We save HUNDREDS on UK attraction tickets with our free Blue Peter Badge – yes they still exist and anyone can get one

MY FAMILY saves hundreds on attraction tickets and days out using our Blue Peter badges.

Children between the ages of five and 15 can apply for a Blue Peter badge, which entitles the holder to free entry to over 200 UK attractions like museums, science centres, castles and zoos.

Personally, I grew up watching the likes of Anthea Turner and Konnie Huq on my TV screen.

The show is still going strong with presenters like Abby Cook, Joel Mawhinney and Shini Muthukrishnan still delighting a generation of children to this day.

There are nine different types of badges kids can apply for from silver, green and purple to the music, sports and book badges.

But the instantly recognisable blue badge is the easiest to get because it’s awarded to kids who send interesting letters, stories, pictures, poems and good ideas for the show.

As soon as she was old enough my now 8-year-old daughter Sabrina, painted a beautiful picture of flowers in a vase and sent it off to the team.

Her badge arrived within three weeks along with a letter to apply for the badge’s ID card – you can’t get entry without this – and the ID card arrived shortly after.

As we live in Edinburgh, my daughter has used her badge for entry into Edinburgh Zoo countless times.

A standard child’s ticket for costs £17.20 on the door, so by using her badge we’ve saved hundreds over the years.

The badge even works for entry during some special events such as character meet-and-greets, giving you more bang for your buck.

As frequent visitors to Dundee, we’ve also used the badge for entry into Discovery Point and RRS Discovery, saving us £9.50 a pop.

The best use of the badge has been during family staycations. One of our favourite attractions was the Jorvik Viking Centre in York, which includes a fun ride through a Viking village.

Sabrina’s badge entitled her to free entry and, as my son is under 5, he was free too which meant we only paid for two adult tickets (£16.50 each), meaning it cost only £33 for a family of four instead of £55.

The best part about Jorvik is that every ticket is valid for 12 months after the initial visit so we could go every month for the next year and not pay any more than the initial £33.

The Tower of London, Kensington Palace, Kew Gardens and London Zoo are among the attractions included with a Blue Peter Badge.

Parents must be careful when booking though, as some sites are stricter than others and must be booked in advance.

Some attractions will allow you to bring two children with badges per one paying adult whereas others insist on one child with a badge per one paying adult. Either way, you’re still saving money.

There are 200 attractions to choose from throughout the UK so savvy families can even plan their next staycation based on what attractions are included.

Sabrina has now had her blue badge for three years and is planning on applying to get her book badge – the latest in the collection which was designed by one of the UK’s best-known illustrators, Sir Quentin Blake.

This badge must be earned by sharing thoughts on a favourite book – something my bookworm daughter will be great at.

With the October holidays on the horizon, it might be worthwhile getting your kids to apply now to start saving.

Travel writer Catherine Lofthouse has also used Blue Peter Badges to save hundreds of pounds on family days out.