Manchester city centre
Science and Industry Museum · Photo: Science Museum Group
Three free museums and galleries that keep everyone dry and busy, from steam engines and science in Castlefield to dinosaurs and live animals on Oxford Road. Finish with a calm hour among the art and trees at the Whitworth.
Museum · 10:00–12:30 (2h30m)
Head for the hands-on science and the working machines; lunch in the museum café.
An indoor museum in Manchester.
Photo: Science Museum Group
Museum · 13:00–15:00 (2h)
Dinosaur skeletons and the vivarium's frogs and lizards are the big hits.
An indoor museum in Manchester.
Photo: DrPhoenix
Art & crafts · 15:15–16:15 (1h)
A quieter wind-down: a quick look at the galleries, then the café overlooking the park.
A free art gallery run by the University of Manchester that sits inside Whitworth Park, with a glass-walled café looking into the trees. Good for a short creative stop combined with the park outside.
Photo: Charlesdrakew
North WestNorth Manchester
Manchester's largest park gives you farm animals, playgrounds and a boating lake without paying for entry. After lunch, swap the outdoors for a hangar full of old buses and trams, where accompanied children get in free.
Heaton Park → Museum of Transport
North WestChester
Give the zoo the whole day: it is huge, and there is plenty under cover if showers pass through. If legs allow, finish with a short stretch of Chester's ancient walls to see the Eastgate Clock.
Chester Zoo → Chester City Walls
North WestDelamere / Tarporley
Spend the morning on waymarked forest trails, including a storybook trail for younger children. In the afternoon, climb up to a ruined castle on a rocky outcrop with views over the Cheshire Plain.
Delamere Forest → Beeston Castle and Woodland Park
