Days out with the kids in Chester

Chester means the zoo, and the zoo deserves it - one of Europe's best, though bring a pushchair even for a five-year-old because the site is vast. But the city underneath is a good family day in its own right: the Grosvenor Museum does the Roman story for free, Grosvenor Park runs a miniature railway above the river, and a boat trip from the Groves is the cheap add-on children actually remember.

Out in the lanes, the Ice Cream Farm charges a couple of pounds on the door and has a giant sand and water quarry, and the Crocky Trail sends them home filthy, soaked and delighted - pack a full change of clothes, this is not optional. Beeston Castle proves ruins work perfectly well for this age group. When it rains, Flip Out and the museum carry the day. A day out in Chester with kids only goes wrong when you try to do the zoo and the city in one visit.

Places in Chester

Chester Roman Amphitheatre

Chester~30 min

The largest Roman amphitheatre uncovered in Britain, sitting in the open just outside the city walls. Only about half of it has been dug out and the rest is still under the buildings behind.

FreeAges 3-11

Countess of Chester Country Park

Chester~30 min

★★★★★4.5(682)

Twenty nine hectares on the north edge of Chester, with five waymarked routes. The paths and kissing gates were designed for wheelchairs, which makes it easy going with a pushchair. No playground.

Free, parking £1 for two hours on weekdaysAges 2-11

Grosvenor Museum

Chester~30 min

★★★★☆4.4(1,159)

Chester's Roman story done properly: real tombstones from the fortress walls, a hands-on natural history gallery, and a walk-through period house at the back. Free, central, and the right size.

Free entryIndoorsAges 5-11

Grosvenor Park & Miniature Railway

Chester~30 min

★★★★★4.7(2,694)

Chester's Victorian park above the river, with a miniature railway looping the lawns, a good playground and open-air theatre in summer. Pair with a boat trip from the Groves below.

Park free; train rides chargedAges 4-8

Beeston Castle

Chester~30 min

★★★★★4.5(2,999)

A ruined castle on a crag with views from the Pennines to the Welsh mountains, a reconstructed Bronze Age roundhouse and woodland paths below the walls. Castles do not need roofs to work for this age group.

English Heritage - members freeAges 4-11

Brio Northgate

Chester~30 min

★★★★☆3.8(1,231)

It comes down to the slide. Two pools, one of them a warmer training pool, and a water slide, five minutes' walk from the Chester city walls. The wet weather backup for a day in the city.

Adult £7.20 with an Active Card, junior £4.30IndoorsAges 0-14

Cheshire Military Museum

Chester~30 min

★★★★★4.7(450)

Chester Castle still has a museum in it: three hundred years of Cheshire soldiering, a First World War trench you walk through, a barracks room and a decent amount you are allowed to pick up.

Adults £5, family ticket £10IndoorsAges 6-14

ChesterBoat City Cruises

Chester~35 min

★★★★★4.5(1,501)

Half an hour on the Dee from The Groves, past Grosvenor Park and along the Meadows, for £4.50 a child and free under 5s. Exactly as long as a small child finds a boat interesting.

Family of five £26 onlineFeb to mid-DecAges 2-11

Deva Roman Experience

Chester~35 min

★★★★☆4.4(434)

Chester's Jorvik-style walkthrough of its Roman fortress: costumed legionaries, reconstructed streets and deliberately bad smells, tucked off Bridge Street. Weekends in term time, through the week in school holidays.

Adults £8, kids £5IndoorsAges 5-12

Flip Out Chester

Chester~30 min

★★★★☆4.4(2,444)

A big warehouse of trampolines, drop slides, laser tag and e-karts on the business park before Chester. Loud, sweaty and reliably popular - the off-peak slots are the value play.

Book online - cheaper off peakIndoorsAges 4-14

Hayrack Church Farm

Chester~30 min

★★★★☆4.4(513)

A working farm ten minutes north of Chester where the pens are open, the feed bags cost a pound and the soft play is included in the ticket. No booking, which is half the appeal.

£6 weekdays, £7 peak, under 1s freeAges 1-8

RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands

Chester~45 min

★★★★★4.7(1,097)

A big Dee estuary reserve with a den-building area, hides you can actually get a pushchair into and free parking. The first child goes free and under-5s always do.

£7 adults, £3.50 a child, first child freeAges 3-11

The Ice Cream Farm

Chester~35 min

★★★★☆4.4(9,956)

A small entry fee now, then a pay-per-play card for the attractions: a giant sand and water quarry, mini golf, go-karts and play areas, funded by a world-record ice cream shop. Cheap after 3.30pm, glorious in any weather.

Small entry fee, then pay per playIndoorsAges 4-8

Chester Zoo

Chester~45 min

★★★★★4.6(48,294)

Excellent, but it is a lot of walking. Reviews rate 5 to 10 as the ideal age and still recommend a pushchair at four. Climbing frames, water play and sand pits break up the distance.

Day ticketAges 4-11

Cotebrook Shire Horse Centre

Chester~35 min

★★★★★4.6(1,105)

The only shire horse stud in the country open to the public, with up to thirty of them in season. The ticket turns into a free return pass for a month, which changes the maths completely.

£13.50 adults, £11.50 children, family £46Ages 3-11

Pursuits at Carden Park

Chester~30 min

★★★★★4.6(3,628)

You do not have to be staying at the hotel to use it. The pull is the Vertigo high wire course, a 210 metre dual zip line and a free fall pillow you jump onto from three, six or ten metres.

Children £20 to £40 per activityAges 6-16

The Crocky Trail

Chester~30 min

★★★★★4.6(3,568)

A mile of muddy obstacles, wobbly bridges and enormous slides through a Cheshire valley. Children come off it filthy, soaked and asking to go round again. This is the point; dress accordingly.

Day ticketAges 5-11

Zippy's Playworld

Chester~30 min

★★★★★4.5(679)

A unit on Chester's Grange Park business estate filled with frames for nought to ten year olds, with a 4 foot 9 height limit. Admission buys a two hour session.

Price not listedIndoorsAges 0-10

What’s on in Chester

12 dated events coming up, 2 of them this weekend.

Also worth the drive

Not in Chester, but close enough for a day out.

Walton Hall & Gardens

Warrington~10 min

★★★★★4.7(6,537)

The reliable default: gardens, a children's zoo, a big playground and plenty of room to run. Pay for parking, nothing else.

Free entryAges 4-11

Jungle Parc

Warrington~10 min

★★★★★4.5(10)

High ropes and treetop courses in the grounds at Walton Hall. Reviewers rate the value, but frame it as one for the bigger, braver kids.

Low entry feeAges 6-11

Gulliver's World

Warrington~15 min

★★★★☆4.0(9,643)

A theme park deliberately built for ages 2 to 13 rather than teenagers, so both of them can ride most of it. The classic full-day option on your doorstep.

Full day ticketAges 4-9

Apple Jacks Adventure Farm

Warrington~15 min

★★★★☆4.0(593)

Farm animals, outdoor play and indoor barns, so a wet forecast doesn't cancel the day. Well matched to the 3-8 age range.

Day ticketIndoorsAges 4-9

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