Your guide to summer holiday activities in south Warwickshire

As well as conservation activities and volunteer work days for adults at Foundry Wood in Leamington, there are wood-working and basket-making workshops, craft classes, outdoor adventure days and more during July and August. For a programme of activities - some of which are free - visit www.foundrywood.co.uk

In Leamington’s Jephson Gardens, creative children can attend Jephson’s Jungle Club free craft activity every Tuesday, from 10am to noon on a drop-in basis. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Email [email protected] for more information.

Arty types can also head to the Pump Room gallery in Leamington for several activities. Next Saturday (July 27), a special Art Cart Family Fun free drawing event takes place from 11am to 3pm, where participants can create their own masterpiece using the ongoing Mini Print exhibition as inspiration. Everyone who takes part will receive a small prize. Recommended for ages up to 15 years.

Then on Tuesday July 30 from 11am to 4pm, the gallery is hosting a Printmaking Event For Young People (for children aged up to 15 years), while on Wednesday July 31 at the same time there will be a similar event for children aged eight to 12 years. Printmaker Susan Turner will introduce participants to the Intaglio technique of drypoint and their artworks will then be displayed in the museum. Places cost £6 per person. Call 742700 to book.

The gallery is also running its usual free summer art club every Thursday in August from 2pm to 4pm. Sessions last 30 minutes and enty is on a drop-in basis. Recommended for ages six to 12 years.

The Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon is celebrating the Jaguar with a programme of family activities, including Jaguar themed art and craft Thursdays, talks and tours. Every Tuesday is ‘Lego Technic day’, where children can design, build and test their own Lego Technic machines - and the musuem’s artist-in-residence, Ian Cook of PopBang Colour, who paints using remote-controlled cars, is coming back by popular demand on the August 13, 15 and 15. Children can have a go at creating their own works of art using remote controlled cars and car parts. To find out more, call 641188 or visit www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk

Visitors to Hill Close Gardens in Warwick can join Victorian re-enactors and play croquet on the lawn on August 10 and 11. The characters will share stories about the Victorian garden owners and plant hunters who helped shape how the gardens look today - and visitors will discover what the Victorians liked to cook, see an exhibition of unusual antique garden implements, learn the Victorian language of flowers and how to make a Tussie Mussie, a small bouquet to present to a loved one. To find out more, call 493339 or visit www.hillclosegardens.com

Another attraction giving people a flavour of times gone by is Stoneleigh Abbey, where visitors can walk in the footsteps of Jane Austen and see the portraits of some of her ancestors at a special evening dedicated to the writer on August 13. Guests will be given a tour of the West Wing by a guide in period costume followed by a drinks and canapés reception at the riverside Orangery. Tours take place at 7pm, 7.45pm, and 8.15pm and must be pre-booked. Tickets cost £14. Call 858585.

Families can step back even further back to the time of the English Civil War and watch a ‘living history’ re-enactment of the Battle of Southam in the town on August 17 and 18, 11am to 5pm on both days. Members of the Sealed Knot will march into Southam, wage battle and run other activities, workshops and displays. To find out more, visit www.thesealedknot.org.uk

Warwick Castle is marking the launch of the new LEGO® Castle range with two weeks of castle-building activities from August 12 to 26, including costume characters, a build-a-castle play area and a prize-packed treasure trail. Participants will take inspiration from Warwick Castle and its stories and legents to create their own ramparts and towers - complete with horseback knights, fiery dragons and catapults. There are also the usual trebuchet, jousting, falconry and other displays and events throughout the summer. For details and prices, visit www.warwick-castle.com

And for the youngsters who like sports, there are a range of swimming, football, basketball and other indoor and outdoor sports sessions throughout the summer at Newbold Comyn and St Nicholas Park leisure centres, Abbey Fields swimming pool and the St John Atkinson sports centre at Myton School. For a programme and prices, visit www.warwickdc.gov.uk/WDC/Leisure/Young+people_x27_s+activities/Children_x27_s+activities