Delamere / Tarporley
Delamere Forest · Photo: David Crocker
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.
Nature & gardens · 10:00–12:45 (2h45m)
Follow the family trail, then lunch at the Linmere café.
Cheshire's largest woodland, run by Forestry England, with waymarked walking and cycling trails, a Room on the Broom family trail, Go Ape and a café at Linmere. It has its own railway station on the Chester-Manchester line.
Photo: David Crocker
Castle · 13:30–16:15 (2h45m)
Woodland path up to the summit ruins; look in the Bronze Age roundhouse on the way.
An indoor and outdoor castle in Tarporley, aimed at ages 4 and up.
Photo: english-heritage.org.uk
North WestManchester city centre
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.
Science and Industry Museum → The Manchester Museum → The Whitworth
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
