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.
Marbury Country Park
Northwich, Cheshire
An avenue-lined arboretum running down to Budworth Mere: flat paths, swans, an orchard and the kind of quiet that busier parks have lost.
Minutes from the Anderton Boat Lift, so the obvious shape is lift first, Marbury picnic after. Parking is the only cost.
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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.
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.
Brio Northwich
The small pool runs at 30 degrees, which decides whether a three year old lasts forty minutes or eight. Two pools, a water slide and a jacuzzi, inside the Memorial Court in the middle of town.
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