Blackpool Illuminations
Six miles of free lights along the Promenade, 4 September 2026 to 3 January 2027. Walk a stretch, ride a lit-up tram, done.
Days out with the kids in Blackpool
10 places in Blackpool, Lancashire, 2 of which cost nothing. Everything below is within easy reach if you live locally.
10 in Blackpool2 free5 indoor
Everyone knows what Blackpool is for, and Blackpool knows it too. Pleasure Beach's Nickelodeon Land covers the primary ages properly, the Tower stacks a glass floor, a circus and the Dungeon into one building, and Madame Tussauds sits on the same strip. The trap is the wristband arms race: budget for one big-ticket day, not three, and buy only the attractions you will actually use.
The rain plan is the best in the North West: Sandcastle is the UK's biggest indoor waterpark, kept at tropical temperature, with Sea Life's ocean tunnel as the shorter fallback. What locals know is Stanley Park - Italian gardens, a boating lake, one of the coast's best playgrounds, all free - with the quietly magic Model Village next door. And from September the Illuminations turn a walk along the prom into a free night out, which is not a sentence you can write about many resorts.
Places in Blackpool
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.
Blackpool Model Village & Gardens
A miniature world of tiny houses, castles and villages set in an acre of gardens next to Stanley Park. Gentle, old-fashioned and quietly magic for the under-9s.
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.
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.
Madame Tussauds Blackpool
Over 75 wax figures across 14 zones, and the Blackpool version leans pop culture rather than politics, so kids actually recognise people. Book online or you pay extra for the privilege of queueing.
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.
The Blackpool Tower Dungeon
Actor-led horror comedy through a thousand years of grim Lancashire history, with a drop ride at the end. Properly scary in places, so save it for the older ones.
What’s on in Blackpool
8 dated events coming up, 1 of them this weekend.
Sunday Worship with Children's Groups (opens on All Saints)
All Saints · Blackpool
2 Aug. Sunday 2 August, 10.30am
The first Sunday of the month is our Praise Service with the emphasis on musical worship.
Listed by All Saints · collected 2 Aug
Toddler Group (opens on All Saints)
All Saints · Blackpool
5 Aug. Wednesday 5 August, 1.15pm
A group for parents/carers and their little ones.
Listed by All Saints · collected 2 Aug
Youth Group (opens on All Saints)
All Saints · Blackpool
7 Aug. Friday 7 August, 7.30pm
For young people of secondary school age.
Listed by All Saints · collected 2 Aug
Peppa Pig's Big Family Show (opens on Blackpool Grand Theatre)
Blackpool Grand Theatre
1 Sept to 2 Sept. Every Tuesday and Wednesday
Runs on 2 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Listed by Blackpool Grand Theatre · collected 2 Aug
Blackpool Illuminations (opens in a new tab)
The Promenade, Blackpool
4 Sept to 3 Jan. Every evening from dusk, switch-on 4 September
Six miles of lights along the prom from the big switch-on night to early January. Drive it, walk it, or catch a heritage tram through the middle of it, which is the version kids remember.
Written by us
Messy Church (opens on All Saints)
All Saints · Blackpool
8 Sept. Tuesday 8 September, 3.30pm
Join us as we learn about a Bible story with fun, games, crafts and food.
Listed by All Saints · collected 2 Aug
Everything on in Blackpool2 more not shown here
Also worth the drive
Not in Blackpool, but close enough for a day out.
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.
Farmer Ted's Adventure Farm
Built precisely for the under-9s: animal encounters, giant jumping pillows, tractor rides and a big indoor play barn that rescues wet days. Older siblings will tolerate it; little ones adore it.
Brockholes Nature Reserve
A nature reserve with a visitor village that floats on the lake - genuinely floats. Easy flat trails, hides, a good playground and free family crafts through the summer holidays.
Williamson Park
The Ashton Memorial dome you can see from the M6, with views across Morecambe Bay, a butterfly house, mini beasts and a good playground below it. Lancaster's best free afternoon.
Happy Mount Park
A proper old-fashioned seaside park: the splash park is the summer draw, with trampolines, adventure golf and a cafe for the flask-and-chips crowd. Pair it with an ice cream on the prom.
Bowland Wild Boar Park
Wild boar, deer and llamas in a Forest of Bowland valley, with animal feeding, a barrel train and river walks. Small, unslick and all the better for it.
Clitheroe Castle
One of England's smallest Norman keeps on a rock above the town, with a labyrinth, sculpture trail and a museum that tells the Ribble Valley's story briskly. The grounds and the views cost nothing.