Meadows Leisure Centre
A 25 metre five lane pool and a 12.5 metre learner pool in Maghull, with a changing village of family cubicles instead of a shared bench and a fight. The library is in the same building, so a swim and a book run is one stop.
Days out with the kids in Maghull
1 place in Maghull, Merseyside. Everything below is within easy reach if you live locally.
1 in Maghull1 indoor
No sense dressing Maghull up: it is a leisure centre, and that is it. Meadows has a 25 metre five lane main pool and a 12.5 metre learner pool, and the changing village runs to family cubicles, a real improvement when you are getting more than one child dry and dressed. Adults £7.30, juniors £4.70. Good swim, not a day out.
Places in Maghull
Also worth the drive
Not in Maghull, but close enough for a day out.
World of Glass
Free, indoors and better than it sounds: interactive science aimed at younger children, glassblowing demos, a picnic area and a small playground outside.
Sherdley Park
St Helens' biggest park. Play areas, open space and a walled garden, and it costs nothing.
Dream, Sutton Manor
A 20-metre white head rising out of a reclaimed colliery, with woodland trails around it. Genuinely strange and memorable for kids, and a short walk rather than a hike.
Sankey Valley Park
A green corridor of canal towpath and parkland running from St Helens down towards Warrington. Flat, traffic-free and ideal if the bikes or scooters are coming.
Wild Gorse Hill Nature Fun
Family nature sessions running through August at two St Helens parks. Pitched at exactly this age group.
Holiday Clubs (HAF)
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.
Prescot & Whiston Play Centres
Space World in Prescot, Sensory Hive in Whiston and Boomerang: the council-listed indoor options when it rains and everyone is climbing the walls.
Family & Friends Playcentre
Soft play with a full role-play village attached, which is the bit that holds a four-year-old's attention long after the frame stops being interesting.