Chester Zoo
Excellent, but it is a lot of walking. Reviews rate 5 to 10 as the ideal age and still recommend a pushchair at four. Climbing frames, water play and sand pits break up the distance.
Sandy Lane Park and Aqua Park
- Cost
- Free
- Ages
- 1 to 10
- Where
- Chester, Cheshire
- Weather
- Mostly outdoors
- Booking
- Just turn up
Sandy Lane Park runs along the bank of the River Dee about two and a half miles east of Chester city centre, looking across the water to the Meadows. The main event is the Aqua Park, a free splash park with ten spray features beside a grassed picnic area, with a children's play area next to it. On a hot day it does the job a beach would, minus the drive to Wales and the sand in the car seats.
The splash park and the toilets open only in the summer season, April to August, from 11am to 5pm, and the council warns the Aqua Park may close for an hour for maintenance, usually between 1pm and 3pm. An attendant keeps the park and toilets clean. The play area stays open through the winter, so an October visit means a playground and a riverside walk with no toilets and no water. The car park off Sandy Lane holds about 40 cars.
In summer the Sandy Lane Ferry crosses the river to the Meadows at weekends, 10.30am to 4.30pm, for £1 an adult and 50p a child, dog or bike each way, and pushchairs can go on board. It ran from late May to the end of September in 2026. Crossing over and walking back along the Meadows makes a decent loop, and Grosvenor Park and the city centre are about two miles away.
What it costs: The park, play area and splash park are free. The summer weekend ferry to the Meadows costs £1 for adults and 50p for children, dogs and bikes each way; in 2026 it ran from 23 May to the last Sunday in September.
Know before you go
- The council warns the Aqua Park may close for an hour for maintenance, usually some time between 1pm and 3pm. Arrive at 11am and you get the best of it.
- The car park only holds about 40 cars, so on a hot day go early.
- From September to March the toilets are shut along with the splash park.
Seasonal: Splash park April to August. Check before travelling.
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What visitors say
★★★★★ 4.3 across 780 Google reviews.
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