Soft play & indoor play in Carlisle

Carlisle's three indoor options do different jobs. Aztec Adventure Play off Crown Street is the big walk-in frame, £6 off-peak and £9 at peak for the over-fives, with a baby area and a proper hot food menu. There is no booking, which is handy on a whim and a gamble on a wet Saturday in the holidays.

Wee Rascalz on the Currock Road trade estate is smaller and family-run, with a proper under-threes room, but it shuts at 2.45pm at weekends and does not publish its prices. Fusion, behind Sainsbury's on Millrace Road, is trampolines, foam pits and a climbing wall from £12.45 an hour plus £2.95 socks. Its dinosaur crazy golf is outdoors, so that part only helps on a dry day.

Soft play & indoor play in Carlisle

Aztec Adventure Play

Carlisle~1 hr 50 min

★★★★☆4.2(357)

A big walk-in soft play off Crown Street with a separate baby area and a proper hot food menu. There is no booking for general play, which is handy on a whim and a gamble on a wet Saturday in the holidays.

£6 to £9 a child, under 2s freeIndoorsAges 0-10

Fusion Trampoline Park

Carlisle~1 hr 50 min

★★★★★4.5(698)

Trampolines, foam pits, a climbing wall, a soft play zone and a Skyrider indoors, plus an outdoor dinosaur crazy golf course, all behind Sainsbury's. The golf is the part that sells it to a mixed-age family, weather permitting.

From £12.45 an hour, plus £2.95 socksIndoorsAges 2-14

Wee Rascalz Adventure World

Carlisle~1 hr 50 min

★★★★☆4.4(211)

A family-run, jungle-themed soft play on a Currock Road trade estate, with a proper under 3s room and a cafe that bakes its own traybakes. Mornings are the move at weekends: it shuts at 2.45pm.

Price not listedIndoorsAges 0-8

Soft play & indoor play elsewhere in the North West

Giggles Play Mill

Warrington~10 min

★★★★☆4.2(164)

Two-tier soft play frame, low climbing wall, pirate ship, crawl tubes and a bouncy slide, plus Messy Monday and sensory sessions during the week.

Session priceIndoorsAges 4-8

Jellybeans Play Centre

Warrington~15 min

★★★★☆4.1(641)

Bigger than the average soft play: multi-level frame, a spooky room, an astro slide, a climbing wall, two mini bowling lanes and a slot racing track. The bowling is what makes it work when you have a toddler and a seven-year-old to keep happy at once.

Session priceIndoorsAges 4-9

Fun2b

Warrington~10 min

★★★★☆4.2(200)

Straightforward multi-level soft play with a café that adults can actually sit in. Nothing fancy, reliably works.

Session priceIndoorsAges 4-8

Tenpin Warrington

Warrington~10 min

★★★★☆4.2(1,663)

Soft play plus bowling under one roof, which solves the two-different-ages problem in a single trip. Ask for the barriers if anyone is under about six.

Per game / sessionIndoorsAges 4-11

Play & Sensory Centre

Warrington~10 min

★★★★★4.5(16)

Council-run indoor play and sensory space. Quieter than commercial soft play, which suits some days better.

Low costIndoorsAges 4-8

Holiday Clubs (HAF)

St HelensIn town

★★★★★5.0(17)

Funded holiday clubs with food included, ages 4 to 18, for families on benefits-related free school meals. Worth a look even if you assume you won't qualify.

Free if eligibleIndoorsSchool holidaysAges 4-11