The building was put up in 1881 for St Helens' horse-drawn trams and stayed in public transport use until 1985. Now it holds the North West Museum of Road Transport: rows of old buses, fire engines, commercial and emergency vehicles and cars, with volunteers maintaining and restoring more of the fleet in the workshops.
It opens on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 to 4. Adults pay £7.50 and accompanied under 16s are free, up to four per group, so a family of four costs £15. On special event days the Rainhill Model Railway Club's layouts are open inside the museum too. It is dog friendly.
The event days are the best of it. This year there is an Autumn Heritage Bus Running Day on Sunday 25 October, with free rides on historic buses round St Helens, and a Christmas Santa weekend on 5 and 6 December. On an ordinary weekend it is quieter, and a child who likes big vehicles will still get a good hour or two out of it.
What it costs: Adults £7.50. Accompanied children under 16 free, up to four per group. Disabled visitors £7.50 with one carer free.
Santa sits in a grotto bus (extra charge), there are Christmas crafts and a ride on the museum's Christmas bus, plus free face painting, children's entertainment and the model railways. A small, volunteer-run Christmas day out.
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Funded holiday clubs with food included, ages 4 to 18, for families on benefits-related free school meals. Worth a look even if you assume you won't qualify.
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One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.