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.
Brio Northwich
Northwich, Cheshire
The main pool runs at 28.5 degrees. The small one runs at 30. Anyone who has taken a toddler swimming knows that difference decides whether you get forty minutes or eight, and it is the single most useful fact on this page.
Behind the civic frontage of Northwich Memorial Court there are two pools, a 25 metre main one and a shallower second, plus a water slide, a jacuzzi and a sauna and steam suite for whichever adult drew the short straw and is not going down the slide.
Aqua classes and lessons run through the week, so a general swim is not a given at whatever hour you fancy. Read the pool timetable. Weekdays are generous, 6.30am to 10pm Monday to Wednesday and 6.30am to 9pm Thursday and Friday. Weekends stop at 6pm.
Prices are on Brio's pay-as-you-go page: adult £7.20 with an Active Card or £8.20 without, junior £4.30 or £5.30, toddlers under three £1 or £2. What you get for it is a decent, unglamorous municipal pool with a slide. In a wet Cheshire February that is enough.
Know before you go
- The small pool sits at 30 degrees against 28.5 in the main one. With toddlers, stay in the warm one and let the older ones do the slide.
- Weekend closing is 6pm, earlier than the weekday 9pm or 10pm. A late Sunday swim is not on offer.
- Prices are not on the website. Check the Brio app or phone 01606 261100, and look at the session timetable while you are there, because lessons and lane swimming take up chunks of the day.
Looking for more water & swimming near Northwich?
Also in Northwich
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.
Blakemere Village
A shopping village in the Delamere woods with free entry, free parking and a genuinely good free adventure playground, plus a long menu of pay-as-you-go extras from crazy golf to falconry.
Arley Hall & Gardens
Proper grand gardens 20 minutes from Warrington, with a woodland Grove to explore, sculptures to find and an adventure play zone with a zip wire and den building. Adults £13, kids £6.50, and booking online is cheaper.
Weaver Hall Museum and Workhouse
Northwich's old Union Workhouse on London Road, now the museum of West Cheshire's history and the salt that built the town. Under-16s free, adults £4.30, fully accessible, and the car park is large and free.