Soft play & indoor play in Prescot

Prescot's soft play now has a proper anchor: Spaceworld, 8,000 square feet over four tiers with a 20ft rocket and a 25ft spiral slide. Adults are £1, it opens 9.20am to 5.50pm seven days a week, and over-1s are £8.95 off peak and £10.50 peak, so the day you pick changes the bill.

Family & Friends is the cheaper habit, and the role play village attached to it holds a four-year-old long after the climbing frame stops being interesting; the council also lists Sensory Hive over in Whiston and Boomerang for the mornings Spaceworld is full and loud.

Soft play & indoor play in Prescot

Family & Friends Playcentre

Prescot~20 min

★★★★★4.9(56)

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.

Session priceIndoorsAges 4-8

Prescot & Whiston Play Centres

Prescot~15 min

Space World in Prescot, Sensory Hive in Whiston and Boomerang: the council-listed indoor options when it rains and everyone is climbing the walls.

Low costIndoorsAges 4-8

Spaceworld Play Centre

Prescot~20 min

★★★★☆4.3(228)

8,000 square feet of frame over four tiers on a Prescot business park, built round a 20ft rocket, with a 25ft spiral slide, spinning poles and an elevated football pitch.

Over-1s £8.95 off peak, £10.50 peak; adults £1IndoorsAges 0-11

Soft play & indoor play elsewhere in the North West

Giggles Play Mill

Warrington~10 min

★★★★☆4.2(164)

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.

Session priceIndoorsAges 4-8

Jellybeans Play Centre

Warrington~15 min

★★★★☆4.1(641)

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.

Session priceIndoorsAges 4-9

Fun2b

Warrington~10 min

★★★★☆4.2(200)

Straightforward multi-level soft play with a café that adults can actually sit in. Nothing fancy, reliably works.

Session priceIndoorsAges 4-8

Tenpin Warrington

Warrington~10 min

★★★★☆4.2(1,663)

Soft play plus bowling under one roof, which solves the two-different-ages problem in a single trip. Ask for the barriers if anyone is under about six.

Per game / sessionIndoorsAges 4-11

Play & Sensory Centre

Warrington~10 min

★★★★★4.5(16)

Council-run indoor play and sensory space. Quieter than commercial soft play, which suits some days better.

Low costIndoorsAges 4-8

Holiday Clubs (HAF)

St HelensIn town

★★★★★5.0(17)

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.

Free if eligibleIndoorsSchool holidaysAges 4-11