Farmer Ted's Adventure Farm
Built precisely for the under-9s: animal encounters, giant jumping pillows, tractor rides and a big indoor play barn that rescues wet days. Older siblings will tolerate it; little ones adore it.
Beacon Country Park
Ormskirk, Lancashire
West Lancashire's flagship countryside site: more than 300 acres of woodland, wildflower meadow and open hillside spread across the slopes of Ashurst Beacon between Up Holland, Dalton and Skelmersdale. The children's play areas are designed to be inclusive, the paths take bikes and buggies, and on a clear day the views off the top stretch a long way over the plain.
It costs nothing. Parking is free, entry is free, and the cafe and toilets sit next to the main car park so you are never far from a bacon barm or an emergency wee. There is an orienteering course, a community orchard and a Junior Rangers club if yours are the clipboard sort. The catch is weather: it is a hillside, and it behaves like one.
The old Up and Under adventure play centre that used to trade here is gone, and no longer appears in the council's listing of what is on site. What remains is the free stuff, which is most of what you came for anyway.
Know before you go
- Pick up the free Beacon Bingo activity sheets from the ranger cabin at the visitor centre - a laminated sheet of things to spot buys you at least an extra mile of walking without complaint.
- The play areas, cafe and toilets cluster by the car park off Elmers Green Lane, so base yourself there and do the woods in loops.
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Natterjack Alpacas
A private hour with a herd of more than 60 female alpacas on a farm off High Lane: a short walk, hand feeding, cuddling and a lot of alpaca facts. Capped at eight people. Book the Experience, because the Trek is over 16s only.
Mere Sands Wood Nature Reserve
Ninety five per cent of the paths take a buggy or a wheelchair, which is rare for a nature reserve. Old sand quarry lakes outside Rufford, run by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, with six hides and a viewing platform.
Coronation Park, Ormskirk
Twenty acres in the centre of Ormskirk, Green Flag since 2008: two play areas split by age, a teen skatepark, duck pond, bandstand and a free outdoor gym. Printable phonics and maths trails as well.
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