Nantwich, Cheshire
Hack Green was a real thing: a hardened government bunker in the Cheshire fields that would have run the North West if the worst had happened. It is now a museum, and the reason it works is that the kit is still there, in the rooms it was used in, and not arranged behind glass in a heritage centre. It is underground, dimly lit, and the subject is nuclear war. That is fine for a curious eight year old and a lot for a nervous five year old, and the Small Spies strand only goes so far towards softening it.
Prices are £17.50 for an adult, £11.50 for a child aged 5 to 16, £15 for a disabled visitor and carer, £10 for a disabled child and carer, and £48 for a family of two adults and two children. That looks steep until you read the small print: every ticket is an annual pass, valid for a year of return visits. Practically, it is open 10am to 4pm and closed Mondays and Tuesdays except on bank holidays and during school holidays. They ask you to arrive before 3pm because the tour runs to an hour and a half or two hours. There is a NAAFI canteen and a museum shop, toilets, parking, a cinema showing period material, and dogs are welcome. Children get the Soviet Spy Mouse Trail.
What it costs: Adult £17.50, child aged 5 to 16 £11.50, disabled plus carer £15.00, disabled child plus carer £10.00, family ticket £48.00 for 2 adults and 2 children. Every ticket is an annual pass valid for unlimited return visits within the year.
Worth knowing: Child tickets start at 5. Underground, dim and in places loud, so better from about 7 up.
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The best age match of anything on this list. Reviewers put the sweet spot at 2 to 10 and say a 4-year-old can do essentially the whole park; the map colour-codes areas by age and puts mini zipwires beside the full-size ones. Budget four to six hours.
Romantic gardens around a turreted castle, with a play area down by the Mere, a natural play Den and a lakeside trail with a bird hide. Only open Wednesdays, Thursdays, Sundays and bank holidays, so check before setting off.
A flat, buggy friendly loop round a lake full of ducks and swans, a snack kiosk, a play area along the riverside path, and one of Cheshire's prettiest market towns a few minutes' walk away. All free, parking included.
The famous ice cream farm on the A51 with 35-plus flavours made on site and a 50ft straw Paddington in the field. Be clear what it is: an ice cream stop with room to wander, not a day out, and it is very good at being exactly that.
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.