Walby Farm Park
Cumbria's big family farm park: animal handling, giant jumping pillows, pedal go-karts and an indoor play barn big enough to lose a wet afternoon in. The far-north option when you are up that way.
Solway Aviation Museum
Carlisle, Cumbria
Carlisle Airport is a quiet place these days, which works in this museum's favour. The Society has a genuine Avro Vulcan and a run of other Cold War aircraft on the apron, and the deal is that volunteers open them up and let children climb inside. Canberra, Sea Prince and Trident stay accessible year-round. The Vulcan shuts up for winter. Prices are modest by museum standards: eight pounds an adult, five for a child aged six to sixteen, and twenty for a family covering up to two children. Under-6 pricing is not published, so ask at the desk.
There is a gift shop, hot and cold drinks, baby changing, and a wheelchair or small electric buggy available if you ask in advance. The calendar is the thing to get right. Opening runs Friday to Sunday from late March, widens to Friday to Monday for the summer, narrows back to Friday to Sunday in September, then collapses to Sundays only through November, with last entry forty-five minutes before closing. Look it up the night before. There is nothing else out that way to salvage the morning with.
Know before you go
- Check the calendar on their site first. Friday to Sunday for most of the season, Mondays added from May to early September, then Sundays only through November.
- Most of the visit is outdoors, walking between airframes on an exposed airfield apron. Dress everyone for wind, not for a museum.
- The cockpit tours are what older children come for. Volunteers open the aircraft up and will happily talk, so leave time for it.
Seasonal: Late March to 1 November, days vary by season. Check before travelling.
Looking for more museums & science near Carlisle?
Also in Carlisle
Carlisle Castle
A working border fortress for 900 years, not a fairytale castle: a squat red keep full of prisoners' carvings, ramparts to walk and a military museum inside the walls. English Heritage, so members go free and everyone else should book online for the discount.
Tullie
Carlisle's museum, plain Tullie since the rebrand, mid-transformation and all the better for it: under-18s go free, the adult ticket is £8.50, and £16 buys an annual pass. New galleries opened in 2025, though some of the old favourites are shut for the next phase.
Bitts Park
Carlisle's big riverside park, right under the castle walls: a large play area for all ages, a free splash park in the warmer months, skate park and acres of grass where the Eden and Caldew meet. The obvious free half of a Carlisle day.