The River Weaver runs along the edge of Nantwich, and the town has made the most of it: a lake dug in the 1970s for flood control, now busy with mute swans, Canada geese, coots and an unreasonable number of ducks, joined to the town centre by flat riverside parkland. A kiosk at the lake does ice creams and snacks, and there is a play area just along the path.
Park free at the lake off Shrewbridge Road, do the lake circuit while everyone is keen, then follow the river towards town for the play area and, if legs allow, Welsh Row's black and white buildings and a proper coffee. The full circular loop is 5km via the Shropshire Union Canal, but nobody is checking. Bring bird food that is not bread.
What it costs: Free car parks at the lake off Shrewbridge Road and at St Anne's off Welsh Row.
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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.
A small, free, volunteer-run museum in Nantwich's old Victorian library covering salt, shoes and the Civil War. An hour at most, best paired with the riverside, and the half-term craft days are the time to make a special trip.
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.
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.