Salford, Greater Manchester
A big silver arts centre on Salford Quays that works as a family day out even if you never buy a theatre ticket. The Andrew Law Galleries hold the world's largest collection of LS Lowry's work, around 400 paintings and drawings, and they are completely free with no booking. Kids meet the matchstick people; you get an hour of proper art without a ticket price attached.
LOWRY 360 is the bit children remember: a free immersive room that puts you inside Going to the Match, sights and sounds included. Then there are the theatres, which run a reliable stream of family shows through the year, and a restaurant and coffee shop with kids' menus. Galleries open Tuesday to Sunday; the whole place shuts most Mondays.
Parking on the Quays is paid, and the waterfront itself does the rest of the afternoon: bridges to cross, boats to watch, and MediaCity across the water.
Looking for more museums & science 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.
One of the biggest garden projects in Europe, and more fun for kids than a flower garden has any right to be: a huge walled kitchen garden, lake walks, and space to run that feels endless.
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.