Salford, Greater Manchester
The RHS turned a lost Victorian estate into one of Europe's biggest new gardens, and it is far more fun for children than the name suggests: an eleven-acre walled garden, lake paths, long lawns built for running, and family trails through the season.
RHS members go free; everyone else should book online. The cafe queue at lunch is the only reliably unpleasant part - picnic instead.
Looking for more parks & outdoors near Salford?
War told through people's stories in a building designed to feel like a shattered globe. The hourly Big Picture Show projections fill the whole gallery and stop everyone mid-step. Heavy themes, handled well - better for the top end of primary.
Free galleries holding the world's largest LS Lowry collection, a free immersive 360 room, and theatres with a steady run of family shows. One of the easiest rainy-day wins on the Quays.
A Grade I listed Tudor manor house marooned among Salford's new-builds, free to walk round, with a proper Great Hall, gardens and school-holiday craft sessions. Closed Fridays and Saturdays, which catches people out.
Free, small and genuinely good: Lark Hill Place, a full Victorian street rebuilt indoors, is the bit the kids will remember. Peel Park is right outside for the run-around afterwards.