, on August 12 and 13. A World War I airshow, a Viking battle and a jester who’s jigged all the way from Bristol (really!) are a few of the treats in store.

Peterkin the jester began his journey on July 12, and you can check his progress on the Festival of History wesbite. What’s more, if you have your picture taken with Peterkin while he’s on his way to Kelmarsh, you could win tickets to the festival. Click here for details of how to enter the competition.

Want to get some historical clobber on yourself? The whole family can try some Tudor pursuits at the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth, and try on the clothes, too! The activities run daily between 11am and 12pm then 2pm-4pm.

There’s sure to be some dressing up going on in your locality – check the 24 Hour Museum listings.

THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN

After arriving in AD43, the Romans changed the face of Britain with their straight roads and sophisticated sanitation. When trouble brewed back in mainland Europe, the Roman army cleared out, but you can still see a lot of things they left behind such as grand mosaics and temples.

Despite their smart technology, some Brits (then divided into tribes) weren’t keen on the Romans. Boudicca was one – read our Battlefield Britain trail to discover the sites of clashes between her army and the Romans almost 2,000 years ago.

The most complete amphitheatre in Britain is to be found at Caerleon in Wales, where the National Roman Legion Museum is located within the walls of a Roman fortress. Roman characters will be on hand during the holidays to give visitors an insight into daily life in this distant outpost of the empire.

The remains of numerous Roman villas are dotted around, mainly in the South, as well as some reconstructed ones. Gladiators will be in fighting mode at Chedworth Roman Villa, Gloucestershire, on July 22, and there’s a drop-in children’s mosaic workshop on August 22.

The archaeological dig site at the Roman town of Silchester near Reading will be open to visitors on July 22 and August 5 (10am to 4.30pm), with the chance to see blacksmithing, weaving and spinning the way the Romans did it. Children can take part in mini excavations, handle finds and dress up like Romans.

The Roman Baths at Bath offer a stunning dip into Roman culture. Discovered in the late 19th century, they were lovingly transformed into a grand visitor experience by the Victorians, who added neo-classical statuary and an ornate entrance hall. Romans held the site of the natural spring in high reverence, too, and the temple and bath complex attracted visitors from all over Europe.

Mediterranean types found it a bit chilly in Britain, but that didn’t stop them settling up north – find out where in the Northernmost Frontier of the Roman Empire trail.

DISCOVER ANCIENT BRITAIN

Time Team archaeologist Dr Francis Pryor reckons that interesting things were happening in Britain a long time before the Romans set foot on our island – read his views on ancient Britain and find out where you can see the legacy of Bronze Age people in Britain in the Britain BC Trail.

Summer is definitely the time to see ancient sites like chalk figures – you can take a healthy walk in the surrounds without getting muddy boots, or a chill. The Uffington White Horse in Oxfordshire is reputed to be one of the oldest such hillside image, and lies near an Iron Age camp on the prehistoric Ridgeway route.

Find details of Stonehenge’s sister site, Avebury Stone Circle, Maes Howe Chambered Cairn, Orkney, and impressive hillfort Maiden Castle, Dorset, in Britain’s Finest Ancient Monuments.

To really get to grips with prehistory, look out for events where you can learn some Stone Age skills. Farnham Museum, Surrey, will put all the family on the right track, with workshops on flint knapping, prehistoric cooking and cave painting for beginners! The sessions run on August 9, 16 and 23, respectively, 11am-3pm for the first two and 10.30am-12.30pm for the painting (booking advised).