Crosby Beach
A hundred cast-iron men stare out to sea along two miles of sand - Antony Gormley's Another Place, and the strangest, most memorable free afternoon on this coast. Sand, statues, ships from the port gliding past.
Water & swimming in the North West
Splash pads, lakes, beaches, aquariums and pools. Bring a towel and a change of clothes.
18 places4 free
A coastline the rest of the country tends to forget about, plus the indoor options for when the actual sea is out of the question.
Crosby Beach has Antony Gormley's hundred iron men standing out in the tide and costs nothing but the car park. New Brighton and the marine lake at West Kirby are both free and both better than their reputations suggest. Sandcastle at Blackpool is the indoor waterpark, warm all year, which counts for a lot here. Sea Life at Blackpool and Blue Planet at Ellesmere Port are the wet-day fallbacks. Fell Foot on Windermere is National Trust and one of the few places a child can get properly into a lake with a jetty and a cafe behind them. Check the tide before Crosby: the statues are only interesting when they are half submerged, and the sand out towards them is softer than it looks.
Parks & outdoorsSoft play & indoor playFarms & animalsAdventure & ridesWater & swimmingMuseums & science
Every option
Fell Foot
A National Trust lakeshore park at Windermere's quiet southern tip: grassy banks straight into the water, paddling, boat hire and an adventure playground. The easiest safe lake-swim spot for families.
New Brighton Seafront
Beach, marine lake, Fort Perch Rock at the river mouth, and the driftwood Black Pearl pirate ship built from beach findings that children treat as the best playground on Merseyside. Chips on the front to finish.
West Kirby Marine Lake & Beach
A mile-long flat promenade loop around a giant saltwater lake on the Dee estuary, with dinghies and paddleboards for hire from the council-run watersports centre and a sandy beach alongside. Free unless you get on the water.
Anderton Boat Lift
A Victorian lift that hoists whole canal boats fifty feet in the air, and you can ride it. Genuinely impressive to a small child, with a visitor centre and café on site.
ChesterBoat City Cruises
Half an hour on the Dee from The Groves, past Grosvenor Park and along the Meadows, for £4.50 a child and free under 5s. Exactly as long as a small child finds a boat interesting.
Family Swimming
Both boroughs run family swim sessions through the holidays, several with shallow teaching pools and inflatables laid on. The cheapest way to burn two hours on a wet day.
Lakes Aquarium
A small, well-done aquarium at the quiet end of Windermere with an underwater tunnel walk beneath the lake's own fish, plus otters and rays. Pairs naturally with the steam railway next door.
Mersey Ferries River Explorer
The famous ferry across the Mersey run as a 50-minute sightseeing loop with commentary, and the honest truth is kids love the boat more than any museum. Hop off at Seacombe for Eureka! next door.
Blue Planet Aquarium
Sharks over a moving walkway tunnel, all under cover. A dependable answer to a washout forecast that still feels like a proper day out.
Formby Beach & Pinewoods
Huge sand dunes, a proper beach and red squirrels in the pinewoods behind it. The dunes alone will occupy them for an hour. Free entry if you have National Trust membership.
Sandcastle Waterpark
The UK's biggest indoor waterpark, kept at tropical temperature: proper toddler pools and mini slides at one end, big flumes at the other. Rainy-day Blackpool solved.
Sea Life Blackpool
A solid seafront aquarium with an ocean tunnel and rockpool sessions - the reliable wet-weather hour when the beach plan falls apart.
Sea Life Manchester
Ocean tunnel, rays, seahorses and rockpool touch sessions, sized for smaller legs - you can do the whole thing in a morning and pair it with Legoland next door.
Summer of Play, Hare Hill
Water play and outdoor games in a walled garden setting through the holidays. Free if you already have National Trust membership.
Wild Shore Delamere
A giant inflatable obstacle course floating on a Cheshire lake: 50 minutes of climbing, sliding and falling in. Brilliant for confident swimmers aged 6 and up, no use at all for anyone smaller.
Windermere Lake Cruises
England's biggest lake from the deck of a proper boat, with red, yellow and green routes so you can pick a 45-minute hop or a full lake cruise. Combo tickets pair it with the aquarium or the steam railway.
Crosby Lakeside Adventure Centre
Sefton's watersports centre on Crosby Marine Lake, with pay and play paddle sessions in season and the Gormley iron men on the beach over the road. More of a booked-session place than a turn-up attraction, so plan before you drive.