The Dock Museum
Built over a Victorian graving dock, with collections running from Vikings and Romans to the shipbuilding that made Barrow. Free entry, free parking, and an adventure playground outside.
Mini and Me Role Play Village
Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria
Mini and Me is a role play village with no climbing frame. Eight child-sized pods let children run a supermarket till, treat toy pets at the vets, cook in a cottage kitchen, serve coffee, play doctors and nurses, do hair and nails, and dig about on a construction site. The Glow Snug sensory pod is there for when it all gets a bit much.
It is designed for children up to seven and capped at 20 children, so every session is booked online. Bookings are non-refundable, although they can be moved with 24 hours' notice. Children aged eight and over are not allowed into the village for insurance reasons, but they can sit in the cafe area with board games and colouring for £2.
What it costs: A child ticket is £8.95 for a 90-minute session and includes one adult; extra adults are £2. The Monday Baby Club (0 to 15 months) is £6.95. Children aged eight and over cannot play in the village but can come along on a £2 'Extra Adult' ticket and wait in the cafe area. Socks are £1 on arrival if you forget them.
Know before you go
- Sessions run 9.30 to 11, 11.45 to 1.15 and 2 to 3.30 on most days, with after-school sessions on Thursdays and Fridays (4.15 to 5.45). Monday's first session is Baby Group for 0 to 15 months only, and Tuesday is mornings only. Times can change in the holidays.
- Socks on, shoes off, and no outside food or drink, which is an allergy rule rather than a money one.
Worth knowing: Up to 7; over-8s cannot play in the village.
Looking for more days out in Barrow-in-Furness?
Also in Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow Park
Forty-five acres of Victorian park in the middle of Barrow, with a boating lake, a miniature railway on Sunday afternoons, putting, a glasshouse and a play area. Free, and next door to the swimming pool.
Barrow Park Leisure Centre
Barrow's main pool has a proper leisure pool beside the 25m lanes, with a wave machine, a water slide and a Pirate Cove water play area. Pay as you go, no membership needed.
Furness Abbey
The ruins of what was England's second richest Cistercian abbey, in a wooded valley on the edge of Barrow, with a small exhibition of knights' effigies and a build-your-own-city trail for children. Book by the night before and it is 15% cheaper.
South Walney Nature Reserve
The southern tip of Walney Island, where Cumbria's only grey seal colony hauls out and about 250 bird species have been recorded. Cheap, wild and memorable, as long as you check the tide first.
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.