The Diamond Jubilee is fast approaching and what better way to celebrate this historic and intrinsically British moment with your children and friends than in the beautiful outdoors of our green and pleasant land? And it is particularly green at the moment given all the rain we have had recently!
Below are a few ideas to inspire your last minute plans for the Jubilee weekend (2nd-5th June) and make it one of those great british events that will live on in your childrens’ memories for years to come. If you are having a picnic or street party, check out these ideas for patriotic picnic recipes to make with children for your festivities.
- Jubilee Woods: all the best royals never go long without planting a tree, so what better way to celebrate Jubilee weekend than getting in on the action? The Woodland Trust are commemorating the Diamond Jubilee with their Jubilee Woods project – helping people across the UK to come together and plant 6 million trees, including 60 special new diamond woods.Head to the woods for a woodland Jubilee picnic with the help of the free Party Pack and Picnic recipe ideas available from the Woodland Trust website or dust off your spade and fork and find a community planting event near you. Want to make history from home? Pledge to plant your own tree in the garden or local area and have it recorded in the Royal Record which will be presented to the Queen to record all the trees planted across the country in celebration of her diamond jubilee year.
- Light up the night: get those long lunchtime naps in and stay up late on the night of Monday 4th June to see the 2012 beacons set alight across the UK and beyond in celebration of the jubilee. Search for a beacon near you on the Diamond Jubilee Beacons website and join in the festivities or find somewhere high up and watch the beacons light up across the skyline.
- Walk the walk: Put on your walking shoes and stroll along the Jubilee Greenway in London, specially created to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee and Olympics year with one kilometre of bicycle and pedestrian green pathways for every year of the Queen’s 60 year long reign. The route passes by some of London’s best loved attractions as well as many of the Olympic venues to be used in the summer of 2012 including the 02 Arena, Horseguards Parade – the sight of the Olympic volleyball and the Serpentine where athletes will be braced for the 10k open water swim. Still got energy? Why not try the original 24km Jubilee Walkway which was opened in 1977 to celebrate Her Majesty’s Silver Jubilee and takes in some of London’s most iconic landmarks.
- Have a field day: the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge is a project to protect 2012 recreational spaces in communities across the country to celebrate the jubilee year with a living legacy for generations to come. To celebrate local recreation grounds and the opening of QEII protected sites, Have a Field Day celebrations are being held across the country with everything from Jubilee picnics to dog shows and sporting events on offer. Search for a field day event local to you on the QEII Fields Challenge website and get involved!
- Brush up on your history: why not celebrate by visiting a historic site with royal connections? English Heritage have compiled a list of their properties with links to royalty which you can find here or pay a visit to one of the Historic Royal Palaces? Alternatively you can join the National Trust for a tea party and much more in their Wallace and Gromit inspired Summer of Celebration festivities across their many historic sites or protected stretches of glorious British countryside.
