The end of summer can feel like a strange time. It’s hot, it’s busy everywhere, and I often have this feeling of mild panic that I’m not making the most of it. Complicating things is the fact that I have a chronic nerve pain condition, and young children, and I’m often very tired.

So my question is: how can you enjoy every drop of summer, no matter what your energy levels are? How can you feel you’ve made enough memories and sought every opportunity you can?

Here are a few ideas to get you going. If you’re like me and you’ve got a lot on your plate, or you have health issues to consider, you can pick and choose depending on your energy levels!

Information gathering

I’ve given up Facebook, so this is an annoying one for me personally. But Facebook pages often have the most up-to-date info about what’s going on in your local area.

You can make a point of following:

  • What’s On pages 
  • Pages of local establishments (restaurants, cafes, cinemas, soft plays, outdoor spaces, theme parks, etc)
  • Any clubs your children belong to/would like to join, if you have them
  • Local churches (they often have summer fetes, which are fun to join in with)
  • Your local council

This is the best way to plan out the last few weeks of the summer. Grab a calendar, circle some dates, and make the most of promotions.

No Facebook? It’s harder, but still doable. You can ask your friends who are on Facebook to screenshot anything they come across (my friend Sarah does this for me – shoutout to her!). You can sign up for email newsletters for local businesses and get info dropped right into your inbox.

Or, you can get out and visit local attractions. In our local museum, we have a whole wall full of flyers for local upcoming events – craft classes, outdoor theatre, local music festivals, etc. Plus, the staff may be able to point you in the right direction.

Planning

A mid-summer planning session is sometimes just the ticket. Grab your calendar, work out your remaining summer budget, and work from there. What does everyone in the family want to do? If it’s just you, who would you like to do these activities with, and which activities would you like to do solo?

You can then plan ahead accordingly. Some things I try to keep in mind:

  • Cost: An obvious one, but necessary. If you’ve got big events coming up (concerts, theatre, holidays), you’ll need some cheaper activities to fill the space around them. This is where discount cinema visits and restaurant offers come into play!
  • Time: It’s not easy to work out how to fit this all in, especially when you’re working. It’s actually easy to overschedule just because you want to do it all. Make sure you leave some free time for spontaneous activities and a little bit of loafing around at home/in the garden.
  • Health: This might not affect you, but if it does, don’t neglect to factor this in. Are there tickets you can avoid booking until the last minute in case you have a flare-up? Are tickets able to be moved, or refundable? We’ve had to move big family days out (for the four of us, costing £70+) because of ill health. So it’s worth giving yourself some leeway.
August bucket list planning
Image: Megan Bidmead

Don’t overlook the obvious

When I think of my favourite summers, I do remember the big exciting moments, but I also remember the quiet things: late-night walks along the seafront, telling ghost stories, eating fish and chips on the living room floor because our plans got rained off, spontaneous water fights. These things absolutely count as making the most of the warmer days, even if it doesn’t seem exciting compared to people jetting off on holiday.

Some ideas include:

  • Doing a local trail in your nearest city (usually something like Bristol’s Gromit Unleashed 3 trail). Hop on a bus or a train, and take a picnic!
  • Joining in with a local history walk: Some towns offer history walks, in which you pay a local history expert and walk with them around the town as they teach you about local history. We used to have a ghost walk in our town – we went multiple times with different groups of friends because it was so much fun.
  • Sitting around a fire pit/chiminea and chatting with a glass of wine: Simple, easy, and lovely to do on summer evenings before it gets too cold. You can even do it in your pyjamas, if you’re having a really low-energy moment.
  • Stargazing: From the 17th of July – 24th of August, you may be able to spot dozens of shooting stars. The 12th of August is the big night for it, between midnight and 5.30am.
  • Check out cheap theatre trips: Local theatres often have some really interesting shows that are way cheaper than the big ones.
  • Outdoor shows: Outdoor theatre and movies feel like a distinctly summery activity, and tickets are usually fairly reasonable.
  • Go frolicking in lavender: Now is the time to visit beautiful lavender fields, which will be in full bloom.
  • Rewild yourself: My friends and I came up with this term recently. It means: if you’ve been stuck inside for ages for one reason or another, take a few hours to go alone to the beach, the woods, or somewhere that feels ‘wild’. Just allow yourself to wander and to admire where you are: it’ll bring you peace.
  • Have a water fight: Water fights are fantastic, no matter what age you are. Home Bargains is a good place for cheap water pistols, as a little bonus tip!
  • Start a new routine: I try to get a bit of outdoors into my day each morning by drinking my coffee outside, as long as it’s not raining. I take myself, my coffee, and my book, and sit on the outdoor chairs in the quiet, wrapped up in a hoodie if necessary. (But keep an eye out for spiders, because there are some big ones scuttling about right now.)
  • Have one night away: One night in a hotel can feel like a treat when you’re facing a couple of weeks of nothingness ahead of you! This is a great way to explore a city near you – you don’t have to go far. Make sure you make the most of breakfast the next morning.
  • Get a luxurious, ridiculous, over-the-top ice cream: I’m talking about a proper treat. Lots of scoops. All the toppings. Do it and enjoy every bite.
  • Or, as an alternative: slushie cocktails. Delicious (dangerously so).
  • Watch the sunset: The good news is that the sun sets at an earlier time at the end of August, so you can head out to a local beauty spot and enjoy.
  • Do something good: Whether that’s a beach litter pick or picking up a longer volunteering gig, there’ll be a need for spare hands somewhere in your local area.

Enjoy the last of these summer days – they go by fast!

Images: Megan Bidmead

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