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.
Parks & outdoors in Southport
Playgrounds, country parks, woodland trails and nature reserves. Most of these cost nothing.
Parks & outdoors in Southport
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.
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.
Parks & outdoors elsewhere in the North West
Dinosaur Trail at Bents
A prehistoric trail winding through a garden centre, with interactive bits along the way. Under-2s free, and there's a café and indoor shelter if the weather turns.
Walton Hall & Gardens
The reliable default: gardens, a children's zoo, a big playground and plenty of room to run. Pay for parking, nothing else.
Free Summer in Warrington
Inflatables in Old Market Square every day, plus a rotating Wednesday programme across the parks and a Thursday session in Time Square. No tickets, no booking, just turn up.
Risley Moss
A peat bog nature reserve with woodland trails, a visitor centre and an observation tower the kids can climb. Free, close and short enough for little legs.
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.