Easter days out: Egg hunts, wildlife safaris and mystery mazes

Venues across the country are hosting special events over the coming weeks, in celebration of spring ... and chocolate

Child's play: English Heritage's Easter Adventure Quests (Jim Holden)

Cadbury Easter Egg Hunt (various)

The National Trust and National Trust of Scotland have joined forces with Cadbury to offer 300 Easter egg hunts across the country, from woodlands and coastline to historic houses and castles. Trace a trail around a lighthouse in Kent, search for sweet treats in the Scottish Highlands, or track down Mrs Tiggywinkle and friends in Cumbria. Don't worry if your detective skills aren't up to scratch, though – everyone taking part gets a chocolate prize. The NT also offers extra activities at some properties, such as Easter bonnet-making and feeding the lambs (egg hunts from £1, plus normal entry fees; mostly 25-28 March, some continue for the school holidays; cadbury.co.uk/easter).

Easter Wildlife Safari Adventure (Bridgend)

Look out for lapwings and great crested newts on a self-guided trail through Parc Slip Nature Reserve in south Wales. Pick up a map or download the Dare to Discover app and set off on the Nature Keepers' Quest through grassland, woods and wetlands, spotting flora and fauna, and picking up clues as you go. At the end, you'll be rewarded with an Easter egg (suggested donation £3; 25-27 March; bridgendbites.com).

Craft workshops (London)

Swap bunnies for dragons and unicorns at east London's Museum of Childhood, which is running a series of craft workshops for youngsters. Inspired by TV classics such as Bagpuss and The Clangers (to be screened over Easter weekend). Children can make weird and wonderful creatures from fabric or paper (workshops £5 each; 28 March to 8 April; vam.ac.uk/moc).

The Beatles Story

Eastival (Lincoln)

Children can soak up some culture at Lincoln's Eastival arts festival, taking place at four of the city's top arts venues. There will be theatre, workshops, films and music aimed at children, as well as free family films. Complete the Easter Egg Challenge and you'll receive a prize; all you have to do is find 10 eggs across the festival venues – Lincoln Performing Arts Centre, Lincoln Drill Hall, Terry O'Toole Theatre and The Collection (event entry ranges from free to £10; from 23 March to 10 April; visitlincoln.com).

International Science Festival (Edinburgh)

Until 10 April, there's a range of events and exhibitions across the city, including a drop-in Space Day at Summerhall on 2 April with dressing-up, face painting and the chance to create your own nebula and put together a space magazine (many events free, Space Day £3.50; 26 March to 10 April; sciencefestival.co.uk).

Easter Adventure Quests (various)

English Heritage is opening up more than a dozen properties to young adventurers over Easter weekend, when they can meet historic figures, from monks at Battle Abbey to Roman soldiers at Framlingham Castle, who will send them on a clue-cracking treasure hunt with the promise of a prize at the end – spoiler: it's chocolate (free for EH members, or included in general admission; 25-28 March; english-heritage.org.uk).

Warwick Castle maze

Encounter Vikings, Normans, Stuarts and First World War soldiers at a new interactive Horrible Histories maze. Solve clues to re-order time and get enough passport stamps to escape the maze (opens today; general admission £18.60 adults, £16.20 children; warwick-castle.com).

Chessington World of Adventures

New attractions will enhance this popular Surrey park over Easter, including Pandamonium, a show featuring life-size animatronic pandas and an appearance by Kung Fu Panda's Po (from £27.60; opens Good Friday; chessington.com/2016).

The Beatles Story (Liverpool)

The world's largest permanent exhibition on the Fab Four, offers kids the chance to redesign the cover of Help! at a free afternoon workshop. (general admission £14.95 adults, £11.50 children; 5 April; beatlesstory.com/events).

Dining in the Dark (St Andrews)

A pop-up with a difference at the Old Course Hotel. Dans le Noir includes three different experiences: a whisky tasting on Thursday and special lunches and dinners thereafter, all served in complete darkness by blind staff. With no menu to choose from, diners select meat, fish or vegetarian, then let their other senses enjoy what follows (from £35 to £85; 24 March to 6 April; dininginthedark.co.uk).