Water & swimming in Warrington

LiveWire charges the same at all three Warrington hubs, £3.40 for a junior and £6.90 for an adult, or £9.00 for an adult with one child. Orford Jubilee is the one to pick with small children, because its second pool is a teaching pool at the right depth, and Great Sankey on Lingley Green Avenue does the same job for the west of the borough. Bewsey and Dallam has a single pool that LiveWire describe as being for lane swimming, lessons or family time, so read the timetable before you drive over, and the holiday family swim sessions with inflatables laid on remain the cheapest way to lose two hours in the rain.

Water & swimming in Warrington

Bewsey & Dallam Community Hub

Warrington~5 min

★★★★★4.7(80)

One pool, a gym and a library on Longshaw Street, ten minutes from Warrington town centre. Nobody pretends there is a flume, but a child swims for £3.40, the same rate as the big LiveWire hubs.

Junior swim £3.40, adult £6.90IndoorsAges 2-11

Great Sankey Neighbourhood Hub

Warrington~10 min

★★★★☆4.3(493)

No flume, no wave machine. Two pools in a building on the west side of Warrington that also holds a library, tennis courts and 3G pitches. It does have pool hoists and a dedicated accessible swim session, which is rarer than it should be.

Junior swim £3.40, adult £6.90IndoorsAges 1-11

Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub

Warrington~10 min

★★★★☆4.2(473)

Warrington's biggest LiveWire hub, with two pools under one roof. The one that matters is the small teaching pool, shallow enough for a three year old to stand up in. There is a library and a Subway on site.

Junior swim £3.40, adult £6.90IndoorsAges 1-11

Water & swimming elsewhere in the North West

Blue Planet Aquarium

Ellesmere Port~35 min

★★★★☆4.1(8,117)

Sharks over a moving walkway tunnel, all under cover. A dependable answer to a washout forecast that still feels like a proper day out.

Day ticketIndoorsAges 4-11

Formby Beach & Pinewoods

Formby~45 min

★★★★★4.9(46)

Huge sand dunes, a proper beach and red squirrels in the pinewoods behind it. The dunes alone will occupy them for an hour. Free entry if you have National Trust membership.

Parking chargeAges 4-11

Anderton Boat Lift

Northwich~30 min

★★★★★4.5(3,464)

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.

Visitor centre / boat tripIndoorsAges 4-11

Sea Life Manchester

Trafford~25 min

★★★★☆4.0(5,173)

Ocean tunnel, rays, seahorses and rockpool touch sessions, sized for smaller legs - you can do the whole thing in a morning and pair it with Legoland next door.

Book online - walk-up costs moreIndoorsAges 4-9

Sandcastle Waterpark

Blackpool~1 hr

★★★★☆4.3(8,767)

The UK's biggest indoor waterpark, kept at tropical temperature: proper toddler pools and mini slides at one end, big flumes at the other. Rainy-day Blackpool solved.

Book online - cheaperIndoorsAges 4-11

Sea Life Blackpool

Blackpool~1 hr

★★★★☆4.4(11,062)

A solid seafront aquarium with an ocean tunnel and rockpool sessions - the reliable wet-weather hour when the beach plan falls apart.

Book online - cheaperIndoorsAges 4-9