Guides · Family days out
Days out,
already planned.
Whole days worked out for you: where to start, when to stop for lunch, how to get between places and what to do if it rains. Every stop links to its own page with opening times, prices and a map.
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North WestA wet day of free museums in Manchester
Manchester 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
One dayAll agesRainy dayFree
North WestCastle playground and a lake steamer near Penrith
Penrith / Pooley Bridge
A morning on the turrets, tunnels and slides of one of the biggest adventure playgrounds in the country, set among castle ruins and gardens. In the afternoon, step aboard a heritage boat on Ullswater for fell views from the water.
Lowther Castle & Gardens → Ullswater Steamers
One dayAges 3–7Sunny dayCost ££
North WestHeaton Park and a bus museum on a budget
North 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
One dayAll agesFree
North WestFarm animals and woodland for little ones near Bolton
Bolton / Wigan
A gentle day built around a working dairy farm, where toddlers can feed animals, take a tractor ride and see the cows milked. After lunch, a short drive takes you to wide woodland paths for a nap-friendly buggy walk.
Smithills Open Farm → Haigh Woodland Park
One dayToddlersCost ££
North WestA full day at Chester Zoo and an evening on the city walls
Chester
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
One dayAll agesCost £££
North WestForest trails and a castle on a crag in Cheshire
Delamere / 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
One dayAll agesSunny dayCost £
North WestLiverpool waterfront: museums and a ferry across the Mersey
Liverpool Pier Head
Two free waterfront museums cover the city's story and its seafaring past, all within a few minutes' walk. In the afternoon, take the famous ferry for a loop on the river and a good look at the skyline.
Museum of Liverpool → Merseyside Maritime Museum → Mersey Ferry Explorer Cruise
One dayAll agesCost £
North WestRed squirrels and iron men on the Sefton coast
Formby / Crosby
Look for red squirrels in the Formby pinewoods before running down through the dunes to the beach. After lunch, head south to Crosby to find Antony Gormley's cast-iron figures standing along the shore.
Formby Nature Reserve → Crosby Beach
One dayAll agesSunny dayFree
North WestBlackpool in lights: a two-day autumn break
Blackpool
Day one keeps you mostly indoors at the Tower, the aquarium and Showtown, then ends with the free Illuminations along the promenade. Day two is for rides at the Pleasure Beach, with a gentle finish beside Fairhaven Lake.
The Blackpool Tower Ballroom → SEA LIFE Blackpool → Showtown Blackpool → Blackpool Illuminations + 2 more
WeekendAll agesCost £££
North WestOtters, reedbeds and the seaside at Morecambe Bay
Silverdale / Morecambe
Start on level paths through a big reedbed reserve, peering from hides for otters, deer and wading birds. After lunch, swap binoculars for swings at a seafront park in Morecambe.
RSPB Leighton Moss → Happy Mount Park
One dayAll agesCost £
North WestPeter Rabbit, old boats and an island cruise in Bowness
Bowness-on-Windermere
A compact day in Bowness that works in any weather: storybook scenes for younger children, a museum full of historic boats, and a 45-minute cruise around Windermere's islands.
The World of Beatrix Potter → Windermere Jetty Museum → Windermere Lake Cruises
One dayAges 3–7Cost ££
North WestMountain forest and Keswick's quirky museums
Keswick
Begin high up in Whinlatter Forest with play areas and a family trail above Bassenthwaite Lake. Then drop down into Keswick for a museum of optical illusions and the town museum's rocks, mining and Lakeland stories.
Whinlatter Forest → The Puzzling Place → Keswick Museum
One dayAges 8–12Cost ££
Written by Tumble from each place's own published information, checked October 2026. Times are suggestions, not bookings. Opening hours and prices change, so check each place's page before you set off.