Best Father’s Day experiences across the UK to treat your dad to in 2023
It’s time to celebrate the father figures in your life with this list of the top Father’s Day experiences. We’ve got everything from flying lessons to vineyard tours, so let’s dive right in.
With the weather warming up and the sun coming out (occasionally), we can finally admit to ourselves that summer is indeed on the way. And with the arrival of June, we get another chance to celebrate the parents in our lives, with Father's Day.
Although still a big holiday for families, Father’s Day is often not given the same amount of attention or celebration as Mother’s Day in March – which is probably because it wouldn’t even exist without its Motherly counterpart.
You see, Father’s Day was created in the early 20th century to compliment Mother’s Day, which had begun a few years before. In 1908 the day was celebrated in Fairmont, West Virginia for the first time and then only became an official US holiday in 1966, after a decree from President Lyndon B Johnson. He designated Father’s Day as always being the third Sunday in June – which makes this year’s the 18th, by the way.
The tradition only made it over to the UK after the Second World War but, unlike America, it never became a public holiday. Nevertheless, what it has become is the perfect time to show appreciation for the fathers and father figures in our lives, and to say how much we truly care for them.
So, to help you put your parental love on display this June, we’ve put together a list of the best Father’s Day experiences to try.
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Featuring an all-encompassing range of experiences, from high energy to low energy, long to short, stuff your face with food to riding with donkeys, this list has got it all. We’ve also tried to cater it to fit all the different hobbies your dad might enjoy, so whether you’ve got a gardening dad, a football dad or an adrenaline junkie dad, there’s something here.
Let’s take a look at the top experiences you can treat your dad to this Father’s Day, and hurry! June will come around sooner than you think.
For more of the top things to do across the UK, take a look at the best UK driving experiences, best Edinburgh ghost tours, and murder mystery experiences.
Best Father’s Day experiences in the UK at a glance:
- Bring Your Baby Pub Quiz For Two, £20
- Back to the Future the musical, from £24
- BBC Gardeners' World Live tickets, from £25
- Steam Railway Day Rover Tickets on the East Somerset Railway, £28
- The Lion King, from £33
- Chilli Afternoon Tea for Two, £34
- Operation Mincemeat the musical, from £39.50
- The Dare Skywalk for Two at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, £42
- Vineyard Tour with Wine Tasting at Chapel Down Winery, £50
- Donkey Meet, Greet and Walk at Dashing Donkeys, £50
- Emirates Stadium Tour, £60
- 60 Minute Segway Thrill for Two, £69
- Pizza Making Class and Party at Bunga Bunga, £78
- 24oz Porterhouse Steak with Unlimited Fries,
£127£79 - 60 Minute Golf Lesson with a PGA Professional, £82
- The London Craft Beer Cruise for Two, £100
- Sustainable Gardening Day Course for Two, £116
- American Big Rig Truck Driving Experience, £129
- Faulty Towers The Dining Experience for Two, £149
- Introductory Flying Lesson, £150
- One Day Charcuterie Course, £250
Best Father’s Day experiences in the UK for 2023
Back to the Future at the West End
Great Scott! The classic sci-fi movie Back to the Future is now a musical at London's Adelphi Theatre. Take you and your dad back to 1955 with this five-star performance featuring Marty McFly, Doc and their handy DeLorean. With shows running until October 2023, there's still plenty of time left to see the show before it leaves the West End.
Buy Back to the Future tickets from £24 at London Theatre Direct
24oz Porterhouse Steak with Unlimited Fries at Marco Pierre White's London Steakhouse Co
Virgin Experience Days is currently running a significant discount on one of their most popular experiences. For just £79, you could be tucking into an enormous 24oz steak at Marco Pierre White's London Steakhouse Co. The steak is a grass-fed 28 day dry-aged Porterhouse that can be cooked to your liking. Plus, you'll receive a selection of sauces and unlimited fries.
Buy 24oz Porterhouse Steak with Unlimited Fries for £127 £79 at Virgin Experience Days
Faulty Towers The Dining Experience for Two
You don't have to travel to Torquay to come across the antics of bumbling Basil Fawlty. At the Faulty Towers dining experience, you'll receive a three course meal, drinks and two hours of slapstick comedy. Taking place at London's President Hotel, no two nights of this experience are the same as the cast of actors will improvise and entertain as the beloved characters Basil, Sybil and Manuel.
Buy the Faulty Towers The Dining Experience for £149 at Virgin Experience Days
Operation Mincemeat the musical
Got a history buff for a dad? Well, this Father's Day, treat him to a performance of the new West End play Operation Mincemeat the musical. Telling the story of the devious (and true) World War II plot to trick the Nazis into leaving Sicily, this play is packed full of humour, history and touching moments. Now on at the Fortune Theatre, Operation Mincemeat is showing until August so grab a ticket now!
You can also check out our in-depth guide to Operation Mincemeat the musical.
But Operation Mincemeat tickets from £39.50 at ATG Tickets
Introductory Flying Lesson
With this day out, you can fulfil a life-long dream of being able to fly your own plane. With 26 locations available across the country, you'll have 30 minutes to take the controls on a plane, all the while listening to the safety tips and guidance of your Civil Aviation Authority licensed instructor and air traffic control.
Plus, if once isn't enough for you, the time you spend in the air will give you points that count towards a Private Pilot's licence.
Buy Introductory Flying Lesson for £150 at Virgin Experience Days
Chilli Afternoon Tea for Two with Gourmet Tasting
Spice up a classic by taking your dad on this afternoon tea with a twist. In Bedfordshire, you'll find Edible Ornamentals chilli nursery, which was recently featured on Clarkson's Farm. While there, you can brave a zingy chilli afternoon tea, complete with chilli-themed sandwiches, tortilla chips and sweet chilli sauce and a selection of assorted Italian pastries. You'll also be treated to a chilli sauce tasting with the guidance of an expert.
Buy Chilli Afternoon Tea for £34 at Virgin Experience Days
Sustainable Gardening Day Course for Two
For the dads who love nature, you can give back to the Earth with this sustainable gardening course taught by the Wild Harvest School of Self-Reliance. Located in York, you'll learn about the principles and ethics of permaculture and understand how to create a flourishing eco-system in your garden with natural methods and techniques.
Buy Sustainable Gardening Day Course for £116 at Buyagift
The Lion King
The ultimate story of fathers and sons, the Lion King will get your heart singing and your tears flowing. A staple of the West End, the musical is now in its 24th year at the Lyceum Theatre and is an amazing spectacle to behold. With songs you know and love from the Disney movie, you'll certainly be feeling the love on the night.
Buy The Lion King tickets from £33 at ATG Tickets
Vineyard Tour with Wine Tasting at Chapel Down Winery
This June, you and your dad can decant down to Kent to attend the Chapel Down Winery vineyard tour. While there, you'll learn about the whole winemaking process from grape to cork and be shown exactly how the English winemaking process works. Then, you'll be able to try a selection of delectable wines and get to wander through the winery gardens at your leisure.
Buy Vineyard Tour with Wine Tasting at Chapel Down Winery for £50 at Virgin Experience Days
60 Minute Golf Lesson with a PGA Professional
Don't let this Father's Day be a swing and a miss. Treat your dad to a professional PGA golf lesson so he can learn the sport for real and maybe stop embarrassing himself on those group boys' trips. Under the tutelage of your PGA coach, you'll spend the hour practising everything from driving to putting and will have your techniques expertly analysed to help you improve.
Buy 60 Minute Golf Lesson with a PGA Professional for £82 at Virgin Experience Days
Or, putt your faith in us by reading the best golf gift experiences.
Emirates Stadium Tour for Two
Oooh to be a Gooner... For the football dads out there, you can get yourself to the Emirates Stadium this June and see where all the magic (and sometimes disappointment) happens. With this tour, you'll be given an interactive headset to take around the stadium, through which you can hear legendary players and presenters talk about their match day experiences at Arsenal. You also have entry to the Arsenal FC Museum and get your photo taken with the trophies.
Buy Emirates Stadium Tour for £60 Virgin Experience Days
We know you don't all follow Arsenal, so we've also got a lot more football teams on show in this guide to the best stadium tours.
Donkey Meet, Greet and Walk at Dashing Donkeys
What's better than cuddling up with a group of donkeys? We as(s)k you! At Dashing Donkeys, you can take your new four-legged friends on a walk and then a picnic, all the while meeting some of the other wildlife on the way.
Buy Donkey Meet, Greet and Walk at Dashing Donkeys for £50 at Virgin Experience Days
Pizza Making Class and Party at Bunga Bunga
With this day out at Bunga Bunga, you'll begin with a serving of Italian antipasti and cocktails, all before learning the art of pizza making. You'll be taught how to stretch and handle pizza dough (and there might even be dough tossing competition), and can then decorate and cook your excellent pizza. Plus, there's live entertainment and you'll go home with your very own pizza making kit.
Buy Pizza Making Class and Party for Two at Bunga Bunga for £78 at Virgin Experience Days
The Dare Skywalk for Two at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Fancy combining your dad's love of football with a healthy bit of danger? If so, take the Dare Skywalk at Tottenham Hotspur stadium! For 90 minutes, you'll embark on a journey 46.8 metres above the football pitch which will take you onto a glass walkway and over to the stadium's famous Golden Cockerel. With incredible views of the London skyline, this gift is perfect for adrenaline lovers and Spurs fan alike.
Buy The Dare Skywalk at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for £42 at Virgin Experience Days
The London Craft Beer Cruise for Two
You can shake up the classic pub trip with this craft beer cruise on the River Thames. Leaving from Lambeth Pier, you'll have two and a half hours to sip on five hand-selected beers and learn about the brewing process from an industry expert. You can also buy more drinks at the bar or just sit back and watch the London skyline float on buy.
The London Craft Beer Cruise for Two for £100 at Virgin Experience Days
If this whets your appetite, you can also check out our roundup of the best London boat tours to try in 2023.
American Big Rig Truck Driving Experience
Take driving experiences to the next level by getting behind the wheel of an American Big Rig Truck. With the help of a qualified instructor, you'll learn all the gears and controls needed to tackle this beasty. Then, it's up to you to take it out onto the track.
Buy American Big Rig Truck Driving Experience for £129 at Buyagift
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60 Minute Segway Thrill for two
Swap four wheels for two with a 60-minute Segway experience found at 14 places up and down the UK. You and your dad will get a safety debrief and training before whizzing off onto the Segway rally track. Whether you want to race or just take a leisurely roll through the woods, this experience is for you. Plus, there's a photographer on hand to capture all the action.
Buy 60 Minute Segway Thrill for £69 at Virgin Experience Days
Steam Railway Day Rover Tickets on the East Somerset Railway
Here at RadioTimes.com, we love a day out on steam train. In fact, we have a guide to the best steam train experiences to try in 2023. If you think your dad would love a relaxing roam through the countryside this Father's Day, then take him on this classic steam train from the 150-year-old East Somerset Railway. With the ticket, you'll go from Cranmore to Mendip Vale and journey past stunning views of the south west.
Buy Steam Railway Day Rover Tickets for Two on the East Somerset Railway for £28 at Buyagift
BBC Gardeners' World Live
Why not spend Father's Day celebrating your dad's love of gardening by heading off to BBC Gardeners’ World Live? Taking place at the Birmingham NEC from 15th - 18th June, you can get a whole host of gardening tips from your favourite experts including Monty Don, Carol Klein, Adam Frost and Alan Titchmarsh. Plus, you can explore the range of show gardens, plant villages and floral marquees, and browse the gardening kits available.
Buy BBC Gardeners' World Live tickets from £25 at Gardeners' World
Bring Your Baby Pub Quiz
New fathers won't have to miss out on a trip to the pub this Father's Day with this bring your baby pub quiz. Taking place at lunchtime, you can fill up on food and drink while bonding with fellow parents over a lively quiz. With locations all over London you can take your pick of day out.
Buy Bring Your Baby Pub Quiz For £20 at Not on the Highstreet
One Day Charcuterie Course
Learn the art of the charcutier with this one day course at the Greek Farmer. Across the day you'll learn how to make your own salami & bacon which the restaurant will then age for you and deliver later. Plus you'll make your own sausages which you'll be able to take home immediately and will be served a full lunch.
Buy One Day Charcuterie Course for £250 at Not on the Highstreet
For more ideas on how to treat your loved ones, take a look at the best birthday experience gifts or the best West End shows to see in 2023. Plus, what is ABBA Voyage? and what is Shrek's Adventure?
