Soft play & indoor play in Southport

Southport has four indoor options now, and they split cleanly by age, from a role play cafe for under fives to twenty lanes of bowling on the seafront. Playtown on Ocean Plaza covers the mixed-age morning, a big frame with a drop slide at £7.95 for ages 3+ and £1.50 for the adult who ends up going in after them.

Under fives do better at Little Sparks in Churchtown, a small Scandinavian style play cafe running fixed sessions you book ahead, or at Kinderworld's playbarn on Bispham Road, which only opens to the public on pre-booked weekday mornings and does not list a price. Tenpin rescues a wet Saturday, twenty lanes with laser tag and an arcade attached, open from 9am at weekends and running to midnight, from £7.95 a game booked online.

Soft play & indoor play in Southport

Playtown

Southport~45 min

★★★★★4.6(299)

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.

£7.95 for ages 3+, adults £1.50IndoorsAges 0-12

Tenpin Southport

Southport~50 min

★★★★☆4.2(1,106)

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.

From £7.95 a game booked onlineIndoorsAges 3-16

Kinderworld Playbarn

Southport~50 min

★★★★★4.6(18)

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.

Price not listed - pre-bookIndoorsAges 0-5

Little Sparks Southport

Southport~50 min

★★★★★5.0(30)

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.

Book online - price not listedIndoorsAges 0-5

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