4 places in Nantwich, Cheshire, 1 of which cost nothing. Everything below is within easy reach if you live locally.
Nantwich is the good-looking one, all black-and-white Tudor timber, and its days out sit around the edges. BeWILDerwood is the headline: a woodland adventure park of treehouses, zip wires and invented creatures that suits the imagination years far better than a ride park does. Cholmondeley Castle Gardens, a short drive south, adds lawns, lakeside paths and a proper playground for a calmer sort of day.
In town, Nantwich Lake does the free afternoon: ducks, a flat circuit made for scooters, and space to spread out. And no south Cheshire childhood is complete without Snugburys on the A51, the ice cream farm that builds a giant straw sculpture in its field every year. The ice cream justifies the queue. The Tudor centre is really for the adults; an ice cream buys you twenty minutes of it.
A flat, buggy friendly loop round a lake full of ducks and swans, a snack kiosk, a play area along the riverside path, and one of Cheshire's prettiest market towns a few minutes' walk away. All free, parking included.
Romantic gardens around a turreted castle, with a play area down by the Mere, a natural play Den and a lakeside trail with a bird hide. Only open Wednesdays, Thursdays, Sundays and bank holidays, so check before setting off.
The famous ice cream farm on the A51 with 35-plus flavours made on site and a 50ft straw Paddington in the field. Be clear what it is: an ice cream stop with room to wander, not a day out, and it is very good at being exactly that.
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.
Not in Nantwich, but close enough for a day out.
A prehistoric trail winding through a garden centre, with interactive bits along the way. Under-2s free, and there's a café and indoor shelter if the weather turns.
The reliable default: gardens, a children's zoo, a big playground and plenty of room to run. Pay for parking, nothing else.
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.
Inflatables in Old Market Square every day, plus a rotating Wednesday programme across the parks and a Thursday session in Time Square. No tickets, no booking, just turn up.
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.
Farm animals, outdoor play and indoor barns, so a wet forecast doesn't cancel the day. Well matched to the 3-8 age range.
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.
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.