Williamson Park
The Ashton Memorial dome you can see from the M6, with views across Morecambe Bay, a butterfly house, mini beasts and a good playground below it. Lancaster's best free afternoon.
Lancaster City Museum
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster City Museum is in the old town hall, a Georgian building on the edge of Market Square, and covers the social and industrial history and archaeology of the city through its collections and dioramas. The building also houses the King's Own Royal Regiment Museum, which tells the story of the city's own regiment from 1680 onwards.
Children under 18 are free, as are adults who live in the Lancaster district. Everyone else pays £5. It opens 10.30 to 4 on Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and is closed Wednesdays and Thursdays. Kids' craft sessions run as part of the museums' events programme, and the shop can be visited without paying.
There is a stairlift to the upper floor, but buggies stay on the ground floor unless you carry them up. Blue Badge parking is on New Street behind the museum; everyone else parks in town and walks, as the square is pedestrianised. At an hour or so, it slots into a city centre morning before lunch rather than filling the day.
What it costs: Free for under 18s, Lancaster district residents, full-time students, carers and National Art Pass holders. Other adults £5 for a day ticket.
Know before you go
- It is shut on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Open Monday, Tuesday and Friday to Sunday, 10.30 to 4.
- There are no public toilets or baby changing in the building. The nearest are in the Marketgate Shopping Centre, so go before you go in.
- The Maritime Museum on St George's Quay has the same free-for-children rule, so a wet Lancaster Monday can take in both.
Looking for more museums & science near Lancaster?
What visitors say
★★★★★ 4.5 across 582 Google reviews.
Read all 582 reviews on Google - filter by star rating thereAlso in Lancaster
Salt Ayre Leisure Centre
Lancaster's council leisure centre doing triple duty: Energy soft play, XHeight climbing walls and a 33m pool with a waterslide and inflatable sessions. Cheaper than the private soft play chains, and everything is under one roof for a wet day.
Crook O' Lune Picnic Site
Turner painted this view, which is worth nothing to a seven year old but does explain the crowds. A picnic site on the horseshoe bend of the Lune with tables, toilets and easy riverside walking.
Giggles Play and Adventure
Adults go in free and you only pay for the children who actually play. Giggles takes birth to ten in Lancaster Leisure Park, with the frames split by size so the crawlers are not flattened.
Ryelands Park
Forty-six acres north of the Lune with an accessible play area for under twelves, outdoor gym kit and five football pitches. Free parking, and a free junior parkrun every Sunday morning.
The Little Cobbled Village
A pretend village for under 8s on the Lune Business Park: fire station, vets, supermarket, ice cream parlour and seven more wooden play shops. Booked sessions, calm by design, and very little climbing.
What’s on near you, every Friday
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.