Need inspiration on what to do and where to go during the holidays? Graham Jones has some helpful suggestions

School’s out for bank holiday, half-term and holidays. Every household with children echoes to the words: ‘Mum, what are we doing today?’ and ‘Mum, I’m bored’.

Thankfully, the Internet is a great source of inspiration and brilliant for timely information:

For information on regional events Local Today is a truly excellent site. Just enter your postcode and a date and it will produce a list of places to go and things to do.

You get details on how far away the attraction is from your postcode, directions to get there, opening times, ticket prices and links to specific websites. If you register, you’ll also get local event information emailed to you.

One drawback is that your searches are categorised – i.e. you’re restricted to searching via ‘Animals & Wildlife’, ‘Heritage & Gardening’ or ‘Hobbies & Crafts’ for example. Also, the database doesn’t cover metropolitan areas like London, Manchester, Leeds or Birmingham. Even so, this site is very useful for out of town visits and should be bookmarked by all parents!

If you're planning a day out in London, try the children’s section in Time Out magazine. If you want to visit the capital, this is an excellent site, though it doesn’t give you specific websites.

For the rest of the UK, try Newsquest, one of the largest publishers of local newspapers. It’s websites begin with the prefix ‘thisis’, like ‘www.thisisoxfordshire’ or ‘www.thisisessex’. Each county website has a list of what’s on and places to visit, and useful snippets of local information. Also try @UK Travel Guide, a regional site with similar information.

For the best in high-rides and roller-coasters, go to UK Theme Park. You get plenty of details about theme parks, including reviews on each venue and the rides they have on offer. You also get an estimation of how long you’ll have to queue for each ride.

If your kids are interested in sports, visit Sports Online for a diary of sporting events around the UK and a host of links to sports organisations. For general family entertainment like circuses, theatres, concerts and so on, try the special children’s pages at What’s On UK (http://www.whats-on-guide.co.uk/wg/plain/search/kidsearch.html). You can search by county, region or date and get a list of events with descriptions and booking details, and links to related websites.