Anderton Boat Lift
A Victorian lift that hoists whole canal boats fifty feet in the air, and you can ride it. Genuinely impressive to a small child, with a visitor centre and café on site.
Arley Hall & Gardens
Northwich, Cheshire
Grand gardens about seven miles from Warrington, which feels like cheating. The double herbaceous border is the famous bit for adults; children get the Grove and woodland walk, where sculptures including a life-size cow and calf and a giant dragonfly wait to be found, plus an adventure play zone in the parkland with a zip wire, sandpit, swings and den building.
Garden tickets cover all of it except the hall: £13 for adults, £6.50 for 4 to 16s, £36 for a family of five, plus £4 to park. Book online and it comes down a bit. The Gardener's Kitchen cafe handles lunch, dogs on leads are welcome everywhere except the play zone, and the hall opens on selected days for an extra charge if anyone insists.
The honest split: the borders are the point for you, the play zone is the point for them, and the Grove is where the two negotiate. The gardens stay open every day except Christmas Day, and winter entry drops to £7 and £4, which makes a crisp December walk here surprisingly good value.
What it costs: High season (March to start of November): adults £13, children 4 to 16 £6.50, family of five £36, plus £4 per car. Low season drops to £7 and £4. Hall entry is an extra charge on selected days.
Know before you go
- Book online rather than paying on the gate - advance tickets are discounted and the £4 parking applies either way.
- Do the borders and the Grove first and save the play zone for last, or you will never see the gardens. Last entry is 4.30pm in season.
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Lion Salt Works
The last open-pan salt works in Britain, kept exactly as the salt men left it, with interactive galleries that explain why Cheshire is full of holes. Genuinely interesting, and next to Marbury for a run afterwards.
Marbury Country Park
An arboretum running down to Budworth Mere with flat paths, a community orchard and swimming swans. Quietly lovely, and minutes from the Anderton Boat Lift for a combined afternoon.
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Brio Northwich
The small pool runs at 30 degrees, which decides whether a three year old lasts forty minutes or eight. Two pools, a water slide and a jacuzzi, inside the Memorial Court in the middle of town.
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