Brungerley Park & Sculpture Trail
Woodland, riverbank and an old quarry scattered with more than 20 sculptures, a mile from Clitheroe town centre. Turns an ordinary walk into a treasure hunt, and it costs nothing.
Days out with the kids in Clitheroe & Ribble Valley
7 places in Clitheroe & Ribble Valley, Lancashire, 4 of which cost nothing. Everything below is within easy reach if you live locally.
7 in Clitheroe & Ribble Valley4 free1 indoor
Clitheroe is the Ribble Valley's market town, and the castle is the obvious start: one of England's smallest Norman keeps on a rock above the rooftops, with free grounds, a labyrinth and a brisk little museum that covers the valley's story before anyone flags. Brungerley Park runs along the river on the edge of town, woodland sculptures on the trail and the Ribble doing the entertainment at the water's edge.
The valley is the rest of the offer. Bowland Country Park sits twenty minutes into the Forest of Bowland, small and unslick in the best way, with boar, deer, llamas, a play area and go-karts. Pendle Hill glowers across the valley for families with proper walking legs. Clitheroe works best as a base: castle in the morning, river after lunch, boar park when everyone needs to feed something.
Places in Clitheroe & Ribble Valley
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.
Edisford Bridge
The Ribble runs shallow over shingle on the town side of the bridge, which is why half of Clitheroe turns up on a warm Sunday. Picnic space, a miniature railway at weekends, free to use.
Gisburn Forest
Forestry England's big forest in the Forest of Bowland, with a Room on the Broom trail for 3 to 9s, a play area, four walking and four cycling trails and the Hungry Pine cafe. Entry is free. Parking is not cheap.
Bowland Country Park
Wild boar, deer and llamas in a Forest of Bowland valley, with animal feeding, an adventure play area, go-karts and river walks. Small, unslick and all the better for it.
Leaping Lizards Play Centre
Clitheroe's soft play: a two-storey frame, a sports pitch and a 0 to 3 zone, in two hour booked sessions for £7 a child. Friday after school is £2.50.
Mrs Dowsons Farm Park
A working dairy farm on the Blackburn edge of the Ribble Valley that makes ice cream from its own herd and opens to visitors at weekends and in the holidays. Talks, animal feeds, a milking parlour and an indoor natural play barn.
What’s on in Clitheroe & Ribble Valley
6 dated events coming up, 1 of them this weekend.
Halloween Crafts at the Castle (castle cats and Halloween tealights)
Clitheroe Castle Museum · Clitheroe & Ribble Valley
until 1 Nov. Daily, 2 October to 1 November, 11am to 4pm
Halloween crafts at Clitheroe Castle Museum: a wool castle cat for £2 or a spooky tealight holder for £3, no museum ticket needed. Drop in between 11am and 4pm, all ages.
Written by us
Clitheroe CC Bonfire & Fireworks Display 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Clitheroe Cricket Club, Chatburn Road · Clitheroe & Ribble Valley
6 Nov. Friday 6 November, gates 5.30pm, fireworks 7.30pm
Clitheroe Cricket Club's bonfire and fireworks on Chatburn Road. Gates at 5.30pm, bonfire at 6.15pm and fireworks at 7.30pm. Under 3s free, family ticket £15. Advance tickets online only.
Written by us
Clitheroe Castle Bonfire and Fireworks
Clitheroe Castle Field, Clitheroe · Clitheroe & Ribble Valley
7 Nov. Saturday 7 November, 5pm to 8.30pm
The Ribble Valley's big bonfire night on the field below the castle, a Saturday this year, from 5pm. Adults £6, children 3 to 17 £3, under 3s free. Strictly ticket-only with bag searches, and no dogs, bikes, alcohol, fireworks or sparklers.
Written by us
Little Church (opens on St Peter and St Paul's Church, Bolton By Bowland)
St Peter and St Paul's Church, Bolton By Bowland · Clitheroe & Ribble Valley
23 Nov. Monday 23 November, 2.50pm
Little Church is a service for our church primary school to come to their parish church and worship together.
Listed by St Peter and St Paul's Church, Bolton By Bowland · collected 1 Nov
Little Church (opens on St Ambrose Church, Grindleton)
St Ambrose Church, Grindleton · Clitheroe & Ribble Valley
25 Nov. Wednesday 25 November, 3pm
Little Church is a service for our church primary school to come to their parish church and worship together.
Listed by St Ambrose Church, Grindleton · collected 1 Nov
All Age Christingle Service (opens on St Peter and St Paul's Church, Bolton By Bowland)
St Peter and St Paul's Church, Bolton By Bowland · Clitheroe & Ribble Valley
6 Dec. Sunday 6 December, 11.15am
A lively service for families including the lighting of Christingles.
Listed by St Peter and St Paul's Church, Bolton By Bowland · collected 1 Nov
Also worth the drive
Not in Clitheroe & Ribble Valley, 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
Tower Top'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.
What’s on near you, every Friday
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.