25 free (and bargain) events for New Year’s Day

Get some much-needed fresh air when you mark the first day of 2024

No matter where you are when the clock strikes midnight, it’s nice to have something to look forward to on New Year’s Day. Wrap up and head to a parade or a firework display, an organised walk or an arts trail. All the activities below are either free to join or cost a minimal sum, so entertain the kids or just get some much-needed fresh air when you mark the first day of 2024.
Board games not cut it over Christmas? Competitive families can instead try this interactive quiz adventure, set in the historic streets of York. Small teams download the quest, then set about touring the city’s most notable sights to answer questions. The trail is pushchair friendly and visits York Minster, the Shambles, many snickelways and more. The best teams get their photo added to the website’s leaderboard.
£28.95 for up to five players, goquestadventures.com
There is such a thing as a Gruffalo at Queenswood Country Park, where children can run about looking for the Julia Donaldson creature as part of a quiz. The popular book’s other characters – Mouse, Fox, Snake, Owl and even the Gruffalo’s Child – are all hidden in the woods too, so families will find plenty to amuse themselves. The park also has an adventure playground to enjoy.
Quiz pack £3, queenswoodandbodenhamlake.org
See in the New Year with a celebration for the whole family at Sprogmanay, a drop-in event from 2-5pm in the Grand Gallery of the National Museum of Scotland. Bop to Unicorn Dance Party, with moves to copy for the over-fives, or at Sprog Rock, a live band aimed at even younger ones. The museum’s galleries can be toured afterwards.
Free; nms.ac.uk
Get hunting for a cheeky sheep with a lopsided grin in the grounds of Clumber Park, a stately home that once belonged to the Dukes of Newcastle. A free art trail has been designed in collaboration with Aardman Animations and there are 12 individual Shaun sculptures to be located around the park. Many were designed by local artists. Elsewhere there is heath and woodland to explore totalling more than 3,800 acres.
Adult £5 (child £2.50), nationaltrust.org.uk
Families can delve into the magical worlds of characters such as Zog and Stickman at The Lowry Gallery. The books of Julia Donaldson, with illustrations by Axel Scheffler, have given children thirty years of pleasure and are being celebrated in this exhibition that involves dressing up, writing, drawing and playing. Pre-book for a time slot.
Adult free or £5 donation (child free), thelowry.com
Children can enjoy hunting for the much-loved star of Raymond Briggs’s book, The Snowman, at Knole, which was once an archbishop’s palace. Let them roam around the park and courtyards and they can spot 12 giant snowmen sculptures. The trail is free but it is essential to book entrance tickets to Knole in advance.
Adult £6 (child £3), nationaltrust.org.uk
This lively and colourful parade through London starts at 12 noon. Spectators line the streets, from Piccadilly to Whitehall, via Pall Mall and Trafalgar Square, to see marching bands, dancers, wind bands, bhangra groups, Chinese dragons and other performers sashay past. London’s boroughs are all represented and you can expect giant inflatables making their way down the streets too.
Free; lnydp.com
Shake off the night’s excesses with a refreshing group ramble along Cromer’s coast. Organised by Norwich Ramblers, this is a six to seven mile walk, heading to the Overstrand area before coming back along the beach to Cromer for the New Year’s Day fireworks display from the pier at 4pm. The meeting point for the walk is the pier at 11.30am. You do not need to be a club member.
Free; norwichra.org.uk
Get down to the beach at Sandown where the sea will glow pink, red and purple as it reflects the lights from the town’s New Year’s Day fireworks. The display kicks off at the end of Sandown pier from 6pm and is run by the Sandown Carnival Association. The best views are from the esplanade.
Free; sandowncarnival.com
Kick up your heels at the Royal Festival Hall for an energetic start to the year with a traditional ceilidh. The raucous dance will take place in the Clore Ballroom as part of the Southbank’s Winter Festival. Musical accompaniment comes courtesy of the Ceilidh Liberation Front and is suitable for all ages. The event lasts around three hours, though you can pop in and out if all the wild abandon gets a little too much.
Free; southbankcentre.co.uk
What better way to contemplate New Year’s resolutions than with a beach walk beneath wide skies and beside a powerful sea? Simply pick your nearest stretch of coast or help out on a beach walk. There are a few taking place around the UK on January 1st. One along the narrow, and constantly moving, spit of beach at Spurn National Nature Reserve is organised by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. Others are taking place in Cornwall, at Porthcurnick and Pendower, with the National Trust, and another is at Aberffraw, with the North Wales Wildlife Trust, on Anglesey in Wales.
Free; ywt.org.uk, nationaltrust.org.uk, northwaleswildlifetrust.org.uk
Take a freshwater dip in Derwentwater for charity with the Lake District Calvert Trust. The usually serene lake will be a riot of fancy dress on New Year’s Day, when swimmers (limited to 500, so pre-book) will enter the water at 11am. Enjoy views of the snow-dusted fells afterwards, when warming up with a hot drink and a cake. Wetsuits are recommended and a safety boat will be on hand. Another dip is taking place on Windermere, with a quick swim around the jetty at Fell Foot. Pre-book a slot with the National Trust. Wetsuits are available for hire and there are hot drinks and a shower too.
Free or minimum donation £5; calvertlakes.org.uk, nationaltrust.org.uk
Watch foolhardy locals race bathtubs through the water at Poole Quay then, for something sturdier, ogle a range of classic cars on dry land. The bathtub race is a crazy, annual tradition with a high turnout of spectators that raises funds for charity. Sabotage is encouraged between the homemade craft. The classic car show, meanwhile, includes up to 100 vehicles, on display beside the Sea Music sculpture.
Free; pooletourism.com
Hear the shrieks from the thousands taking an icy plunge into the sea from Saundersfoot’s beach. Fancy dress is encouraged for the annual swim which not only clears the head, but raises around £30,000 for charity. Swimmers pay £5 – alternatively, go for a walk along the sandy beach and show your support from a (healthy) distance. 
Free; saundersfootfestivities.co.uk
Get the family away from the television and on an easy walk through fields with the chance to meet some rescued horses along the way. The Mane Chance Sanctuary, outside Guildford, is welcoming walkers who can complete an hour-long loop on the grounds between 10am and 2pm. There is a quiz along the trail and hot drinks will be available to buy in the barn afterwards.
Adults £3 (child £2), manechancesanctuary.org
For the clean living among us, a 10km run on New Year’s Day is a statement of intent. One of the best-known organised runs will be down at the Serpentine in London’s Hyde Park. It is followed, shortly after, by a 3k fun run. Entrants are limited to 650 runners, so unless you’re already signed up, this one is for spectators only, who can enjoy a walk and some cheering on a cold winter’s morning. More accessible are the 5k Park Runs, which are taking place all over the UK on January 1st. Consult the organisation’s website to find one and get your running shoes on.
Free; parkrun.org.uk
Forget the countdown to midnight. On New Year’s Day in Penzance, it’s the countdown to 11am that matters, when swimmers will leap into the town’s impressive, art deco Jubilee Pool. The large lido has sea views and is geothermally heated, so immersion shouldn’t be too much of a shock to the system. Arrive at 10.30am to prepare, book a free ticket in advance.
Free; jubileepool.co.uk 
Reconnect with nature and try some poetry along the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path. Special poetry boxes, with pens, paper and written works inside, have been placed above the cliffs at various points, see website for locations. Walkers are encouraged to lift the lids and write a few nature-inspired verses themselves.
Free; pembrokeshirecoast.wales
The Museum of Power, in Maldon, is a hit with anyone who loves to watch engines running but on New Year’s Day there is a celebration of cider too. This industrial museum, set in a former water pumping station, will welcome 2024 with a wassailing ceremony, whereby traditional dancers and musicians will bless trees in the orchard and ask for a bountiful harvest. Little ones will enjoy the miniature railway and outdoor model village too.
Adult £5 (child £3), museumofpower.org.uk
Clear out the cobwebs by exploring clover-shaped St Mawes Castle, buffeted by sea breezes. Built by Henry VIII to keep out French and Spanish invaders, this is one of the 16th-century’s best-preserved fortresses. Along with Pendennis Castle, opposite, it protected anchorage near Falmouth. See the oubliette, where prisoners were thrown, and wander the grounds to find a line of 18th and 19th-century cannons, pointing across the waves.
Adult £6.80 (child £3.60), english-heritage.org.uk
Many museums and galleries close on New Year’s Day but one that doesn’t is the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds. History buffs can learn about everything from the development of the machine gun to the use of muskets, rifles, pikes and samurai swords in combat. Don’t miss the model of the Battle of Waterloo which shows, in miniature, the strategies and positions of soldiers. 
Free; royalarmouries.org
Get the blood pumping while tracking down some of the works of Bristol son and notorious street artist Banksy. There are 13 pieces to find and an interactive, downloadable map takes you from the Floating Harbour to Park Street, Stokes Croft and Montpelier. Look out for Mild, Mild West, which is representative of the Bristol attitude, and the famous Well Hung Lover.
Banksy Bristol App £1.99, apps.cactus.co.uk
Sign of the Times is a trail designed to bring light to forgotten places around Scarborough. Various neon signs have been created and erected by local artist Adrian Riley to bring a sense of fun to a stroll through the seaside town. These glitzy signs recall the town’s past and each piece has been inspired by stories from townsfolk themselves. 
Free; scarboroughfair.uk
Stretch your legs and get the grey cells ticking at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum of art and archaeology. The attraction offers a downloadable audio guide so visitors can learn about the highlights of its permanent collection with minimal effort required. Look out for QR codes on the museum floor and hear about 26 of the museum’s treasures and works of art. These include the Alfred Jewel and Guy Fawkes’s lantern. 
Free entry, Smartify highlights audio tour £3.60; ashmolean.org
Of course there is a yellow submarine in this Liverpool lights trail. Enjoy a twinkly end to the first day of 2024 with a visit to the city’s Royal Albert Dock. The Brightest Light Trail features installations of nautical scenes and figures from Liverpool’s coat of arms on the waterfront. As well as the submarine from the Beatles’s song, highlights include a family of dancing jellyfish and Neptune and Poseidon at the dock’s entrance.
Free; visitliverpool.com