Avenham & Miller Parks
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.
Days out with the kids in Preston
4 places in Preston, Lancashire, 3 of which cost nothing. Everything below is within easy reach if you live locally.
4 in Preston3 free1 indoor
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
Brockholes Nature Reserve
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 through the summer holidays.
The Harris
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.
Ribble Steam Railway & Museum
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.
What’s on in Preston
13 dated events coming up, 1 of them this weekend.
Summer crafts at Brockholes
Brockholes Nature Reserve, Preston
until 28 Aug. Free crafts daily; LEGO club Saturdays
Free arts and crafts on the floating village through the holidays, with a Saturday LEGO club until 22 August.
Written by us
Woodland Fairytale Adventure at Brockholes (opens on Lancashire Wildlife Trust)
Meet outside the Activity Room on the Visitor Village · Preston
4 Aug. Tuesday 4 August, 10am to 2.30pm
Starts at 10am to 2.30pm. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Listed by Lancashire Wildlife Trust · collected 2 Aug
Vintage Transport Experience with Trains AND Buses! (opens on Ribble Steam Railway, Preston)
Ribble Steam Railway · Preston
8 Aug. Saturday 8 August, 10am
This August, our friends at the Ribble Vehicle Preservation Trust will again be running a heritage shuttle bus service between our site in Preston’s Docklands, to their workshop which houses around…
Listed by Ribble Steam Railway, Preston · collected 2 Aug
Wildlife Adventurer at Brockholes (opens on Lancashire Wildlife Trust)
Meet outside the Activity Room on the Visitor Village · Preston
11 Aug. Tuesday 11 August, 1pm to 2.30pm
Discover the wonderful wildlife living at Brockholes and become a wildlife adventurer!
Listed by Lancashire Wildlife Trust · collected 2 Aug
Stone Age Survival at Brockholes Nature Reserve (opens on Lancashire Wildlife Trust)
Meet outside the Activity Room on the Visitor Village · Preston
13 Aug. Thursday 13 August, 1pm to 3pm
Starts at 1pm to 3pm. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Listed by Lancashire Wildlife Trust · collected 2 Aug
The Gruffalo & Child Visits! (opens on Ribble Steam Railway, Preston)
Ribble Steam Railway · Preston
16 Aug. Sunday 16 August, 10am
Come and meet The Gruffalo & The Gruffalo’s Child at intervals on Sunday 16th August throughout the day at Ribble Steam Railway!
Listed by Ribble Steam Railway, Preston · collected 2 Aug
Everything on in Preston7 more not shown here
Also worth the drive
Not in Preston, 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
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.
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.