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.
Tenpin Chester
Chester, Cheshire
Tenpin came back to Chester in March 2025 after more than a decade away, taking over two old retail units on Chester Retail Park off Sealand Road. There are 28 lanes across two floors, with bumpers and lighter balls for small bowlers, plus a laser tag arena, Houdini-themed escape rooms, an arcade, pool and table tennis. The lighting is loud and the bars are front and centre, but daytime is family time.
A game is £9.95 booked online, and Tenpin reckons on about ten minutes per player per game, so four people is roughly 40 minutes. Tuesdays are half price, which is the obvious play in the holidays. Laser tag needs players over 4ft, and the weekday price of £36 covers up to six people for a 20 minute game after the briefing.
The catch is the car park. You get three free hours as standard and five if you register on the tablet at reception, which is easy to forget with children pulling you towards the arcade. Bowling, a round of laser tag and food will comfortably run past three hours, so do the tablet first, before anyone gets their shoes.
What it costs: One game of bowling £9.95 when booked online. Tenpin Tuesday is 50% off bowling, and Friday Frenzy is 20% off up to three games after 6pm. Laser tag £36 for 30 minutes on weekdays (10 minute briefing, 20 minutes play) for up to six players. Weekend laser tag is £144 for 60 minutes and up to 18 players. Escape rooms from £13.50.
Know before you go
- Register at the reception tablet when you arrive. That gets you five hours of free parking instead of the retail park's standard three, and overstaying means a parking charge.
- Weekend laser tag is sold as a 60 minute, 18 player block at £144, which only makes sense for a party. For a family of four, go on a weekday when it is £36 for up to six.
- Under 16s cannot be in without an adult after 9pm.
Worth knowing: Laser tag players must be over 4ft tall.
Looking for more adventure & rides near Chester?
What visitors say
★★★★★ 3.9 across 168 Google reviews.
Read all 168 reviews on Google - filter by star rating thereAlso in Chester
The Ice Cream Farm
A small entry fee now, then a pay-per-play card for the attractions: a giant sand and water quarry, mini golf, go-karts and play areas, funded by a world-record ice cream shop. Cheap after 3.30pm, glorious in any weather.
The Crocky Trail
A mile of muddy obstacles, wobbly bridges and enormous slides through a Cheshire valley. Children come off it filthy, soaked and asking to go round again. This is the point; dress accordingly.
Beeston Castle
A ruined castle on a crag with views from the Pennines to the Welsh mountains, a reconstructed Bronze Age roundhouse and woodland paths below the walls. Castles do not need roofs to work for this age group.
Grosvenor Museum
Chester's Roman story done properly: real tombstones from the fortress walls, a hands-on natural history gallery, and a walk-through period house at the back. Free, central, and the right size.
Grosvenor Park & Miniature Railway
Chester's Victorian park above the river, with a miniature railway looping the lawns, a good playground and open-air theatre in summer. Pair with a boat trip from the Groves below.
What’s on near you, every Friday
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.