The free Lammas splash park in Staines closes for the season on Sunday 13 September, not the 10th as first advertised. Fourteen things to do around Staines.
Spelthorne’s best days out are cheaper than its neighbours’, and several of the best are free. This page lists what is actually open, with the prices and dates each venue publishes itself, checked in the week of 10 August 2026. Where a venue sits just outside the borough it says so.
Free, and open now
Lammas splash park, Staines
Checked 12 September 2026: the season has been extended by three days and Sunday 13 September is the last day. Spelthorne Borough Council’s own Lammas page now reads “Opens 23 May 2026 - Closes Sunday 13 September 2026”. Earlier in the summer the same page gave 10 September, which is the date most listings still carry. The splash park is closed on Fridays, so the only two days left in the 2026 season are today, Saturday 12 September, and tomorrow.
The Lammas splash park is at the town’s riverside park, on Wraysbury Road and Church Road, TW18 4XZ. It is free, it runs 10am to 4.30pm, and it is switched off between 1pm and 2pm each day while the water tanks refill, so arrive before one or after two. After Sunday the water is off until next May. The rest of the park is open all year: there is a free BMX and skate park near the entrance, two playgrounds, tennis courts, an outdoor gym and a large picnic field on the Thames.
Park opening is 7.30am to 8.30pm from 1 April to 30 September, and 7.30am to 6pm in winter. There is a pay-and-display car park, and the gates are locked overnight.
The Little Green Boat Company runs the riverside café kiosk in the park, a nine-hole mini golf course among the trees and family boat hire on the Thames.
Spelthorne Museum, Elmsleigh Centre
Free, and it has moved. The museum is now on the first floor of the Library Hub in the Elmsleigh Centre, TW18 4QB, by the bus station, and it is open whenever the library is, Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 5pm.
It is run entirely by volunteers and it is better than a free town museum has any right to be: a large 3D model of Roman Staines, the London Stone, a 1738 fire engine, a Victorian kitchen, displays on Magna Carta and on Staines lino, a mammoth tusk and a replica of Neolithic Shepperton Woman. The current special exhibition is Saxon Spelthorne. Wheelchair access is by lift.
Sunbury Walled Garden
Two acres inside eight to ten foot walls, built in the early eighteenth century and restored by the council from 1985. It holds a Green Flag award and has taken gold repeatedly at South and South East in Bloom. The Lendy Memorial stands at the centre.
Open seven days a week, 7.30am to 6pm, free. The Sunbury Gallery and Café, which houses the Sunbury Millennium Embroidery, is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 4pm, last café orders 3.45pm, closed Mondays including bank holidays. Telephone 01932 788101.
Free theatre in the town centre, to 27 August
Visit Staines runs a free outdoor theatre season from 30 July to 27 August 2026, all of it family friendly. Still to come are Bin Rat by The Last Baguette on 13 August and Peter Rabbit by Quantum Theatre on 20 August.
Alongside it, Memorable Mondays at Two Rivers runs free family activities every Monday in August, to 24 August, and Staines Library holds a Lego Duplo Club every Saturday, 3pm to 4.15pm, with no booking needed.
Staines-upon-Thames Day
The town’s biggest free event, with performance stages across the town, craft stalls, bars, street food, fair rides, canoe taster sessions and boat trips. It runs 11am to 5pm on a Sunday in summer; 2026’s was on 28 June, so the next one falls in summer 2027.
Worth paying for
Sunbury Antiques Market, Kempton Park
One of the largest antiques fairs in Europe, and the reason a field in Sunbury fills with vans before dawn twice a month. Over 700 traders spread across two indoor grandstands and a hard-standing outdoor area.
It runs the second and last Tuesday of every month, 6.30am to 2pm. Admission is £5 per person before 8am and free from 8am to 2pm, under-16s free, with free parking. Cash or contactless on the gate. Dogs on leads are welcome in the outside areas.
Remaining 2026 dates: 11 and 25 August, 8 and 29 September, 13 and 27 October, 10 and 24 November, 8 December.
Kempton Steam Museum, Hanworth
Just over the borough boundary, at the old Kempton Park Waterworks on Snakey Lane, TW13 6XH. It holds the world’s largest working triple-expansion steam engine, the Sir William Prescott, inside a Grade II* listed scheduled monument.
- Steaming Weekends: £12 adult, under-18s and carers free, 10.30am to 4pm. Self-guided access to the engine runs 10.30am to 1pm, then guided tours every 20 minutes from 1.10pm to 3.10pm. The tours involve steep stairs and need a minimum height of 1.4m.
- Static Viewing Sundays: £7 adult, under-18s and carers free, 11am to 3pm. Most Sundays from March to October, engine not running.
Next in steam: 22 and 23 August 2026, with the annual Science and Technology Show. Special events are ticketed separately, including a Summer Evening Steam with bar on 22 August and a Freddie Mercury and Queen tribute night on 12 September.
The Shepperton to Weybridge ferry
A pedestrian ferry that has crossed the Thames here for centuries and still runs on demand. Every 15 minutes, 9am to 5.30pm, daily from March to October, and weekends only from November to February. Weather permitting.
Fares, in force since 1 April 2025: adult single £3.50, adult return £6.00, child single £1.75, child return £3.00, family return £15.00 for up to two adults, single with bike £5.00, and a weekly ticket at £20.00. Under-5s go free and cards are accepted on board.
From the Weybridge side you ring the bell at the bottom of the quayside steps on the quarter hour so the ferryman knows you are there.
Kempton Park Racecourse
The borough’s biggest venue sits on Staines Road East in Sunbury, TW16 5AQ. The remaining summer fixtures are evening racing on 12, 19 and 26 August and 2 September 2026, with a Fireworks Night and the Ladbrokes Christmas Festival later in the year. Prices vary by fixture and enclosure; check the racecourse’s own tickets page before booking.
Eclipse Leisure Centre, Staines
The borough’s new leisure centre at Knowle Green, TW18 1AJ, a £50 million Passivhaus building run by Places Leisure under contract to Spelthorne Borough Council. It replaced the old Spelthorne Leisure Centre.
Inside there is a 25m main pool, a learner pool, a splash pad and spa, a 200-station gym, Clip ‘n Climb with 14 climbing experiences, a six-court sports hall with LED markings, squash courts, sauna and steam room, artificial rooftop football pitches, and a Costa café with soft play.
Open 6am to 11pm Monday to Friday and 7am to 10pm at weekends. Memberships start at £31 a month for swim and £58 a month for premium, with 16 to 18 and 19 to 25 rates at £30 and £33. Pay-as-you-go swim and gym prices are on the centre’s own timetable pages.
On the water and in the fields
Queen Mary Sailing Club, Ashford
Sailing, windsurfing, keelboating, paddle sports and rowing on Queen Mary Reservoir, with learn-to-sail and summer courses, day sailing and kit hire for sailing, windsurfing and stand-up paddleboarding. Prices are on the club’s own booking pages.
Laleham Park
A riverside park on Shepperton Road and Thames Side, TW18 1SS, with a playground, horse riding, parking and a campsite run by Laleham Camping Club, 01932 564149. Open 7.30am to 8.30pm from 1 April to 30 September.
What is open when
Frequently asked questions
What is there to do in Staines for free?
Spelthorne Museum in the Elmsleigh Centre Library Hub, Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 5pm. Sunbury Walled Garden, open daily 7.30am to 6pm. The splash park, BMX track and skate park at Lammas Recreation Ground. And Visit Staines runs a free outdoor theatre season to 27 August and free Monday activities at Two Rivers through August.
When is the Sunbury Antiques Market at Kempton?
The second and last Tuesday of every month, 6.30am to 2pm. It costs £5 per person before 8am and is free from 8am. Parking is free and under-16s go free. The next dates are 11 and 25 August 2026.
What can you do in Staines with children?
The Lammas splash park is free, and its 2026 season ends on Sunday 13 September. The Little Green Boat Company’s mini golf and boat hire are in the same park. Eclipse Leisure Centre at Knowle Green has a splash pad, soft play and Clip ‘n Climb. Staines Library holds a free Lego Duplo Club every Saturday afternoon.
How much is the Shepperton ferry?
£3.50 for an adult single and £6.00 return, £1.75 and £3.00 for a child, and £15.00 for a family return covering up to two adults. Under-5s go free. It runs every 15 minutes, 9am to 5.30pm, daily from March to October.
Is Kempton Steam Museum worth visiting?
It depends which day you go. On a steaming weekend, £12 for an adult, you see the world’s largest working triple-expansion steam engine running. On a static viewing Sunday, £7, the engine is still. Under-18s are free either way. The next steaming weekend is 22 and 23 August 2026.
Where can I swim in Staines?
Eclipse Leisure Centre at Knowle Green, TW18 1AJ, run by Places Leisure. It has a 25m main pool, a learner pool and a splash pad, and opens 6am to 11pm on weekdays and 7am to 10pm at weekends.
Related
- Staines roadworks and parking: where to leave the car, and why Sunbury is a third of the price.
- Staines train times to London, including the 14-minute train to Windsor.
- Staines house prices.
- Staines planning news.
Sources
Every venue on this page was checked against its own website in the week of 10 August 2026.
- Spelthorne Borough Council, Lammas and Laleham Park for park hours, the splash park season and facilities.
- Spelthorne Museum for the move to the Library Hub, opening hours and exhibits.
- Spelthorne Borough Council, Walled Garden for hours, the Green Flag award and the gallery and café.
- Sunbury Antiques Market at Kempton for dates, times, admission and parking.
- Kempton Steam Museum prices and opening times and its address.
- The Ferry Point, Shepperton to Weybridge pedestrian ferry for times and fares.
- Places Leisure, Eclipse Leisure Centre and Spelthorne Borough Council’s leisure centre page for facilities, hours and membership prices.
- Visit Staines events and Staines-upon-Thames Day.
- Kempton Park Racecourse for fixture dates.
- Queen Mary Sailing Club.
- Lammas, Spelthorne Borough Council, read on 12 September 2026, for the splash park season now ending on Sunday 13 September, the 10am to 4.30pm hours, the Friday closure, the 1pm to 2pm refill and the park’s own summer and winter gate times.
Prices and opening times change. Confirm with the venue before you set out.
Have your say