Leap into Spring in Basingstoke and Deane this Easter! Whatever the weather Love Basingstoke has you covered with our top picks of activities, attractions, and exhibitions to enjoy come rain or shine this Easter holidays. 

Spring Outside

The spring flowers, warmer days and lighter evenings make Easter a perfect time to enjoy days with family and friends exploring the great outdoors.  

Explore the grounds of Basing House and take part in their Easter family trail between Saturday 1 and Sunday 16 April. Learn about Easter traditions and get crafty with free activities. Participation costs £2.50 per trail and is suitable for all ages but children must be accompanied. If you visit Basing House on Saturday 1 April you can join the hunt for hundreds of eggs hidden across their 14-acre site. Every egg handed in you will be entered into a prize draw and you may even catch a glimpse of the Easter Bunny! The Big Basing House Easter egg hunt on Saturday 1 April is included in general admission. 

Take a trip over to Whitchurch at the beginning of the Easter holidays to take part in Whitchurch Silk Mill's Easter egg hunt. Explore the mill grounds in search of the missing chocolates left by the Easter bunny! Alternatively on Wednesday 5 April join local animal and nature charities in the Mill gardens for their second Wild and Wonderful Family Day. Take part in activities to learn all about the wildlife of Hampshire, try river dipping with the Watercress and Winterbournes project to see what you can find in the River Test, and take part creating a collaborative British wildlife mural as part of Art Fund’s Wild Escape project.  

Join Four Kingdoms Adventure Park for an Easter Eggstravaganza from Saturday 1 to Friday 14 April. Tickets can be purchased online for a discounted price.  

Travel to The Vyne to take part in their trail which concludes with a prize! Per trail is £3 which includes an Easter trail sheet, pencil, bunny ears and Rainforest Alliance Certified dairy or vegan and Free From chocolate egg.  

Kids Party in the Park will be taking place on Carpenters Down in Popley on Wednesday 12 April. This family festival day includes a fair, appearances from favourite characters, special performances by popular tribute acts and Rave Kidz. This is a ticketed event, for more information and to purchase a ticket check out Kids Party in the Park.  

Basingstoke and District Model Engineering Society’s annual Miniature Steam Gala returns for its 11th year. The gala takes place at Viables Craft Centre on the weekend of 15 to 16 April between 10am and 4.30pm and will feature traction engines, steam and electric train rides, garden railway and a tombola. Entrance to the gala is free but donations are appreciated.  

Hop Indoors 

Should any April showers arrive then there are plenty of indoor attractions and exhibitions for rainy day fun. 

Head to Milestones Museum between Saturday 1 and Sunday 16 April to help Bun and Ted hunt for missing eggs hidden by Professor Y! Families are encouraged to follow clues and solve puzzles to reveal the location of the missing Easter eggs and learn some history with Bun and Ted. Who is the mysterious Professor Y? Will there be no chocolate this Easter? Find the eggs in time and earn a tasty easter reward! This is suitable for ages 4+, £2.50 (excluding museum entry) and all children must be accompanied throughout.  

Pantos aren’t just for Christmas! Join Bobby Davro, Britain’s Got Talent Winner – Collabro’s Matt Pagan – and funny-man Karen The Mam’s Lewis Denny at The Anvil for a fun-filled Easter pantomime retelling of Rapunzel on Tuesday 4 April. Various ticket prices, tickets can be booked through Anvil Arts website. 

The Amazing Bubble Man will be at The Haymarket on Thursday 6 April. From square bubbles, bubbles inside bubbles, fog-filled bubbles, giant bubbles, bubble volcanoes, tornados and trampolines, to people inside bubbles, The Amazing Bubble Man conjures shrieks of laughter and gasps of amazement from all ages.  

Alternatively, you can enjoy The Little Mermaid adapted for the stage with enchanting puppets, music and songs. This is a perfect piece of theatre for 3 to 8 year olds. Taking place at The Haymarket on Wednesday 12 and 13 April.  

Atmosphere and Flip Out are both great rainy day activities as well as Basingstoke Aquadrome and Basingstoke Sports Centre.  

Parks and Green spaces 

On dry days, take advantage of the many local parks, play areas and green spaces in the borough. Head to Basing Wood for some wildlife spotting, explore in Crabtree Plantation or enjoy the dog-friendly Beggarwood Park. You can find more dog-friendly locations across Basingstoke and Deane here. 

Basingstoke town centre  

The Very Hungry Caterpillar takes over Festival Place this spring! From Saturday 4 March to Saturday 15 April, you can take part in free craft sessions and storytelling every Saturday. Make your very own caterpillar headdress, butterfly feeder or paper-link caterpillar take home or become part of the story whilst reading Eric Carle’s famous book. The stories will be read aloud and told in Makaton, everyone is welcome! 

The Willis Museum and Sainsbury Gallery have lots to take part in over the Easter holidays. From Saturday 1 to Saturday 15 April help Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother find all the things needed to make the ball including a dress, carriage and footmen!  On Thursday 6 and Thursday 13 April create a suncatcher and make the most of the sunshine or on Friday 14 April create origami hand-held windmills. To take part in the workshops it will cost £3 per child per workshop.   

The Malls Shopping Centre also have lots going on with a jungle gym from Saturday 1 to Sunday 16 April, Easter card workshops on Thursday 6 April and make your own butterfly, bugs or flower workshops on Thursday 13 April. A donut and crepe stall will be serving up some tasty Easter themed treats from Friday 31 March to Thursday 13 April.  

The Orchard Cafe will be offering free arts and crafts to children and families, Easter egg hunt (daily) with sweet prizes and throughout the Easter holidays, children eat for £1 (with every full paying adult).

The Dice Tower is Basingstoke’s first and only board game café and has an excellent selection of tabletop games, comics, card games and more. On Monday to Thursday’s, you can access all games and comics for £3 per person all day. On Friday to Sunday, you can access all games and comics for £5 per person all day.  

As well as things to do, if you are looking for ways to have a low-waste Easter then check out our blog full of ideas to help you achieve a more sustainable Easter. 

Have we left anything out?  Please let us know at hello@LoveBasingstoke.co.uk if you know of any other events in the borough and we’d be happy to help promote it on our channels. 

Please note the inclusion of any business within this listing should not be seen as an endorsement of their services. Whilst the information is considered to be true and correct at the date of publication, changes in circumstances after the time of publication may impact on the accuracy of the information.   

March 2023