World Museum, Liverpool
Five floors, free, and it covers three things small children reliably love: giant dinosaurs, an aquarium and a space gallery. The best wet-weather day within half an hour.
Liverpool Watersports Centre
- Cost
- Kayaks and paddleboards from £10, swims from £4
- Ages
- 8 to 16
- Where
- Liverpool, Merseyside
- Weather
- Mostly outdoors
- Booking
- Book online, waiver form required
Queens Dock sits between the Albert Dock and the Baltic Triangle, and the Liverpool Watersports Centre has the whole basin to play with. It is a charity, part of Local Solutions, and the pricing reflects that: kayaks and paddleboards start at £10 for an hour, swan pedalos are £20 for half an hour, and open water swims start at £4. That is cheap for an hour on the water, and you can walk into the city centre afterwards.
The offer is broad. Kayaks and canoes, paddleboards, swan pedalos, dinghy sailing, RYA powerboating courses, an accessible wheelyboat that takes up to four wheelchairs, open water and wild swim sessions, and in the warmer months an inflatable aqua park. Equipment is hired on site and there are changing areas and showers.
The age rule is simple: you have to be 8 or over to use the facilities, though a paying adult can take a 6 or 7 year old in a double sit-on-top kayak. Everything needs a signed waiver. Sessions start at 9.30am, 10.45am, 12pm, 1pm, 2.15pm and 3.30pm, and in winter the centre runs 9.30am to 4pm, subject to bookings. The aqua park was not on the booking system when we checked at the end of September, so treat it as a summer thing and ring 0151 708 9322 before you promise it to anyone.
It is a working dock in the middle of Liverpool, so the water is cold and the wind comes off it. Bring more warm dry clothes than you think you need. Wetsuit hire exists for a reason.
What it costs: From the centre's own booking system: sit-on-top kayaks from £10 an hour, stand up paddleboarding from £10 an hour, open water swimming and wild swims from £4, with booking fees on top. Swan pedalos are £20 for 30 minutes. The aqua park was not on the booking system at the end of September, and sailing and powerboating are not priced online.
Know before you go
- Sessions are hourly at 9.30am, 10.45am, 12pm, 1pm, 2.15pm and 3.30pm, and the good ones on a hot Saturday go early. Book, do not chance it.
- Under-8s cannot use the facilities, apart from 6 and 7 year olds sharing a double sit-on-top kayak with a paying adult. Anyone younger is a spectator.
Worth knowing: Ages 8 and over to use the facilities; a paying adult can take a 6 or 7 year old in a double sit-on-top kayak.
Seasonal: Aqua park not bookable at the end of September; winter hours 9.30am to 4pm daily, subject to bookings. Check before travelling.
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