Adventure & rides in Chester

Chester's adventure options come in two sizes: a day out in the countryside, or an hour in town. The Crocky Trail at Waverton is the famous one, a mile of muddy obstacles, wobbly bridges and big slides, and children come off it filthy and delighted. Pursuits at Carden Park, out towards Broxton, is the high-adrenaline end, with a high wire course, a 210-metre zip line and a free fall pillow, booked by the activity at £20 to £40 a child. You do not need to be staying at the hotel.

In the city there are two rainy-day answers and one for a dry summer Sunday. The Hole in Wand on Eastgate Street is nine holes of wizard-themed crazy golf at £7.49 a child, including a hole played along a model of the city walls, so walk the real ones afterwards. Tenpin on Chester Retail Park has 28 lanes with bumpers, laser tag and escape rooms. Go on a Tuesday, when bowling is half price, and register your car on the reception tablet or the free parking runs out at three hours. Chester Racecourse on the Roodee is the fair-weather one: under-18s go free in the general admission areas on racedays, and the day to bring children is the August Family Fun Day, with fairground rides and PAW Patrol on top of the racing.

Adventure & rides in Chester

Tenpin Chester

Chester~35 min

★★★★☆3.9(168)

Twenty-eight lanes over two floors on Chester Retail Park, with bumpers and light balls for small bowlers and a laser tag arena for the older ones. Go on a Tuesday, when bowling is half price.

Bowling from £9.95 a game onlineIndoorsAges 4-14

The Hole in Wand Chester

Chester~35 min

★★★★★4.6(214)

Nine holes of wizard-themed crazy golf tucked off Eastgate Street, with talking portraits, a potion to take home and a hole played on a model of the city walls. About an hour, whatever the weather.

Child £7.49, adult £8.99IndoorsAges 3-12

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)

More than a kilometre of muddy obstacles, rope swings, wobbly bridges and big slides through a Cheshire valley. Children come off it filthy, soaked and asking to go round again. This is the point; dress accordingly.

Ages 5 to 18 £18.90, adults £14.50Ages 5-11

Chester Racecourse

Chester~35 min

★★★★☆4.4(4,374)

Chester's city-centre racecourse, where under-18s go free on racedays in the general admission areas. The day to bring children is Family Fun Day, next on Sunday 1 August 2027, and before that there is a Halloween fireworks night on 31 October.

Under-18s free on racedays, adult prices varyRacing May to September; Family Fun Day Sunday 1 August 2027; fireworks 31 October 2026Ages 3-14

Adventure & rides elsewhere in the North West

Jungle Parc

Warrington~10 min

★★★★★4.5(10)

Treetop rope courses in the woods at Walton Hall Gardens. The Warrington site runs the Adventurer course, built for children from age 4 with a minimum height of 1.05m, with over 60 activities at different heights. Children £19; supervising adults walking below go free.

Children £19, supervising adults freeAges 4-11

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

BeWILDerwood Cheshire

Malpas~45 min

★★★★★4.6(1,400)

The best age match of anything on this list. Reviewers put the sweet spot at 2 to 10 and say a 4-year-old can do essentially the whole park; the map colour-codes areas by age and puts mini zipwires beside the full-size ones. Budget four to six hours.

From £20.95; under 92cm freeAges 4-10

Zip World Manchester

Manchester~35 min

★★★★★4.7(752)

Treetop nets, high ropes and forest tubing in the woods of Heaton Park, and it is outdoors, not indoors. The cheap one is Treetot Nets: an hour bouncing on nets in the trees for ages 1 to 5, from £5, with a grown-up joining in.

Treetot Nets from £5, Treetop Nets from £25Ages 1-11

Legoland Discovery Centre

Trafford~25 min

★★★★☆4.0(4,657)

Two rides, a 4D cinema, build zones and Manchester's skyline done in miniature bricks. Squarely aimed at 3 to 10, and it knows it: adults can only visit with a child.

Book online - walk-up costs moreIndoorsAges 4-9

The Snow Centre Manchester

Trafford~25 min

★★★★☆4.4(5,629)

Real snow all year round at the venue Manchester still calls Chill Factore. Over-fours get the Snow Park with sledging, Downhill Donuts and an ice slide at weekends and in the school holidays; older kids can learn to ski or board on the UK's longest indoor real snow slope.

Pay per sessionIndoorsAges 4-11