Ainsdale Beach
The one Sefton beach with RNLI lifeguards, on duty daily from late March to mid September, and the one where you can still drive onto the sand. Blue Flag, and backed by the Ainsdale dunes.
Days out with the kids in Southport
12 places in Southport, Merseyside, 4 of which cost nothing. Everything below is within easy reach if you live locally.
12 in Southport4 free7 indoor
Southport's funfair has had a rethink that suits parents nicely. Pleasureland is now Adventure Coast: entry is free and rides start at £1 pay as you go, loaded on a card, so a cautious four-year-old no longer costs the same as a ride-everything ten-year-old. Agree the top-up amount before the gate and let them ration their own rides. It runs weekends and school holidays and winds down in early September, so check dates before making the drive.
The rest of the town is gentler and cheaper. The Botanic Gardens in Churchtown are free and quietly right for smaller children - an aviary, a boating lake, a fernery and a good playground in Southport's prettiest corner - and the Model Railway Village near the Marine Lake is the small, odd attraction they remember longer than the rides. A day out in Southport with kids splits neatly: funfair money in the morning, Victorian gardens when the card runs out.
Places in Southport
Botanic Gardens, Churchtown
Victorian gardens with an aviary, boating lake, fernery and a good playground, in Southport's prettiest village corner. Old-fashioned in the way that quietly suits small children.
King's Gardens
Seventeen acres of restored Victorian seafront gardens with the Venetian Bridge over Marine Lake, boat hire, and the Tree Top Towers playground. Free, flat and right on the Promenade, so it slots around anything else you are doing in Southport.
The Atkinson
Southport's museum, art galleries, library, theatre and cafe in one building on Lord Street, three minutes from the station and free to walk into. The Egyptian collection wins. Closed Sundays and bank holidays.
British Lawnmower Museum
Over 250 lawnmowers above a working mower shop on Shakespeare Street, collected by a former lawnmower racing champion. The bit children remember is Lawnmowers of the Rich and Famous.
Dunes Splash World
Southport's indoor waterpark on the seafront: flumes, a wave machine, a lazy river and a proper toddler splash zone, all at 29 degrees. Open weekends year-round and daily in the Sefton holidays.
Playtown
Southport's main play centre, on Ocean Plaza by the marine lake, with a big frame and a drop slide. Priced by age band, so babies are almost free.
Southport Model Railway Village
A one and a half acre miniature Lancashire with one of the biggest garden railway systems in the UK, aimed squarely at the under-8s. Open late April to late September, and the trains stop if the weather turns nasty.
Tenpin Southport
Twenty lanes on the Southport seafront at Ocean Plaza, with a laser tag arena, pool, table tennis and an arcade attached. Bumpers mean a three year old can take part.
Adventure Coast Southport
Pleasureland with a new name and a new deal: free entry, rides from £1 pay as you go. The seaside funfair is now Adventure Coast, split into themed lands from pirate cove to steampunk thrill rides, and you only pay for what your kids actually ride.
Kinderworld Playbarn
A nursery playbarn on Bispham Road that opens to the public on weekday mornings, pre-booked. Small, quiet and aimed squarely at the under fives.
Little Sparks Southport
A small Scandinavian style play cafe in a Churchtown cottage, built entirely around role play: pale wood, small scale stations and no ball pit. Under fives only, and enforced. Proper cafe attached doing homemade food.
What’s on in Southport
2 dated events coming up.
Southport Flower Show (opens in a new tab)
Victoria Park, Southport
20 Aug to 23 Aug. Thursday to Sunday, from 10am
The biggest independent flower show in the country, with a proper family programme this year: alpacas, a children's trail, doodle wall and kids' yoga between the show gardens.
Written by us
Southport Air Show (opens in a new tab)
Southport seafront
29 Aug to 30 Aug. Displays through both afternoons
Jets, wing-walkers and display teams over the beach, with simulators, military vehicles and children's activities on the sand. One of the North West's biggest free-to-watch spectacles.
Written by us
Also worth the drive
Not in Southport, but close enough for a day out.
World of Glass
Free, indoors and better than it sounds: interactive science aimed at younger children, glassblowing demos, a picnic area and a small playground outside.
Sherdley Park
St Helens' biggest park. Play areas, open space and a walled garden, and it costs nothing.
Dream, Sutton Manor
A 20-metre white head rising out of a reclaimed colliery, with woodland trails around it. Genuinely strange and memorable for kids, and a short walk rather than a hike.
Sankey Valley Park
A green corridor of canal towpath and parkland running from St Helens down towards Warrington. Flat, traffic-free and ideal if the bikes or scooters are coming.
Wild Gorse Hill Nature Fun
Family nature sessions running through August at two St Helens parks. Pitched at exactly this age group.
Holiday Clubs (HAF)
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.
Prescot & Whiston Play Centres
Space World in Prescot, Sensory Hive in Whiston and Boomerang: the council-listed indoor options when it rains and everyone is climbing the walls.
Family & Friends Playcentre
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.