Nantwich, Cheshire
Nantwich Museum is on Pillory Street in the town centre, in the former Victorian library. It is small, free and run largely by volunteers, and its core displays are the three things Nantwich was built on: salt, shoes and the Civil War, with a salt paddle and an old fire pump among the objects. Rotating art and history exhibitions fill the rest.
It works as part of a Nantwich morning, not a destination in itself: an hour inside, then the riverside and the lake. The time to make a special trip is half term. In October 2026 there are drop-in workshops on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 October, 10am to 3pm, with arts, crafts and trails built round Halloween and Julia Donaldson's stories, for a suggested £2 donation per child.
What it costs: Free admission; donations welcome. October 2026 half-term drop-in workshops (28 and 29 October, 10am to 3pm) ask a suggested £2 donation per child.
Two drop-in days of arts, crafts and trails themed on Halloween and Julia Donaldson's stories, in the museum's Millennium Gallery.
Looking for more days out in Nantwich?
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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.
A real Cold War government bunker in the Cheshire fields south of Nantwich, with most of the kit still in the rooms it was used in. There is a NAAFI canteen, a cinema and a Soviet Spy Mouse Trail. Every ticket is an annual pass.
The teaching zoo at Reaseheath College, with meerkats, otters, lemurs, a porcupine, wallabies and warm indoor reptile and fish rooms. Open to the public only at weekends and in college holidays, which is exactly when you need it, and £7 a child.
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