Barrow Park
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.
Parks & outdoors Barrow-in-Furness
Parks & outdoors in Barrow-in-Furness
Playgrounds, country parks, woodland trails and nature reserves. Most of these cost nothing.
3 in Barrow-in-Furness2 free3 suit under-5s
Barrow's outdoors runs from a Victorian town park to a seal colony. Barrow Park is forty-five acres in the middle of town with a boating lake, putting, a glasshouse, a play area and a miniature railway on Sunday afternoons. It is free, and it sits next door to the swimming pool, which gives you somewhere to go if the weather turns.
Out on the coast, South Walney Nature Reserve at the southern tip of Walney Island has Cumbria's only grey seal colony and around 250 recorded bird species, for £3 an adult and £1 a child. Sandscale Haws at Roanhead is National Trust dunes and a big sandy beach on the Duddon estuary, with new boardwalks down to the sand and fell views. Entry is free, the car park is small and paid, and the toilets only open in summer. Check the tide before South Walney, and keep off the tidal channels at Roanhead.
Parks & outdoors in Barrow-in-Furness
Sandscale Haws National Nature Reserve (Roanhead beach)
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.
South Walney Nature Reserve
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.
Parks & outdoors elsewhere in the North West
Walton Hall & Gardens
The reliable default: gardens, a children's zoo, a big playground and plenty of room to run. Pay for parking, nothing else.
Risley Moss
A raised peat bog nature reserve at Birchwood with woodland trails, bird hides and a visitor centre with toilets. Free, close and short enough for little legs, but closed on Fridays.
Sherdley Park
St Helens' biggest park. Play areas, open space and a walled garden, and it costs nothing.
Dream, Sutton Manor
A 20-metre white head rising out of a reclaimed colliery, with woodland trails around it. Genuinely strange and memorable for kids, and a short walk rather than a hike.
Sankey Valley Park
A green corridor of canal towpath and parkland running from St Helens down towards Warrington. Flat, traffic-free and ideal if the bikes or scooters are coming.
Speke Hall
A Tudor hall with woodland walks, a maze and a natural play area in the grounds. Free if you have National Trust membership, and the indoor house is a good rain fallback.
What’s on near you, every Friday
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.