Days out with the kids in Barrow-in-Furness

The Dock Museum is still the place to start: built over a Victorian graving dock, free to get in and free to park, with Vikings, Romans and the shipbuilding that made Barrow inside and an adventure playground outside. Barrow Park is 45 acres of Victorian park with a boating lake, putting and a miniature railway on Sunday afternoons, and the leisure centre next door has a wave machine and a slide in its fun pool.

The rest pulls you to the edges. Furness Abbey's red sandstone ruins sit in a wooded valley on the edge of town, with a trail for children and 15% off if you book by the night before. South Walney, at the tip of the island, has Cumbria's only grey seal colony for £1 a child, as long as the tide lets you along the access road. For a wet morning with an under-eight, Mini and Me is a booked role play village at £8.95 a session.

Places in Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow Park

Barrow-in-Furness~1 hr 50 min

★★★★★4.6(809)

Forty-five acres of Victorian park in the middle of Barrow, with a boating lake, a miniature railway on Sunday afternoons, putting, a glasshouse and a play area. Free, and next door to the swimming pool.

FreeAges 0-12

Sandscale Haws National Nature Reserve (Roanhead beach)

Barrow-in-Furness~1 hr 35 min

National Trust dunes and a big sandy beach at Roanhead on the Duddon estuary, with new boardwalks down to the sand and fell views. Free to walk in, small pay car park, toilets in summer only, and keep off the tidal channels.

Free entry, pay car park (NT members free)Ages 2-14

The Dock Museum

Barrow-in-Furness~2 hr

★★★★★4.6(1,220)

Built over a Victorian graving dock, with collections running from Vikings and Romans to the shipbuilding that made Barrow. Free entry, free parking, and an adventure playground outside.

Free entry and free parkingIndoorsClosed Mondays and Tuesdays all yearAges 3-11

Barrow Park Leisure Centre

Barrow-in-Furness~1 hr 50 min

★★★★☆4.1(389)

Barrow's main pool has a proper leisure pool beside the 25m lanes, with a wave machine, a water slide and a Pirate Cove water play area. Pay as you go, no membership needed.

Family swim £18.50IndoorsAges 0-14

Furness Abbey

Barrow-in-Furness~1 hr 45 min

★★★★★4.7(1,081)

The ruins of what was England's second richest Cistercian abbey, in a wooded valley on the edge of Barrow, with a small exhibition of knights' effigies and a build-your-own-city trail for children. Book by the night before and it is 15% cheaper.

Adults £10, children £5 on the day; 15% off booked aheadAges 4-12

Mini and Me Role Play Village

Barrow-in-Furness~1 hr 50 min

★★★★★4.8(41)

A child-sized pretend village in Barrow with eight themed pods, from a supermarket and a vets to a salon, a building site and a sensory snug. For under-8s, booked sessions only, and small on purpose.

£8.95 a child, one adult freeIndoorsAges 0-7

South Walney Nature Reserve

Barrow-in-Furness~2 hr

★★★★★4.7(653)

The southern tip of Walney Island, where Cumbria's only grey seal colony hauls out and about 250 bird species have been recorded. Cheap, wild and memorable, as long as you check the tide first.

£3 adults, £1 children, members freeAges 3-12

Wacky Warehouse at the Owl & Pussycat

Barrow-in-Furness~1 hr 30 min

★★★★★4.5(47)

Pub soft play at the Owl and Pussycat on Hindpool Road, with slides, ball pits, a tots area, crafts and an outdoor play area. £6 a child, adults free, and £4.50 Tots Club on term-time weekdays.

£6 a child, adults freeIndoorsAges 1-10

What’s on in Barrow-in-Furness

8 dated events coming up.

Also worth the drive

Not in Barrow-in-Furness, but close enough for a day out.

Windermere Lake Cruises

Windermere & Bowness~1 hr 30

★★★★★4.6(1,657)

England's biggest lake from the deck of a proper boat, on colour-coded routes from the 45-minute Islands cruise out of Bowness to the Yellow run down to Lakeside. Combo tickets pair it with the aquarium, the steam railway or the motor museum.

Family boat faresAges 4-11

Brockhole on Windermere

Windermere & Bowness~1 hr 35

★★★★★4.6(4,197)

The old national park visitor centre on the Windermere shore, now run by BeWILDerwood and still mid-makeover. The grounds are free to wander; Minty Land indoor play, Zip World's treetop courses, Wild Bounce and the lake cruises are the paid extras.

Free grounds, paid parking and activitiesAges 4-11

The World of Beatrix Potter

Windermere & Bowness~1 hr 30

★★★★★4.5(6,202)

Peter Rabbit's world recreated in walk-through scenes, ending in the garden with Mr McGregor's vegetables. Squarely for the under-8s; it is small, sweet and unashamed of it.

Adults £12.60, kids £7.80, family £38IndoorsClosed 11 to 31 January 2027 for maintenanceAges 4-7

Lakes Aquarium

Newby Bridge~1 hr 20

★★★★☆4.2(4,618)

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.

Attraction ticketsIndoorsAges 4-9

Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway

Newby Bridge~1 hr 20

★★★★★4.6(5,800)

A short, perfectly-formed steam line through the Leven valley that connects with the Windermere boats at Lakeside. Do train plus cruise and you have built the classic Lakes day without a single car park argument.

Family faresAges 4-11

Lakeland Motor Museum

Newby Bridge~1 hr 20

★★★★★4.7(5,828)

Thousands of vehicles and period pieces packed into a riverside mill, with the Campbell Bluebird story told properly in its own gallery. One for kids who like machines; a surprisingly good wet-weather card.

Adults £13.25, kids £7.90, family £36IndoorsAges 6-11

Whinlatter Forest

Keswick~1 hr 50

★★★★★4.8(2,987)

England's only true mountain forest: the Room on the Broom trail, Gruffalo orienteering, the WildPlay trail, red squirrels if you are lucky, and Go Ape for older kids. Views over Derwentwater thrown in.

Free entry, paid parkingAges 4-11

The Puzzling Place

Keswick~1 hr 50

★★★★☆4.4(2,039)

An anti-gravity room where water appears to run uphill, a hologram gallery and a room that shrinks the grown-ups. Cheap, indoor, and exactly the right length for the age group.

Attraction ticketsIndoorsAges 5-11