Ball Grove Park
Green Flag park on the edge of Colne with a lake, a millpond, a play area for 5 to 14s and a picnic area with plenty of benches. A woodland nature walk runs from here right up to Wycoller Country Park.
Days out with the kids in Pendle
5 places in Pendle, Lancashire, 2 of which cost nothing. Everything below is within easy reach if you live locally.
5 in Pendle2 free3 indoor
Pendle stretches from Nelson and Brierfield out to Colne and Wycoller, and its indoor options are cheaper than you might expect. Pendle Wavelengths in Nelson is a leisure pool under a pyramid roof with a wave machine, a 130ft twisting slide and a new waterplay beach for little ones; a junior swim is £4.20 and a family of four £20.50. Giddy Kippers on Lomeshaye has a three-storey frame, a separate under-3s area and an enclosed football zone, at £6 a child on weekdays and £7 at weekends and in the holidays.
Funda Land, inside The Leisure Box at Brierfield, is the busier one, with bumper cars, a climbing wall and UV laser tag, and its term-time weekday soft play is free if you book. On a dry day, Ball Grove Park on the edge of Colne has a lake, a millpond, a play area for 5 to 14s and plenty of benches for a picnic. A woodland walk runs from there right up to Wycoller Country Park, with footpaths along Wycoller Beck and toilets. Parking there is £1 a day.
Places in Pendle
Wycoller Country Park
A county council country park of woodland and farmland around the Bronte-linked hamlet of Wycoller, with footpaths along Wycoller Beck, toilets and a picnic area. Parking is £1 a day and cars stop at the car parks.
Funda Land
Big active soft play inside The Leisure Box at Brierfield, with bumper cars, a VALO climbing wall, UV laser tag and a baby and toddler space. Term-time weekday soft play sessions are free if you book. Weekends cost £10 for 3 to 12s.
Giddy Kippers
Soft play on Lomeshaye with a three-storey frame, a separate under-3s area, an enclosed football zone and Kipper's Cafe. Children are £6 on weekdays and £7 at weekends and in the holidays, and adults pay £1 or £2.
Pendle Wavelengths
Nelson's leisure pool under a pyramid roof, with a wave machine, a 130ft twisting slide and a new waterplay beach for little ones. A junior swim is £4.20 and a family of four £20.50, which is cheap for a wave pool.
What’s on in Pendle
4 dated events coming up, 2 of them this weekend.
Sunday School (opens on Barrowford St Thomas)
Barrowford St Thomas · Pendle
1 Nov. Sunday 1 November, 11am
Sunday School open to school age children during the services, week one and week three.
Listed by Barrowford St Thomas · collected 1 Nov
Sunday School (opens on Holy Trinity)
Holy Trinity · Pendle
1 Nov. Sunday 1 November, 11am
Starts at 11am. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Listed by Holy Trinity · collected 1 Nov
Barty Bear Club - Toddler Group (opens on St Bartholomew, Colne Parish Church)
St Bartholomew, Colne Parish Church · Pendle
3 Nov. Tuesday 3 November, 9am
Weekly term time Toddler group for parents and carers of pre-school children.
Listed by St Bartholomew, Colne Parish Church · collected 1 Nov
Messy Church (opens on St John's Church Centre)
St John's Church Centre · Pendle
15 Nov. Sunday 15 November, 4pm
An hour of Messy Crafts, a short fun service followed by a meal together.
Listed by St John's Church Centre · collected 1 Nov
Also worth the drive
Not in Pendle, 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.