Days out with the kids in Preston

Preston got its centrepiece back in September 2025, when the Harris reopened after a £19m rebuild and stayed free: a proper children's library, changing exhibitions and a cafe under one Grade I listed roof on the Flag Market. Ten minutes' walk away, Avenham and Miller Parks run down to the Ribble with a Japanese rock garden, a riverside cafe and the egg rolling hill that fills with the whole town every Easter. The playground sits between the two parks, so save it for the finale.

Brockholes is the half-day trip: a nature reserve whose visitor village genuinely floats on the lake, free apart from parking, with flat trails, bird hides and free family crafts through the summer holidays. The Ribble Steam Railway is the one to plan around - it is a Saturday railway, Easter to September, so check the running calendar before you promise anyone a train. Days out in Preston with kids lean heavily on the free stuff, and none of it feels like a compromise.

Places in Preston

Avenham & Miller Parks

Preston~40 min

★★★★★4.7(2,285)

Two Victorian parks joined at the hip beside the Ribble: a Japanese rock garden, a riverside cafe, a playground sited between the two, and the Easter egg rolling hill. Preston's best free afternoon.

Free entryAges 2-11

Brockholes Nature Reserve

Preston~40 min

★★★★★4.5(3,673)

A nature reserve with a visitor village that floats on the lake - genuinely floats. Easy flat trails, hides, a good playground and free family crafts in the summer holidays.

Free entry, paid parkingAges 4-11

Cuerden Valley Park

Preston~35 min

★★★★★4.5(631)

650 acres of woods, meadows and river between the M6 and M65, with a visitor centre, a cafe and a river shallow enough to paddle in. A quarter of a million visits a year and most of Warrington has never heard of it.

Free - pay and display parkingAges 2-11

The Harris

Preston~40 min

★★★★★4.5(1,742)

Preston's museum, gallery and library reopened in September 2025 after a £19m rebuild, and it is still free. A proper children's library, changing exhibitions and a cafe under one Grade I listed roof on the Flag Market.

Free entryIndoorsAges 3-11

Ribble Steam Railway & Museum

Preston~40 min

★★★★★4.6(952)

Steam trains along Preston's dockside with a museum shed full of engines, a playground and a tea room all on one ticket that covers all-day travel. A Saturday railway, so check the calendar before you promise anyone a train.

Kids £7.50, family £32Trains Easter-Sept, plus event daysAges 3-10

Jump Maniax Preston

Preston~40 min

★★★★☆4.2(417)

A big indoor play centre at Fishwick Park off Mercer Street, mixing soft play, slides, inflatables and arcade machines with a separate toddler section and a cafe. Prices are nowhere on the website.

Price not listedIndoorsAges 1-11

Rascals Play Centre

Preston~35 min

★★★★☆4.3(1,122)

Preston's big indoor centre at Bamber Bridge, minutes off the M6, with a sports court, a disco room and a quieter SEN session on Tuesday evenings.

Price not listedIndoorsAges 0-11

Wild Discovery

Preston~55 min

★★★★★4.6(964)

The small zoo inside Ribby Hall Village, open to anyone and not just people staying there. Meerkats, otters, wallabies, porcupines and an exotic house, done in an easy couple of hours.

Book online - price not listedAges 1-9

What’s on in Preston

13 dated events coming up, 6 of them this weekend.

Also worth the drive

Not in Preston, but close enough for a day out.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach

Blackpool~1 hr

★★★★☆4.3(35,528)

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.

Wristbands - cheaper onlineAges 4-11

Blackpool Tower

Blackpool~1 hr

★★★★★4.5(18,434)

The Tower Eye'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.

Per-attraction ticketsIndoorsAges 4-11

Sandcastle Waterpark

Blackpool~1 hr

★★★★☆4.3(8,767)

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.

Book online - cheaperIndoorsAges 4-11

Blackpool Zoo

Blackpool~1 hr

★★★★★4.6(17,786)

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.

Book online - cheaperAges 4-11

Sea Life Blackpool

Blackpool~1 hr

★★★★☆4.4(11,062)

A solid seafront aquarium with an ocean tunnel and rockpool sessions - the reliable wet-weather hour when the beach plan falls apart.

Book online - cheaperIndoorsAges 4-9

Stanley Park

Blackpool~1 hr

★★★★★4.6(6,085)

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.

FreeAges 4-11

WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre

Burscough~40 min

★★★★★4.7(3,181)

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.

Day ticket - WWT members freeAges 4-11

Windmill Animal Farm

Burscough~40 min

★★★★★4.7(1,883)

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.

Day ticketIndoorsAges 4-8