Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery
A proper old-fashioned free museum in the town centre: Egyptian gallery, natural history cases and paintings upstairs, all doable in an hour. Closed Sundays and Mondays, which catches people out.
Days out with the kids in Blackburn
3 places in Blackburn, Lancashire, 3 of which cost nothing. Everything below is within easy reach if you live locally.
3 in Blackburn3 free1 indoor
Witton Country Park does the heavy lifting in Blackburn: 480 acres of woodland trails and adventure playgrounds a mile from the centre, free in and free to park, a combination getting rarer by the year. Corporation Park is the Victorian counterpart on the other side of town, all lake, conservatory and formal terraces, better for prams and scooters than for burning off a wild eight-year-old.
Blackburn Museum covers the wet days for nothing, a proper old town museum in the centre, small enough to do before lunch. The real advantage is position: the Ribble Valley starts twenty minutes north, so Clitheroe's castle and the Bowland boar park bolt on easily, and Towneley's free park is a similar hop east. Days out in Blackburn with kids are mostly free, which takes the sting out of the forecast.
Places in Blackburn
Corporation Park
Blackburn's showpiece Victorian park: a triumphal arch at the gate, two lakes with swans, a playground right beside them and a lime-tree avenue climbing the hill. Free, and less than a mile from the town centre.
Witton Country Park
Blackburn's biggest green space: 480 acres with adventure playgrounds, woodland trails and a visitor centre in the old Victorian stables. Free in, free to park, and it absorbs a whole afternoon without anyone asking for money.
What’s on in Blackburn
6 dated events coming up, 1 of them this weekend.
Sung Eucharist (opens on A warm welcome to St Cuthbert's)
A warm welcome to St Cuthbert's · Blackburn
2 Aug. Sunday 2 August, 10.30am
Our Sunday services are for all ages and we cater for those who are 0-90+.
Listed by A warm welcome to St Cuthbert's · collected 2 Aug
Family Silent Disco (opens on Blackburn Cathedral)
Blackburn Cathedral Crypt
26 Sept. Saturday 26 September, 1pm
Please note that tickets are strictly limited for this event, so please book early to avoid disappointment.
Listed by Blackburn Cathedral · collected 2 Aug
Cathedral Craft Club, Fused Glass Workshop (opens on Blackburn Cathedral)
Blackburn Cathedral Crypt
4 Oct. Sunday 4 October, 1pm
During this workshop you will create a candle curve, flowers, birds, bees and butterflies its up to you or you may come up with your own design.
Listed by Blackburn Cathedral · collected 2 Aug
TranslatingScripture: Engaging ChildrenWith the Bible Conference (opens on Blackburn Cathedral)
Blackburn Cathedral
15 Oct. Thursday 15 October, 9am
Blackburn Diocese Board of Education, in partnership with Blackburn Cathedral, invites primary teachers, RE leads, and those who plan collective worship to a morning conference at Blackburn Cathedral…
Listed by Blackburn Cathedral · collected 2 Aug
TranslatingScripture: The Bible in Youth Ministry Conference (opens on Blackburn Cathedral)
Blackburn Cathedral
15 Oct. Thursday 15 October, 1.30pm
Blackburn Diocese Board of Education, in partnership with Blackburn Cathedral, invites youth workers to an afternoon at Blackburn Cathedral to reflect together on one question: how do we enable young…
Listed by Blackburn Cathedral · collected 2 Aug
Cathedral Craft Club, Festive Wreath Making Workshop (opens on Blackburn Cathedral)
Blackburn Cathedral
26 Nov. Thursday 26 November, 7.30pm
Whether you come with friends, family or it’s a treat for yourself, it’s the perfect opportunity to get creative, soak up the seasonal Cathedral atmosphere and make wonderful memories with a group of…
Listed by Blackburn Cathedral · collected 2 Aug
Also worth the drive
Not in Blackburn, but close enough for a day out.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach
The big one. Nickelodeon Land covers the primary ages properly while the Big One and the wooden coasters wait for brave older kids. August queues are real; go in expecting them and it is a great day.
Blackpool Tower
The Tower Eye's glass floor 380 feet up, a proper circus that still knows how to play to kids, and the famous ballroom below for a fancy ice cream. Buy the attractions you want rather than the bundle you will not use.
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.
Blackpool Zoo
Elephants, gorillas, giraffes and sea lions in 37 acres that are actually walkable with primary-age legs - big enough to feel like a full day, small enough that nobody ends up carried.
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.
Stanley Park
Blackpool's grand free option: Italian gardens, a big boating lake, one of the best playgrounds on the coast and model boats on the lake. The antidote to a wristband day.
WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre
Otters at feeding time, flamingos, pond dipping and a canoe safari through the reeds in season. One of those places that quietly turns a nature-indifferent child into a nature child.
Windmill Animal Farm
A friendly hands-on farm whose star turn is the miniature railway running out across the fields. Animal handling sessions, indoor play for wet spells, and it never feels too big.